Solar eclipse will be partially visible in Mid-Hudson: What Middletown residents will see
If you want to see the April 8 eclipse of the sun in all its totality, you need to travel upstate, to places like Buffalo or Hornell.
But those who can't leave Orange, Ulster or Sullivan counties won't completely miss out on the fun.
Places like Middletown, Monticello and Kingston are close enough to see a partial eclipse, and the skies will still turn plenty dark.
This is the first time in nearly a century that New York state has been in the path of a total solar eclipse, and the next one won't come until 2099, 75 years from now.
When will you see the eclipse in Middletown, NY
The eclipse won't last long. The 115-mile-wide path of totality will enter the southwestern area of New York at 3:15 p.m., and it will exit northern New York just before 3:30 p.m.
Here are the peak viewing times to catch the partial eclipse in the Middletown area:
Middletown: 3:25:20 p.m.
Warwick: 3:25:20 p.m.
Montgomery: 3:25:40 p.m.
Wallkill: 3:25:40 p.m.
Newburgh: 3:25:50 p.m.
For those in the path of totality, those few minutes when the sun is completely blocked by the moon are the only time when it is safe to look directly at the sun.
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How to safely view the eclipse
For all others and at all other times during the eclipse, NASA recommends safe solar viewing glasses, commonly known as eclipse glasses, to protect your eyes from being damaged by the direct rays of the sun.
Eclipse glasses are thousands of times darker than regular sunglasses, which are not a safe option for viewing the eclipse either.
And even while you are wearing eclipse glasses, NASA strongly advises viewers not to look at the sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars or any other optical device. The concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury almost immediately, according to the American Astronomical Society.
So, where to find eclipse glasses? A quick Google search should help you out.
Eclipse websites like GreatAmericanEclipse.com and NationalEclipse.com, are selling a variety of eyewear products and other gadgets eclipse watchers might want or need, and Amazon and other online retailers also are reported to be selling eclipse glasses in bulk.
There's also the old-fashioned "pinhole projector" method - punching a hole in an index card and projecting an image of the sun onto a nearby surface.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Solar eclipse in Mid-Hudson region: What you'll see in Orange County
