Viewing the Great North American Eclipse of April 8, 2024
Bakersfield’s view of the April 8 solar eclipse will be a partial solar eclipse. The maximum eclipse for the metro Bakersfield area is shown in the image above: 45% coverage at 11:13 a.m. The sun will begin to be covered at 10:09 a.m., reach maximum eclipse at 11:13 a.m., and finish at 12:21 p.m.
You definitely need solar glasses or solar filters to view the partial solar eclipse! See the “Observing the Sun Safely” page on the William M Thomas Planetarium’s website for the different ways of viewing the partial solar eclipse.
Below are three websites for telescope feeds of the total solar eclipse visible in a narrow strip starting in southern Mexico, going through the middle of the eastern half of the U.S. from Texas to New York, and ending in the southeastern part of Canada.
- NASA Eclipse Live will have streams on NASA+, YouTube, and Facebook, a broadcast in Spanish, and live stream of sounding rockets launching during the eclipse.
- Exploratorium’s Live Coverage will broadcast from Junction, Texas and from Torreon, Mexico. They’ll also have a broadcast in Spanish.
- Slooh’s Live Stream will broadcast from Lyndon B Johnson State Park & Historic Site in Texas.
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Director of the William M Thomas Planetarium at Bakersfield College
Author of the award-winning website www.astronomynotes.com
