Solar Eclipse 2024

EclipseEC2.jpg

 

Countdown

Witness the 2024 Solar Eclipse in Grand Prairie 

On April 8, 2024, the second total solar eclipse in the U.S. in less than seven years will travel up through the country from Texas to Maine and Grand Prairie happens to be in the center of the path of totality. The 2024 eclipse promises to be even more spectacular than the historic 2017 eclipse, crossing over or coming close to more major cities and with a maximum duration of totality that's almost two minutes longer!

Grand Prairie, Texas will be in totality at approximately 1:42 p.m. CDT.
It will last 3 minutes and 35 seconds. 


Solar Eclipse Glasses

Eclipse Glasses.png

Get them while you can! Solar Eclipse glasses are being sold for $3 at the Grand Prairie Tourist Information Center located at 2170 N. Belt Line Rd.


Custom Grand Prairie Solar Eclipse T-Shirts

Commemorate this once in a lifetime experience with a custom Grand Prairie T-shirt!

solar eclipse tshirt

Order Yours!


Events

While you're in town for the Solar Eclipse enjoy some fun events happening around Grand Prairie!  

Thursday, April 4

Spotting Craters
Location: Main Library 901 Conover Dr. 
Time: 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Ages 4+

The full eclipse over DFW is April 8th so let’s countdown with some out of this world activities brought to us by Mission2Mars and the Franklin Institute. To register email Jennifer, jllusk@gptx.org

 Countdown to Eclipse -.png

Friday, April 5

Paper Mars Helicopters
Location: Main Library 901 Conover Dr. 
Time: 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Ages 4+

The full eclipse over DFW is April 8th so let’s countdown with some out of this world activities brought to us by Mission2Mars and the Franklin Institute. To register email Jennifer, jllusk@gptx.org

Countdown to Eclipse -.png

Saturday, April 6

Mars Candy Core Samples
Location: Main Library | 901 Conover Dr. 
Time: 11 a.m. 
Ages 4+

The full eclipse over DFW is April 8th so let’s countdown with some out of this world activities brought to us by Mission2Mars and the Franklin Institute. To register email Jennifer, jllusk@gptx.org

Countdown to Eclipse -.png


Totality Over Texas
Location: John Carl Pogue Planetarium |  3201 Corn Valley Rd. 
Times: 10 a.m., 11 .a.m. (Spanish), 12 p.m., 1 p.m. (Spanish), 2 p.m. 
Cost: $5 per person | each attendee will receive a free pair of Solar Eclipse glasses

A once in a lifetime astronomical event is happening over Texas in 2024! Total solar eclipses are a rare and beautiful phenomena, and in this new planetarium show you will learn how eclipses happen, how to safely view one, and where these two eclipses take place. Texas is the nexus for the annular eclipse of 2023 and the total solar eclipse of 2024!

Please arrive at least 15 minutes before showtime. Late entry is not allowed.

To purchase tickets, please click the time slot of your choice below! 

10 a.m. 11 .a.m. (Spanish) 12 p.m 1 p.m. (Spanish) 2 p.m.

Totality over Texas.gif


Opening Day of Farmers Market
Location: Market Square | 120 W. Main St. 
Time: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

Celebrate the start of Farmers Market season in Grand Prairie! Shop from local vendors selling all types of hand-made, home-made or home-grown goodies! 

Sunday, April 7

Market on the Move
Location: EpicCentral | 2961 State Hwy 161
Time: 8 a.m - 12 p.m. 

Enjoy all the fun of the Farmers Market at the new 172 acre entertainment district, EpicCentral. Catch a show from the laser, water & light show, Illuvia, listen to live music, grab some food & just hang out!

Monday, April 8

Eclipse Watch Party
Location: EpicCentral | 2961 State Hwy 161

It's eclipse day! Come out and experience this one in a lifetime moment at EpicCentral! Enjoy live music from Bandolero, hands-on activities & more while you wait on the total solar eclipse to happen! 

Don't have glasses? Don't worry you can purchase some glasses the day of from Visit Grand Prairie or get them ahead of time at the Tourist Information Center located at 2170 N. Belt Line Rd. 

Ripley's Astro Oddities
Location: Ripley's Believe It or Not! 601 E. Palace Pkwy
More Info: ripleys.com

On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, and Ripley’s is celebrating this Astro Oddity with a free watch party and very special guest at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Grand Prairie – one of the first U.S. cities to experience totality!

  • 12:00 p.m.     Watch Party Opens to the Public

  • 12:23 p.m.     Partial Eclipse Begins

  • 1:40 p.m.       Totality Begins

  • 1:42 p.m.       Maximum Totality

  • 1:44 p.m.       Totality Ends

  • 3:02 p.m.       Partial Eclipse Ends

Believe It or Not! this will be only the second total solar eclipse in the U.S. in less than seven years. The Great North American Eclipse will even have about two more minutes of maximum totality compared to 2017!

Ripley’s will be hosting Michael Papadakis, aka @Sunscribes, for a live art activation at this event. Dubbed Heliography, he uses an array of mirrors and lenses to focus the Sun's powerful rays into art! Believe It or Not! he will be immortalizing this unique day in solar history on a wooden canvas using the eclipsing Sun itself!

 

 


Eclipse path texas

What is an Eclipse? 

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun and the Moon blocks the Sun for a viewer on Earth. During a total eclipse, the Moon lines up perfectly to fully obscure the Sun, resulting in "totality"; in a partial eclipse, the Moon and the Sun are not perfectly aligned and only part of the Sun is blocked; and during an annular eclipse, alignment is perfect but the Moon is too far away from the Earth to completely obscure the Sun. The fact that a total solar eclipse is visible from Earth only along a very narrow path for just a few short minutes makes totality one of nature's rarest events.


What to expect 

Most people who have seen a total eclipse have described it as the most spectacular natural event they have ever witnessed. It starts as the Moon slowly obscures more and more of the Sun. As the eclipse deepens, the world around you takes on a strange tint and shadows become sharp and detailed. When just a thin crescent of light can be seen through your eclipse glasses, daylight begins to fade and rippling "shadow bands" might be seen on the ground. And then "totality," as the soft wisps of the solar corona surround a huge hole where the Sun used to be. You might notice a temperature drop and birds flying home to their nests. You're standing in a strange twilight, while a "sunset" glows all around you. Finally, totality comes to an end and the events occur in reverse order


Safety Tips

Solar Eclipse Safety Tips.png

Viewing Safety

  • View the Sun through eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer during the partial eclipse phases before and after totality.
  • If you normally wear eyeglasses, keep them on. Put your eclipse glasses on over them or hold your handheld viewer in front of them.
  • Always inspect your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer before use; if torn, scratched, or otherwise damaged, discard the device.
  • Always supervise children using solar viewers.
  • Do NOT look at the Sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury.

Driving Safety

  • Do not pull over on the shoulder of the highway to watch the eclipse.
  • Never take photographs while driving.
  • Do not wear opaque eclipse glasses or stare directly at the sun while operating a vehicle.
  • Pull over in a safe, designated parking space before the eclipse to view.
  • Be on the lookout for extra congestion from vehicles and pedestrians before, during, and after the eclipse.

 

More information on The Solar Eclipse 2024 at nationaleclipse.com