Solar eclipse 2024: Palm Beach County sees rare sun event. 'A life-changing event.'

Today, April 8, is when parts of the U.S. will see the rare total eclipse of the sun. In Palm Beach County, more than 1,000 miles from the eastern edge of the solar eclipse's path of totality, we'll see 50% of the sun covered by the moon. It'll begin at 1:48 p.m. and last through about 4 p.m. Maximum coverage of the sun by the moon will be at 3:03 p.m.

Remember, do not look directly at the sun during the eclipse. You'll need special eclipse glasses because normal sunglasses — even those with the darkest lenses — aren't enough to protect your eyes from damaging rays.

We'll provide coverage of the eclipse from Palm Beach County and the nation all day. Enjoy!

'The black is the moon? Watch party in downtown West Palm Beach

A celestial watch party crowd gathered in the courtyard behind the city library near West Palm Beach City Hall. 

Organized by the Downtown Development Authority, sun watchers listened to music played by a DJ as they looked up. 

"It's something unique for downtown West Palm Beach," said the DDA's associate executive director, Teneka Feeman. "This is a great opportunity. It's not going to happen again for another 20 years."

Phil Growick came out to see the eclipse with his wife, Maiju Growick. 

"Everybody in the world is thinking about it," she said of the eclipse. "Things like this bring people together. I think we need to come up with an artificial eclipse once a week."

As the Growicks spoke, a line formed behind the telescope Stephen Schiff brought to the courtyard. 

Schiff is a planetary educator in Boynton Beach and a member of the Astronomical Society of the Palm Beaches. 

He said his fellow stargazers in the society all headed East to view the total eclipse.

"I was the only one in the group who couldn't make the trip to totality," he said. 

So Schiff brought his telescope to let people safely view the partial eclipse. 

"The black is the moon?" a woman asked excitedly.

"Yes, it is," Schiff said. 

As the next person took their turn, Schiff said the eclipse is special. 

"This is a lifetime-changing event," he said. "Everyone should see it at least once."

— Wayne Washington

More than 1,000 students watch eclipse at Saint Andrew's School in Boca

Schoolchildren throughout Palm Beach County followed zealous science teachers outside to observe the celestial event.

At Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, more than 1,000 students and staff took to the football field to gaze up at the sun.

Excited students flurried around the field in the 20 minutes leading up to the zenith of the eclipse — comparing their ISO-certified eclipse viewing glasses with their sunglasses and cartwheeling through the freshly cut grass.

Emmanuel Bravo, 14, stood in line with dozens of others to look through a telescope focused on the sun and filtered for eye safety. Bravo was fresh off a trip to Cape Canaveral for spring break where he saw the launch of the Delta IV Heavy rocket. Unfortunately, the rocket never took off while he visited (it's scheduled to launch Tuesday, April 9), but seeing the eclipse with all his friends made him “ecstatic,” he said.

“I’ve loved space since I was a kid, and it’s just so much fun to think about how rare eclipses are,” Bravo said.

He’s also used this week to think about the next solar eclipse visible from the U.S., which will be in 2044.

“The high school class graduating that year hasn’t even been born yet,” Bravo reflected.

For his part, Bravo said he hopes to be a successful aerospace engineer living abroad by the next solar eclipse.

“Or watching it from another planet,” he added.

— Kati Kokal

Visitor from the Philippines gets to see eclipse in Palm Beach Gardens

At a family event at Mirasol Park, in Palm Beach Gardens, Vera Cabrera, 32, was visiting from the Philippines and was overjoyed that she could get the chance to see an eclipse.

“This isn’t really something I can see back home,” said Cabrera. “It doesn’t always pass that side of the world, so that makes this special to me.”

Rob Stickle took his 12-year-old daughter — who owns a collection of NASA T-shirts — to the event because she is a big fan of astronomy and couldn’t wait to see the eclipse.

This is Stickle’s second time viewing an eclipse and he said that the concept of totality gives him a sense of his place in the universe.

“The eclipse makes you realize where you are, how big the universe is, how small we are, and how awesome nature is,” said Stickle, 52.

He noted that society has come a long way from hundreds of years ago when an eclipse was viewed as a bad omen. For Stickle, it has the opposite meaning.

