APRIL 8, 2024, TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

Our area is expecting great interest in the April 8, 2024 eclipse. Since 2021, our club has been receiving requests for help during the week leading up to the eclipse and on eclipse day. Our members are hosting family and friends during the week prior to the eclipse and will be busy entertaining our guests. As a result, we are declining all requests for our astronomers to assist organizations and individuals during that time.

In Fredericksburg and Kerrville, totality will occur around 1:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time. If we have clear skies, the total eclipse will be so spectacular that it will be worth your travel! It will not matter much where you view it along the centerline, and you will not need an astronomer or a telescope to enjoy it. The best views prior to totality will be with your eclipse glasses. Take them off during totality and enjoy the spectacle! Be sure you put them back on before totality ends.

As with all eclipse planning, regardless of the world location, lodging for this eclipse will be difficult to reserve and expensive. Consider lodging outside of the eclipse path and driving into the path before sunrise. To avoid traffic jams, we recommend that you arrive at your observing location before dawn on April 8 and enter or park in line at the entrance until gates open.

Here are some links with information about safety, viewing locations, lodging, etc. Please check these websites periodically for updates.

 
American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters & Viewers: https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters

Eclipse2024.org

https://eclipse2024.org/

Fredericksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau

https://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/eclipse/

Hill Country Alliance

https://hillcountryalliance.org/eclipse

Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau

https://www.kerrvilletexascvb.com/p/things-to-do/eclipse-2024

Lower Colorado River Authority

https://www.lcra.org/

All LCRA parks will be open for the eclipse; however, all overnight camping sites have been reserved. LCRA will sell day passes for eclipse day. Watch its website for the announcement of the day pass sale.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

https://tpwd.texas.gov/s?q=eclipse

For camping and day pass reservations: https://texasstateparks.reserveamerica.com/ or call 512.389.8900 and select option 1. Expect long hold times for call-in reservations. State park passes can be used, but you will still need a reservation to enter the parks the day of the eclipse.