Solar eclipse updates: Fort Worth stargazers whoop, cheer as moon passes in front of sun
Crowds cheered at Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth on Monday as the moon covered the sun for 2 minutes and 24 seconds, casting a shadow over Fort Worth. Totality was briefly visible to the naked eye but thick clouds quickly obstructed the view.
Office workers mingled around, showing their phone screens to compare pictures of the rare celestial phenomenon.
Stockyards stargazers whooped, cheered and gasped as the sky blackened. A fair few booed when clouds temporarily blocked out the spectacle.
“I cannot name any better place for a solar eclipse to happen,” UT Arlington planetarium director Levent Gurdemir told the Star-Telegram earlier this year. “It is a very rare event.”
See updates here from the Star-Telegram’s staff covering the eclipse across the Fort Worth area — at the Botanic Garden, the Fort Worth Zoo, downtown, the Stockyards, with elementary students and teachers at Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center — and in Hillsboro.
Oops, you looked at the eclipse. How do you know if your eyes are damaged?
In the weeks leading up to Monday’s complete solar eclipse, eye doctors have repeated the same advice: Don’t look at the eclipse without proper eye protection.
But it’s likely that some people didn’t get the message, or thought that regular sunglasses could get the job done, or bought knockoff eclipse glasses online.
The Star-Telegram talked to eye doctors about what looking at a solar eclipse actually does to human eyes and how to know if the eclipse has left you with eye damage.
Solar eclipses, and other sources of intense, bright light, can cause damage to the eye’s retina, which is the layer of cells on the back of the eye. The retina has special cells that sense light and communicate information to the brain.
You might notice damage to your eyes soon after looking at the eclipse or not until the following day.
Someone with eye damage might experience distortion, dark spots in the central line of vision, or loss of sharpness.
Any of these symptoms are probably your clue to seek medical attention, experts told the Star-Telegram.
Eclipse traveler tries out homemade filters
Vahid Sattary, of San Francisco, made a homemade solar filter for his camera to take snapshots of the solar eclipse.
Capturing solar eclipses is a hobby for Sattary, who has snapped photos of past celestial events in Oregon and Chile. Eclipses don’t happen every day and Sattary said the pursuit is what keeps him interested.
He and his daughter originally planned on staying in Austin for the eclipse, but moved on quickly to Hillsboro after hearing that weather conditions would be better up north.
Beyond capturing a rare event, Sattary said the people he meets are another benefit of his hobby. While speaking with the Star-Telegram, a couple from Seattle noticed Sattary’s homemade eclipse glasses and tried them on, even gifting him a pair of their own for him to try.
“The community draws me,” Sattary said. “Thankful for the hospitality in Hillsboro.”
David Nditi, originally from Tanzania, but who now lives in Dallas, decided to make the hour-long drive south to Hillsboro.
Nditi admits that he isn’t really into astronomy, but remembers seeing the 2017 eclipse back in Tanzania. It was too special of an occasion to miss.
“I just want to see it, Nditi said.
Garrett Minnie’s love of star gazing came from spending summers on Lake Powell photographing the night sky with his grandfather Jim Paul.
The 31-year old tech worker from Millbrea, California, traveled to Fort Worth with his grandfather Monday to photograph the eclipse with the same 1968 Pentax film camera.
What did animals at Fort Worth Zoo do during eclipse?
As guests slowly entered the Fort Worth Zoo wearing personalized solar eclipse T-shirts, biologist Adam Hartstone-Rose stationed his gaggle of high school and college students across various enclosures to observe how the animals behave as the shadow of the moon passes across the face of the sun.
Hartstone-Rose, a professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University, is in Fort Worth to confirm his findings from the 2017 total solar eclipse. Apparently during the eclipse at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina, the animals either thought it was time for bed, time to freak out or time to seek out a little love.
A group of high school students from Vancouver, Canada, are in town to work with Hartstone-Rose. They’ve been prepping for this day all year. A group of undergrad and graduate students from N.C. State University traveled with the professor to help with the experiment. All are volunteers.
Two studies will be conducted. A formal study, performed by Hartstone-Rose and his students, and a participatory study where anyone who will see at least a partial eclipse can record animal behaviors online. Hartstone-Rose also is interested to hear about farm animals as there is little research pertaining to them.