“It’s a very positive thing for me because I get to have this cool experience with my daughter,” Stickle said. “I wasn’t super excited about it until she got excited about it, and now it's a father-daughter thing.”

Tom Vasi of Palm Beach Gardens said that once he saw the eclipse, he understood why ancient people thought gods were responsible for it.

“It is so phenomenal,” Vasi said. “But I didn’t have an existential moment (because of it).”

At 3:07, the crowd broke into a roaring applause. One yelled “It’s happening!” as the clouds parted, giving residents a pristine view of the eclipse.

— Maya Washburn

Does a solar eclipse affect animals?

A total eclipse means the sun suddenly disappears at a time of day when it shouldn't — and that can have some surprising effects on animals' behaviors.

During previous eclipses, people around the globe have noticed a surreal silence as birds, bugs and animals interrupted their normal activities.

And researchers have observed all sorts of unusual things at zoos: Flamingos gathered in a circle around their babies to protect them. Giraffes began galloping around their enclosure. Swarms of birds large enough to appear on radar suddenly left the sky and roosted in trees. Gorillas marched to their dens, expecting their final meal of the day. The ancient Galapagos tortoises started mating.

Because Palm Beach County isn't in the path of totality, we saw only 50% of the moon covering the sun.

For places like Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee, the wildlife paid little heed to the celestial event on Monday. Because the eclipse was only partial, the staff did not make any special arrangements, said spokeswoman Haley McCann-Gonzales. 

Had the region been in the path of totality, some of the animals may have mistaken the mid-day darkness for the onset of evening, McCann-Gonzales said. The lions and rhinoceros, for example, have evening routines including going to their nighttime enclosures and paddocks, and they may have started those behaviors as the sun was blocked.

The animals at the Palm Beach Zoo went about their business as usual, happy to see plenty of visitors, reports zoo spokeswoman Erin Ward. The only difference Monday? Those visitors brought special eyewear to better view the eclipse and, when the show in the heavens began, their eyes turned to the sky, Ward said. 

— Eddie Ritz, Palm Beach Post and Elizabeth Weise, USA Today

Will weather affect the eclipse in Palm Beach County?

The National Weather Service in Miami is calling for mostly sunny skies today for the partial solar eclipse but gusty onshore winds are already sending fluffy cumulus clouds over the east coast. 

An hourly forecast for West Palm Beach has increased the amount of sky that will be covered by clouds to 47% at the peak of the eclipse near 3 p.m. Winds are forecast to be gusting to 22 mph with temperatures in the upper 70s. 

For full story, go here.

Cox Science Center ready to host about 1,000 people

The Cox Science Center in West Palm Beach is readying for at least 1,000 people to view the partial solar eclipse through its 10-inch refraction telescope, the largest public telescope in South Florida. 

This is the second partial solar eclipse for the telescope, completed in 2018 with private donations of $60,000. The center will use three different filters that will show sun spots, solar flares and the sun's surface. 

The science center has about 1,300 pairs of glasses and is expecting them all to be given away. 

"We're seeing things we never thought we'd see in South Florida," said Marc Wiscoff, senior technology advisor and adjunct curator at the Marmot Observatory at the science center about the telescope. 

The view of the eclipse through the telescope will be livestreamed on screens throughout the science center. Although South Florida will see only about 50% of the sun covered, Wiscoff said it's a rare experience.

"It's something which is just an incredible phenomenon, and if you can experience it in a group, it has a cohesiveness showing the amazing power of nature," Wiscoff said.

— Kim Miller

Can I shoot the eclipse with my phone?

It's well known that during the solar eclipse, without protective gear the sun can damage your eyes permanently. However, your cellphone camera might also be at risk. 

According to NASA, the phone sensor could be at a high risk of damage like any other image sensor if pointed directly at the sun. 

For the full story, go here.

Watch the solar eclipse lives across the nation

Where to get free eclipse glasses in Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County libraries and the Mandel Public Library in West Palm Beach were giving away free eclipse glasses but the Mandel said Monday they had run out.

But the city will give out glasses at a City Hall viewing event from 2-4 p.m. today.

