Aug 21, 2017
BATAVIA — Barring cloud cover, Batavia’s view of the sun will be no different through 1 p.m. Monday than any other day.
But Monday is no normal day. A solar eclipse will not be total, but for the next three hours we will be able to see a sweeping change in the sky.
It’s obviously dangerous — and painful — to look directly at the sun. The National Weather Service has offered safety advice for observers, including those using eclipse glasses or other solar filters.
The advice includes:
â– Always inspect your solar filter before use. If it’s scratched or damaged, discard it.
â– Read and follow any instructions printed on, or packaged with, the filter. Always supervise children using solar filters.
â– Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking up at the bright sun. After glancing at the sun, turn away and remove your filter. Do not remove it while looking at the sun.
â– Do not look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical device.
Similarly, do not look at the sun through a camera, telescope, binoculars or other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will damage the filter and enter your eyes, causing serious injury.
Seek expert advice from an astronomer before using solar filter with a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device.
â– If you are within the path of totality, remove your solar filter only when the moon completely covers the sun’s bright face and it suddenly gets quite dark. Experience totality, then, as soon as the bright sun begins to reappear, replace your solar viewer to glance at the remaining partial phases.
A full eclipse on the horizon
If the weather or your schedule marr a glimpse at Monday’s solar eclipse, take heart. You won’t have to wait long for Batavia to see an even greater show.
Clear your schedule for April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse will pass over the city and the entire GLOW Region that afternoon.
It will be the first total eclipse visible in Batavia since Jan. 24, 1925, and the last for 120 years.
According to a projection created by TimeAndDate.com, Batavia will have a full total eclipse for 223 seconds between 3:19 p.m. to 3:22 p.m. that Monday and a partial eclipse for nearly two and a half hours.
Geneseo’s will follow roughly thirty seconds behind.
The 2024 total eclipse will pass over northern Mexico before crossing San Antonio, Dallas, Little Rock, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Erie before reaching western New York.
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Watertown will all see the full-extent event before it passes over Canada’s Maritimes and concludes over the Atlantic Ocean.
Future eclipses in Batavia
â– The sunrise on June 10, 2021 will be delayed by an eclipse, which will cover an even greater portion of the sun than Monday’s eclipse.
The bottom edge of the sun will peak out just before the local eclipse’s maximum at around 5:38 a.m. on that Thursday before the even ends an hour later.
â– The next day-time eclipse visible in Batavia comes on Oct. 14, 2023, when Saturday pumpkin picking and leaf-raking will be set aside.
The eclipse will be a less impressive version of Monday’s event, with portions of lower right-hand corner of the sun being shadowed for about 150 minutes, peaking at around 1:12 p.m.
â– The next largest partial eclipses are coming in Jan. 14 2029, Nov. 4, 2040, Aug. 12, 2045 and June 11, 2048.
â– If you are holding out for the next total solar eclipse visible in Batavia, we wish you good luck and good health. A near-total eclipse will come at what would be sunrise at 6:09 a.m. May 1, 2079.
A five-year-old watching the Batavia’s 2024 eclipse will be a sprightly 125 when it happens again — Oct. 26, 2144.
Includes contributions from Assistant Editor Matt Surtel
