Solar Eclipse In Alexandria: Where And When To See It

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Excitement is building in Alexandria for the April 8 total solar eclipse. We’re not among some 32 million Americans living in the path of totality, but neither will we miss out on the celestial sensation.

In the United States, the path of totality extends from Texas to Maine, but each of the 48 continental states will see some of the solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon slips between our bright star and Earth. The event is certainly rare, as NASA says the next total solar eclipse in North America won't happen until 2044. North America's next partial solar eclipse is expected on March 29, 2025.

None of the total solar eclipse will reach Virginia, but the partial eclipse will be viewable. In Alexandria, the moon will cover about 87.1 percent of the sun at the peak of the eclipse, according to a NASA map that is searchable by ZIP code.

Here are the details:

Partial eclipse begins: 2:04 p.m.
Maximum: 3:20 p.m.
Partial ends: 4:32 p.m.

The eclipse will last nearly two and a half hours from beginning to end in Alexandria.

Alexandria area solar eclipse viewing events on April 8 include:

• Solar Eclipse Viewing Party at Presbyterian Cemetery: 2 p.m.
• Eclipsed at Old Town Pool: 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. (canceled)
• Solar Eclipse Viewing Party at Ben Brenman Park: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse Festival on the National Mall: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse Viewing at Gateway Park: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Safely See Partial Solar Eclipse at Historic Huntley: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• View the Solar Eclipse at Sherwood Regional Library: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library will also hold solar eclipse activities for children in kindergarten to fifth grade on April 5 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The total solar eclipse starts in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as small parts of Tennessee and Michigan, before entering Canada in southern Ontario through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton before exiting continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

• Related: Animals May Behave Oddly During Eclipse