The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority is hosting an eclipse viewing party in the courtyard at City Hall. Snacks, coffee and water will be available for purchase. Dr. Steven Schiff from the Astronomical Society of the Palm Beaches will be at the event with a telescope equipped with a solar filter, allowing a close-up view of the eclipse and provide pinhole paper for those who wish to experience the eclipse without glasses. City Hall is located at 401 Clematis St. in downtown West Palm Beach.

If you don't have eclipse glasses, you can look through a pinhole projector, or even hold a colander in the sun's glare so that an image of the moon moving across the sun will show in shadow on the ground.

Here's how to watch the eclipse without special glasses

The eclipse can be seen via protective solar eclipse glasses, shadows on the ground or other creative (and safe) means. Interestingly, you can find some items in your kitchen pantry or the kitchen utensil drawer.

Experts warn people should not look up directly at the sun to avoid blindness or damage to the eyes.

As a warning, 3-dimensional glasses will not protect your eyes during an eclipse. Do not wear them and look at the sun during an eclipse.

You can use a buttery round cracker (think Ritz) and a white sheet of paper. With your back toward the sun, hold the cracker up to the paper. Your eyes should be looking away from the sun, which is what’s required for safe, indirect viewing, experts say. The solar eclipse will filter through the tiny cracker holes. If you don't have a Ritz cracker, a Saltine cracker works just as well.

You can use a slotted spoon with round holes in it. Again, with your back toward the sun, hold up the spoon to the sheet of paper and watch the solar eclipse project an image.

Use a colander or pasta strainer with holes — not slots. According to Dennis Ward, retired president of Longmont Astronomical Society in Colorado, “Another great projection viewing device is a colander or pasta strainer with holes, not slots.“ Same instructions apply, stand with your back toward the sun, and hold up the colander to the sheet of paper to see the eclipse.

If you don't have any of these things, you can look to the ground, particularly a white or gray sidewalk, and check out the shadows made by tree leaves. Miniature crescent moon shapes (fat crescents and thin crescents, depending on max viewing time) will show up.

Reminder, it is not safe to look up at the sun during a solar eclipse while wearing sunglasses, no matter how dark the lenses are.

— Jennifer Sangalang

Are there any viewing parties in Palm Beach County?

Yes, here a few viewing parties from Palm Beach County and South Florida.

PALM BEACH GARDENS: This free family event will include viewing glasses, craft projects, snacks, safety information and a presentation about solar eclipses. Guests are encouraged to bring a blanket or chair for viewing. All ages are welcome.

The viewing party is at Mirasol Park, located at 12385 Jog Road in Palm Beach Gardens, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

WEST PALM BEACH: The Cox Science Center will allow guests to view the partial solar eclipse inside the observatory, which holds South Florida's largest publicly available telescope. The 10-foot refracting telescope with solar filters will allow space enthusiasts to view the eclipse safely without the need of solar glasses. The viewing is included with regular general admission to the Science Center. General admission is $24 for adults; $20 for children 3-12; $22 for seniors (ages 60 and above). The viewing party is at Cox Science Museum, located at 4801 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. 

WEST PALM BEACH: The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority is hosting an eclipse viewing party in the courtyard at City Hall from 2 to 4 p.m. Snacks, coffee and water will be available for purchase by Salento Coffee. DD will distribute free eclipse glasses during the watch party. Dr. Steven Schiff from the Astronomical Society of the Palm Beaches will be at the event with a telescope equipped with a solar filter, allowing a close-up view of the eclipse and provide pinhole paper for those who wish to experience the eclipse without glasses. City Hall is located at 401 Clematis St. in downtown West Palm Beach.

BOCA RATION:Florida Atlantic University’s observatory in Boca Raton will host a 'Sidewalk Astronomy Event' on the university's East Lawn next to the building from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. At the event, the school will distribute safe eclipse-viewing glasses and provide a demonstration on how to use them safely. They will also have models that discuss eclipses, as well as telescopes set up to safely observe the celestial passage.

FORT LAUDERDALE: The Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale (401 SW 2nd Street) from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

MIAMI: Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami (1101 Biscayne Boulevard): Noon to 4:30 p.m.