On Monday, April 8th 2024, the first total solar eclipse in Texas will take place since July 29, 1878. On that Monday Wylie High School will take all students to the stadium to view the eclipse with provided solar eclipse glasses from the Perot museum, similar to the last solar eclipse in Texas in 2017 when students in all schools in the school district were taken mid class to observe the eclipse.
“I thought the eclipse was really cool, the totality and being around friends for this event. It was a once in a lifetime thing and I’m glad that the school helped us witness this,” Nathan Oksanen (11) said.
A solar eclipse is when the moon revolves around the earth to a point where it covers a majority of the visible sun, amplifying its brightness due to the contrast in colors. A total solar eclipse is when the moon covers the sun perfectly which rarely takes place. This eclipse is different also because the sun will be closest to the earth in its 11 year activity schedule. The ring of the sun will be bolder than normal making the eclipse more extraordinary.
“I like the solar eclipse and how it covers the sun, it’s like giant rim light in the sky and I think that really cool,” George Nguyen (11) said
Because of the total eclipse, a reported 200,000 people are traveling to Texas to witness the event. One fifth of a million people are spending a lot of money coming to Texas just to witness a four minute event, which should show how important this event is to the nation. This really is a once in a lifetime event, with totalitarian eclipse happening in the same place every 375 years. Meaning if you missed this event you will likely never see it again.