Arkansas town to host NASA's exclusive live broadcast of 2024 eclipse

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (KATV) — NASA is set to broadcast live from Arkansas during the Great North American Eclipse.

The Russellville Tourism and Visitors Center hosted a media day with NASA on '"All Things Eclipse" to discuss being the exclusive broadcast location for the April 8, 2024 eclipse.

This event is a really great opportunity to see the solar corona. Generally speaking, the yellow sun of what you’re used to seeing is what we call the photosphere," said Adam Kobelski, NASA research astrophysicist. "The corona is the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere. The earth just lives in this layer of the sun’s atmosphere so this is one of the few times you get to see it from the ground with the naked eye.

The solar eclipse is set to last for four minutes and 11-and-a-half seconds of totality.

It’s just going to be a huge event for Arkansas, especially for Russellville and we’re blessed enough to have NASA choose to broadcast from here," said Russellville Mayor Fred Teague. "We have a team coming in and getting some pre-information to determine where they want to broadcast.

The last time an eclipse was visible within the United States was six years ago in 2017.

“The next total solar eclipse to pass through a large chunk of the continent of the United States will not be until 2045," Kobelski said. "There will be one in 2044 that hits Montana and North Dakota, but we’ll have to wait till 2045 before we get to see a total solar eclipse in the continental U.S."

The mayor says this will draw people to the city of Russellville.

“It’s really amazing that NASA has chosen our hometown to be the place that they choose out of all of Arkansas," Teague said. "They could have chosen any community but they chose Russellville, Arkansas to broadcast so that is a really big thing for Russellville.”

All in all, it will hit parts of 13 U.S. states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Cities in its path include Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis; Cleveland and Buffalo, New York.

The exact location in Russellville that NASA will be broadcasting from is still being planned.