Space Coast

What the solar eclipse will look like in Central Florida

Central Florida Public Media | By Marian Summerall

Published April 8, 2024 at 10:40 AM EDT

People are seen as they watch a total solar eclipse through protective glasses in Madras, Oregon on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe.

Central Florida residents can expect more shade than normal as a rare phenomenon takes over the skies.

A solar eclipse will cross over North America on Monday. Although the path of totality in the U.S. ranges from Texas to Maine, Central Florida residents will experience a darkening effect similar to cloudy skies during the partial eclipse.

NASA says Orlando can expect a maximum of 57% coverage from the eclipse, with the most coverage beginning around 3 p.m.

It's essential to wear proper eclipse glasses even during the partial eclipse that Central Floridian’s will witness. Terry Oswalt, an astronomer and associate dean of the physical sciences department at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, said that viewers should be very careful while gazing up at the bright sun.

“Don't just buy them off the street unless you know for sure they've been certified,” Oswalt said.” “There's no point in observing a partial eclipse of the sun where you cannot wear those glasses. So the whole whole event - wear those glasses.”

Oswalt said the main thing people can witness are small images of the sun’s crescent shape.

When the sunlight filters through the trees, people will see little “pinhole images” of the sun, he said. “There'll be crescents all around you on the ground.

“And so people will notice some weird shadows and weird, weird shapes underneath things like screens and trees, and anything that has little holes in it that sunlight can filter through. So that'll be the most obvious clue for a partial eclipse.”

Floridians will have an opportunity to see a total solar eclipse in 2045, when Florida is in the path of totality.

Oswalt said the eclipse is an unbelievable experience, and people should be excited to participate in viewing it.

“Something like 32 million people will already be in the totality line, because it passes over a half a dozen major cities this time, and roughly 300 million people are within a couple of days' drive,” Oswalt said. “So it's a once-in-a lifetime deal. There's no comparison between a partial eclipse and a total eclipse.”

For viewers who wish to see the total eclipse, NASA will be broadcasting it with live videos.