One year from today, a total solar eclipse will cross North America. A small portion of western Daviess County will briefly be in the path of totality — when the moon completely blocks the Sun and totally darkens the sky. Anyone wanting to see a longer totality duration only has to drive a short distance for the experience.
The total solar eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024. It will first be visible in Mexico and then move across the United States, passing through several states including Kentucky and Indiana, before eventually reaching Canada.
A total eclipse will be visible within a 115-mile wide path of totality. Scientists say the maximum duration of totality is approximately 4.5 minutes. Varying degrees of a partial solar eclipse will be visible outside that path, spanning nearly 3 hours.
Most of Daviess County will experience a partial eclipse —reaching up to 99% — while the westernmost portions will very briefly be in the path of totality. The difference in 99% and 100% is actually quite significant, according to scientists.
You can see a rendering of the difference by visiting this interactive animation website on eclipse2024.org and comparing a city on the edge of totality, such as Owensboro, and one completely in the path, such as Evansville. The total eclipse will be near the middle of the animations.
According to that site, a partial eclipse over Owensboro will begin around 12:35 p.m. and last through approximately 3:22 p.m. A small portion of Daviess County will be in the path of totality around 2:04 p.m. In Evansville, the totality duration will last from 2:02-2:04 p.m., while the partial eclipse has roughly the same timespan as Owensboro.
For more information about the eclipse and its path, visit NASA’s website here.
While the last total solar eclipse over North America was in 2017, scientists say it won’t happen again for another 20 years.
Except during the brief phase of totality, it is not safe to look directly at the sun during any portion of the eclipse without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times.
