Photo Shoot: Eclipse Monday on Cape Cod. The value of a cereal box

Steve Heaslip, Cape Cod Times
·2 min read

Leap year 2024 has already given us its extra day. But wait, there’s more — falling squarely between April Fool’s Day and Patriot’s Day is Solar Eclipse Monday. The total eclipse path passes us well to the north. According to the National Solar Observatory map, Cape Codders can expect to view a partial eclipse with 88% of the sun blocked by the moon’s shadow, starting at 2:16 p.m. and the max eclipse at 3:30 p.m., finishing at 4:39 p.m.

Stores have been hawking all sorts of eclipse gear, from special 2024 edition eclipse glasses to high-end optics and solar filters for safe photography and viewing. There will be a lot of photographic fire power aimed skyward at this event. Trying to capture a solar eclipse “ring of fire” is a great photo challenge. But I have found when the eclipse passes overhead, the best place to aim the camera is not skyward, but downward. Watching people watch the eclipse with their blackout glasses reflecting the sun. When the 2017 partial solar eclipse passed through well to our south on Aug. 21, I was totally unprepared. That event also arrived on a Monday. Watching from our front deck we used a cereal box viewer made by one of our neighbor’s kids. A visit to the NASA.gov website will give you last minute directions on this simple creation.  It does indeed work, and making photos of people using it provided some interesting photos.

No need to get expensive, a cereal box can be converted into a solar eclipse viewer in a few simple steps.
No need to get expensive, a cereal box can be converted into a solar eclipse viewer in a few simple steps.

The expectations are high for this eclipse. But as always Mother Nature has the last word on whether the skies are clear or cloudy. Forecasters are giving Cape Cod a high degree of certainty for sun all day. In a rare twist of April weather fate, New England on the cloud probability map looks to have the clearest skies of any on the total eclipse path.

So play hooky, catch some early April sun rays and a rare astronomical event all in the same afternoon. You might just become an umbraphile, someone who chases eclipses. If so, book early for Greenland or Iceland, Wednesday August, 12,  2026.

The  Cape Cod Times is providing this coverage for free as a public service. Please take a moment to support local journalism by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Photo Shoot: Eclipse Day Monday has arrived on Cape