Matthew Abbott for The New York Times
Unless you've been living under a rock or perhaps in a cave, you're probably heard about the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024. The New York Times has a nice and informative story about the event. Here is the Chicagoland area, we are at around the 90% band. That's pretty significant. Hopefully, the weather will work out and we'll have a nice view.
Be safe and use eclipse glasses to protect your eyesight!
That started to change as August 2017 got closer. Carbondale, which planned for that eclipse for three years, welcomed around 14,000 people. Clouds obstructed much of the view that day, but the communal experience struck people nonetheless. Excitement from that event continues to reverberate seven years later.
“The vibe is still pretty electric here,” Mr. Baer said. “A lot of anticipation.”
Not everyone was as prepared as Carbondale was in 2017. Seventy miles away, city officials in Paducah, Ky., were surprised by the number of visitors they got.
“We had no idea what to expect,” said Angela Schade, a downtown development specialist in Paducah’s planning department. She remembers locals renting out their yards to campers in an attempt to make room for everyone coming for the eclipse. Ms. Schade watched the spectacle from the parking lot at work but didn’t fully comprehend what she was experiencing.
This year, Paducah is organizing a street fair where educators will teach people about the science of eclipses. The National Quilt Museum — Paducah’s claim to fame — will host an exhibition featuring the work of Karen Nyberg, a retired NASA astronaut who makes space-themed quilts.
