Solar Eclipse 2024: 89% Obscuration Of Sun On Staten Island, With Phase of Totality At 3:26PM – Photos

April 9, 2024 Beverly OHannah 0 Environment, Events, New York City News, News, Science, Science and Technology, SI Communities, SI Scenes, Staten Island Families, Staten Island News, Staten Island Photos, Staten Islander Exclusive

Solar Eclipse passes over Staten Island, blocks 89% of the sun.

Most Staten Islanders stepped out of their homes on Monday to find that the sky had darkened, and we were in the process of an almost-total solar eclipse. The Path of Totality for our area was primarily in Upstate New York, and included Buffalo, Rochester, and Watertown, where there was total darkness for a brief time.

The phase of totality, or moment of greatest occlusion, was quite fleeting, lasting only a few seconds before the moon’s shadow began to move off the sun.

The following is from the National Weather Service, which was tracking the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th.

“On Monday April 8, 2024 a total solar eclipse will cross North America. The eclipse will be seen across portions of Mexico, the central and eastern United States, and southeastern Canada. The path of totality will first enter the United States in Texas, then advance northeast across the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys and reach New York State during the mid-afternoon.

“A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun at just the right time and orientation, with the Moon casting a shadow on a portion of the Earth’s surface. Sometimes, the Moon only blocks part of the visible face of the Sun, which results in a partial solar eclipse. On more rare occasions, the Moon entirely blocks the face of the Sun and results in a total solar eclipse. Places in the path of totality, including most of Western and North Central NY, will experience several minutes of darkened sky similar to the twilight seen before sunrise or after sunset. If we have clear skies on the day of the eclipse, an incredible view of the Sun’s corona will be seen during the few minutes of totality. The Sun’s corona is normally not visible, except during a total solar eclipse. The corona is wispy, white streamers of plasma (charged gas) that radiate out from the surface of the sun.”

NASA says the following about looking at or taking a photo of the sun during a solar eclipse, “Except during the brief phase of totality during a total solar eclipse, you should never look directly at the Sun without proper eye protection specially designed for solar viewing. Do not use standard binoculars or telescopes to watch a solar eclipse without safe solar filters attached to the front of the device. Regular sunglasses are NOT safe for attempting to look directly at the Sun.”

Eclipse Timeline. Image Credit – NASA

These three images are a closeup of the moment of maximum occlusion (or the phase of totality) during the solar eclipse of 2024, on April 8th at 2:36pm on Staten Island:

Solar Eclipse phase of totality. Image Credit – Staten Islander News

National Weather Service Eclipse graphic. Image Credit – NWS

The following photos were contributed by Sean Fitz of the progress of the solar eclipse:

Solar eclipse Phase of Totality for Staten Island. Image Credit – Sean Fitzpatrick

The following three photos were taken at the moment of maximum coverage of the sun:

Photos of the solar eclipse. Image Credit – Staten Islander News

The following two images were taken just after the moon moved away from the sun, making the occlusion more difficult to see.

Photos of the solar eclipse. Image Credit – Staten Islander News

The photos below were taken into a Box Pinhole Projector, made with instructions from NASA, seen in the video below. You can see the progression of the moon over the sun in the photos: