What will April solar eclipse look like from North Jersey? Expect a 'visual spectacle'
New Jersey is not in the direct path of next month's total solar eclipse, the most significant in the United States in more than six years and the last in the country for another two decades.
However, residents of the Garden State can still get a good view of the phenomenon without venturing outside its borders. In fact, experts say New Jerseyans will get an even better experience than they did during the most recent eclipse that captivated the country in 2017.
New Jersey will get a good view outside totality path
Virtually all of North Jersey will see 90 to 95% of the sun obscured by the moon on the afternoon of Monday, April 8, while most of South Jersey will be in the 85 to 90% range, according to a NASA map.
The maximum coverage will occur around 3:25 p.m. in Newark and New York City, the website NationalEclipse.com stated. For most of New Jersey, only a small crescent-shaped portion of the sun will be visible during that time.
Anyone in the state will be at least 100 miles away from any location inside the "path of totality," the area where the moon will completely cover the sun's surface. Residents inside the path will be able to see the "corona" or "crown" of the sun shimmering around the moon while the sky darkens to a dawn or dusk light level, the American Astronomical Society said.
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What will a total eclipse look like from North Jersey?
While the ultimate goal for space lovers is to be in the path of totality, New Jersey is among the best places outside the path to be on the date of the eclipse.
Kris Kootale, a board member and trustee with the United Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey, said the 90% blockage will make for a "very interesting visual spectacle" throughout the state. For example, he said, anyone looking through a tree will see unique crescent-shaped shadows in the leaves because that is the only visible sunlight.
Many people remember the hype surrounding the August 2017 total solar eclipse, the last one to pass through the contiguous U.S. But most of New Jersey only saw about 75% of the sun obscured that day, as the closest points within the path of totality were in Tennessee and Georgia.
In other words, Kootale said, next month's event should be an even bigger deal for local residents, who get to see a magnitude of the eclipse that much of the country will not.
"It's going to be very interesting, regardless of where you are in New Jersey," he said.
Viewing the eclipse safely
Regardless of location, anyone wishing to take in the eclipse should only do so wearing special glasses or handheld solar viewers with filters to prevent eye damage. It is important to keep the glasses or viewers on while the sun is not fully eclipsed; only those in the path of totality can remove them when the total eclipse arrives to view the sun's corona.
Further instructions for proper usage of the eye protection can be found on the AAS website.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: What the eclipse will look like in North Jersey
