Where to watch next week’s solar eclipse in the Bay Area

Hamza Fahmy
·2 min read

(KRON) – The world will be experiencing a total eclipse on April 8. According to researchers, this might be the last one the U.S. will see until 2044. The eclipse will arc across Mexico, the United States, and Canada, and those in its 115-mile-wide path will experience one of nature’s awe-inspiring phenomena: when the moon completely covers the sun’s disc.

Here’s where you can get the best viewing experience of the rare eclipse on Monday (without burning off your eyes).

Blockbuster is returning to Benicia, kind of

This year, San Francisco’s Exploratorium will be on-site in Junction, Texas and Torreón, Mexico, where it will livestream images of all phases of the solar eclipse beginning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST), all for free. The eclipse’s totality is set for 11:17 a.m. in Torreón and 11:32 a.m. in Junction.

Photo Courtesy: San Francisco Exploratorium
Photo Courtesy: San Francisco Exploratorium

While San Francisco is not in the path of totality, the city will still get to experience a partial eclipse. The Exploratorium will host an eclipse watch party at Pier 15 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. on Monday, where visitors will get a free pair of solar viewing glasses and be offered hour-long educational programs in English and Spanish.

Live streams from Texas and Mexico will be screened throughout the entire museum, the Exploratorium said.

“Total solar eclipses are awe-inspiring natural events, but not everyone gets a chance to see one in person, which is why we make such a big effort to help people experience them virtually,” said Rob Semper, Chief Learning Officer at the Exploratorium. “Sharing these extraordinary events and the celestial mechanics behind them is a wonderful part of our mission to make science accessible to everyone, everywhere.”

The Exploratorium has been bringing eclipses to the public since 1998. It was the first museum to webcast eclipse images from a telescope 25 years ago. Since then, they have partnered with NASA on eclipse expeditions around the world, from Turkey and China to remote Zambia and Micronesia.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.