What Does a Cracker Have to Do With This Year’s Solar Eclipse in New York?

April 8, 2024, will be an exciting day for some parts of the United States. That is the day the next total solar eclipse will be visible in the United States. Well, at least to some.

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That depends of course on Mother Nature parting the clouds so those areas in the patch will be able to see this spectacular event.

As I mentioned in an article a couple of years ago, yes, parts of New York State will be in the total eclipse path. Those areas include parts of Western, Central, and Northern New York.

Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and portions of the upper ends of Seneca and Cayuga Lakes in the Finger Lakes will be in the total eclipse path. A small area of Western Pennsylvania will also be in the path including Erie.

Maximum totality for Erie will be at 3:18 p.m. and Buffalo at 3:20 p.m. according to NASA. The Binghamton area won't be shut out of the experience, we just won't get to see a total eclipse. However, according to the Eclipse 2024 website, Binghamton will be a deep partial with a magnitude of 97.2%.

If you plan on viewing the upcoming eclipse, use caution, and that means eye protection. As NASA points out, looking at the sun "through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury."

So what can you do? Well, the Smithsonian National Space and Air Museum has some suggestions, including an odd one, I never would have thought of - viewing the eclipse through the holes of a cracker. Take a look below for how that and other safe viewing ideas could work.