Today, Hartstone-Rose will be with the bonobos, apes and gibbons. He tells the Star Telegram he is excited to see the gibbons’ responses as their species is known to be rowdier and he anticipates the animals to possibly begin mating.
Students from Canada, at Fort Worth Zoo observe animals
As the partial eclipse began, students helping out with observations at the Fort Worth Zoo were in their place.
Edward Csuka, a science teacher in School District 43 in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and 49 of his students are in town helping Hartstone-Rose with his study.
School District 43 has students stationed across the continent. A number of zoos in the path of totality will have student-led observers stationed at exhibits watching the animals with just their eyes, pen and paper.
Rachel Smith, a doctoral candidate at N.C. State, was stationed at the primate enclosures. She told the Star Telegram that gibbons are very important to the study.
“We are hoping that they give us a unique vocalization. The siamangs in the past at the 2017 solar eclipse made a vocalization that zookeepers have never heard before,” Smith said.
Riley Burford, a student at School District 43, was observing the Asian elephants. He took note of where the elephants came from in the morning and expected them to gather at the same gate during the total eclipse.
“Dr. Adam told us during the 2017 eclipse that the elephants went into circadian response, so my hypothesis is that they will do the same thing.” said Burford.
Philadelphia family in Hillsboro for ‘a little piece of history’
Philadelphia resident Joshua Lennon still remembers watching the 2017 total solar eclipse with his then 3-year-old son.
While he enjoyed the experience, he wasn’t quite sure if his son understood the special occasion. Now a few years older, Lennon said his son was eager to see the eclipse and share the out-of-this-world feeling with him that he felt back in 2017.
“It was really amazing,” Lennon said.
Like many visiting Hillsboro for the eclipse, Lennon researched the best locations on the path of totality to see it. He was joined in Hillsboro by his wife, Erica Wolbramsky, and parents — Dave and Sherry Lennon.
The senior Lennons are from Tennessee, and live and travel full time in their recreational vehicle. They’ve booked a spot at an RV park in nearby Whitney and plan to stay in the area throughout the week.
For the whole family, their Hillsboro visit is a time to rest and enjoy the festivities.“This is a little piece of history,” Wolbramsky said.
Florida man drives 1,200 miles for ‘spectacular’ eclipse view in Hillsboro
Around 9:30 a.m. the sun began peeking through the gray cloudy skies over Hillsboro, much to the delight of Florida resident John Freemont.
Fremont, of Bonita Springs, Florida, traveled over 1,200 miles to the Lone Star State for the eclipse. He was in Kentucky for the 2017 total solar eclipse and said it was spectacular.
After doing his research on the best cities along the current path of totality, Freemont said he zeroed in on Hillsboro. His wife’s family lives in Fort Worth, so a Texas trip fit into their plans nicely.
Freemont was optimistic the clouds would keep on moving out of Hillsboro by eclipse time.
“Hope we can see it,” Freemont said.
When was last eclipse in North Texas and how is the weather?
The last time North Texas had front row seats to the phenomenon was in 1878 when shouts and cheers erupted as the moon’s shadow passed over the midday sun. Two days before the eclipse, rain and clouds dampened spirits around town, many fearing they’d miss out on a rare sight.
Here's the last hour of visible satellite imagery showing scattered low clouds expanding north. There are some breaks within the low clouds. High clouds are also streaming across the region. #txwx #Eclipse2024 #ctxwx pic.twitter.com/bulO0eOUt6
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) April 8, 2024
Weather is certainly a concern again this time around, since North Texas sees more severe storms in April. The Fort Worth office of the National Weather Service reports another series of severe storms are bearing down on the area..
A threat of large hail and possible tornadoes will come with new severe thunderstorms expected to move into Central and North Texas mere hours after the peak of totality of the solar eclipse Monday, according to a National Weather Service Fort Worth office report.
The series of thunderstorms moving northward into the region, pushed along by a boundary of unstable air, will approach the I-20 corridor as early as 3-4 p.m. Monday.
Father south, the Texas Eclipse Festival, a music and arts festival in Burnet, was canceled just hours before the rare celestial event because of the forecast for severe weather.
But before storms arrive in North Texas, clouds cleared enough in the Fort Worth area to allow good views of the eclipse, according to the weather service, which said the best viewing conditions were most likely to be north of I-20. Some unluckier areas had dense low clouds with low eclipse view-ability. Thinner high clouds in some spots allowed for many features to be viewable.
The path of the eclipse crossed four metropolitan cities from North Texas to the Hill Country — San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth were among the top places to witness the total solar eclipse.
What is traffic like?
A Texas Department of Transportation traffic map showed major roads were clear, with traffic moving normally in the Fort Worth area as of about 4 p.m.
Exactly what time did North Texas towns see solar eclipse?
Fort Worth
Partial eclipse begins — 12:23 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:41 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:43 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3:02 p.m.
Duration of totality — Two minutes 24 seconds
Lampasas
Partial eclipse begins — 12:18 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:35 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:40 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 2:58 p.m.
Duration of totality — Four minutes 26 seconds
Killeen
Partial eclipse begins — 12:19 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:36 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:41 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 2:59 p.m.
Duration of totality — Four minutes 16 seconds
Proctor
Partial eclipse begins — 12:20 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:38 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:39 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 2:59 p.m.
Duration of totality — One minutes 14 seconds
Cameron
Partial eclipse begins — 12:20 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:39 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:40 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3 p.m.
Duration of totality — 45 seconds
Waco
Partial eclipse begins — 12:21 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:38 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:42 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3:01 p.m.
Duration of totality — Four minutes 16 seconds
Corsicana
Partial eclipse begins — 12:23 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:42 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:44 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3:02 p.m.
Duration of totality — Four minutes five seconds
Roanoke
Partial eclipse begins — 12:23 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:42 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:43 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3:02 p.m.
Duration of totality — 59 seconds
Dallas
Partial eclipse begins — 12:24 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:41 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:45 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3:03 p.m.
Duration of totality — Three minutes 51 seconds
Celina
Partial eclipse begins — 12:25 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:43 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:44 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3:03 p.m.
Duration of totality — One minute 42 seconds
Canton
Partial eclipse begins — 12:25 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:42 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:46 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3:04 p.m.
Duration of totality — Four minutes eight seconds
Paris
Partial eclipse begins — 12:27 p.m.
Totality begins — 1:44 p.m.
Totality ends — 1:48 p.m.
Partial eclipse ends — 3:06 p.m.
Duration of totality — Three minutes 59 seconds
What can you see when clouds cover solar eclipse?
So, exactly how can clouds affect viewing parties? A report from the total solar eclipse in 1970 may shed some light.
“In the last 30 seconds we have witnessed the most incredible sight — in spite of the fact that we cannot see the sun — for it has become as dark as night.” Bill Plante, reporting from Halifax, Nova Scotia, told his CBS viewers during a special report on the 1970 total solar eclipse. “The light has fallen so quickly, from an acceptable twilight or reading level or cloud-cover level, to virtual night. And just off to the north and to the east, beneath this layer of dark, dark sky, there is a lovely pink and orange horizon; an orange and gold color. We say again, it was just an incredible and fascinating phenomenon, to have the skies go so suddenly dark, in less than 30 seconds, and now we have this totality of an eclipse.”
Joe Rao — space.com skywatching columnist, veteran meteorologist and eclipse chaser — shares a silver lining if indeed clouds interfere with the visibility of an event millions have waited to see once more since 2017.
The cloud cover may actually provide a “projection screen of sorts,” Rao writes, citing Isabel Martin Lewis’ description in her 1924 book, “A Handbook of Solar Eclipses,” as the moon’s shadow arrives and then retreats across the face of the sun.
An advantage for sure.
“At the time of eclipse when the shadow of the moon sweeps over us we are brought into direct contact with a tangible presence from space beyond and we feel the immensity of forces over which we have no control,” Lewis wrote. “The effect is awe-inspiring in the extreme. In fact, the passing of the moon’s shadow, if one is fortunate to observe it, will be one of the most impressive features of the eclipse.”
With mid- to high-level cloud cover, Rao explained that it may actually show a distinct contrast of the moon’s shadow crawling across the sun.
“Along with the sudden darkness came a change in the clouds’ color,” Rao wrote. “Indeed, along the very edge of the disappearing sun at the start and end of totality, an arc of ruby red or fuchsia associated with the solar chromosphere appeared. It looked bright red because the hydrogen in the sun was emitting a reddish light at high temperatures, and some of this light may become evident in the clouds at the beginning and end of totality.”
Staff writers Harrison Mantas, Noah Alcala Bach, Jaime Moore-Carrillo and Lina Ruiz contributed to this report.
