On April 8th, millions of people living in the United States will be able to see the extraordinary event that occurs when the moon covers the face of the sun, leaving us to abruptly see darkness in the sky like its late at night. However, only some people will see the Solar Eclipse for its full glory. Since you must be in certain locations that follow the eclipses path, only the middle eastern and east regions of the United States will be allowed to see the total solar eclipse. This doesn’t mean the rest of the country won’t be able to see it though, with people outside the eclipse path being able to see a slight glimpse of darkness depending on how far away you are from the path.
Sadly, or luckily for some, Fresno won’t see a major eclipse in the sky during the day and will instead see the moon slightly covering the bright face of the sun during the times of 10:12 AM and 12:21 PM. But when will we be able to see it best here at Bullard? Well, according to the NSO (National Solar Observatory), Bullard will see it best at 11:15 AM and will see approximately 40.46% of the eclipse. This is still enough for us to need eclipse glasses that humans need in order to see the eclipse in the sky. Which if you don’t, you can become blind. This is because the eye will adjust to the low light in the sky, causing your pupil to expand. But, since the UV radiation is still high from the sun, this can cause damage to the cornea and retina in your eye.
Hopefully, students at Bullard won’t look at the eclipse without glasses and can enjoy the one-of-a-kind event that won’t happen here until 2045. If you would like to see how much of the eclipse will be visible to you no matter where you are, visit the NSO interactive map website at https://nso.edu/for-public/eclipse-map-2024/ .