A lot of Austinites were out taking in the eclipse this afternoon. And whether you were one of them or not, it was just a warmup for a couple more eclipses not too many years from now.
“April 8, 2024. Mark it on your calendars now: Totality in Austin. We’ll get about two minutes here in Austin," said Lara Eakins, program coordinator for the Astronomy Department at UT Austin. "We’re not quite on the center line of that eclipse, so if you want to max out your time in totality, you’ll want to be in Kerrville or Killeen and some parts of Dallas."
Use your mouse or open in the YouTube app on your smartphone to take a 360-tour of some of the eclipse viewing parties in Austin:
Before then, in 2023, there will be an annular eclipse, when the moon is not quite big enough to block the sun’s light, leaving a larger sort of corona. San Antonio will be on the center line for that one. In Austin, it will be an eclipse of roughly 85 to 90 percent.
Check out some photos from the eclipse watch parties below.
Kathleen Strong (lower left) and others watch as the heliostat reflects sunlight onto a wall.
Credit Gabriel Cristóver Pérez / KUT