“This is a pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Dirk Grupe, chair of NKU’s Department of Physics, Geology and Engineering Technology. “The next time we will have an eclipse in the U.S. will be 2045, and the next time it comes close to this region is 2099.”
Northern Kentucky does not fall within the path of totality for the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, which is the path where one can observe the moon completely eclipsing the sun. Cincinnati is closer to the path of totality, but even it will not see a total eclipse.
But that doesn’t mean Northern Kentuckians will necessarily miss out. They just need to prepare.
Where to go and what to know
“The closest spots that I’d recommend are Harrison, Ohio,” said self-proclaimed rogue astronomer Dean Regas, who worked at the Cincinnati Observatory from 2000 to 2023. “So that’s the only place in Hamilton County that’s in the totality.”
Even then, Regas said, Harrison will only experience about a minute and a half of totality. Grupe and Regas both recommended going farther north into Butler County, Ohio or Dayton, Ohio to see longer totality periods. Wapakoneta, Ohio, the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, is also a good place to travel and will experience about four minutes of totality.
“West of Northern Kentucky, you can go out to like Batesville, Indiana, [or] Columbus, Indiana,” for some other good vantage points, as well, Regas said.
The Haile Planetarium at Northern Kentucky University is also organizing a special trip to Findlay, Ohio, located in the Northwest of the state, where participants can observe 3 minutes and 42 seconds of totality. Experts will be on hand with telescopes equipped with special solar filters. There will also be shows in an inflatable, portable planetarium as well as kids’ activities and lunch. Tickets are $20 while supplies last; Grupe told LINK nky that about 60 of the 100 spots had already been filled up. Participants are responsible for their own travel (buy tickets here).
Safety is naturally a concern, and experts are in agreement on one thing: Wear eclipse glasses.
“You really need these kind of glasses to protect you,” Grupe said.
The nerves in your retina lack pain receptors, and even during an eclipse, the sun’s ultraviolet rays can “damage your retina without [you] recognizing it,” Grupe said.
The only time it’s safe to take off the glasses is right during the totality, when the sun is completely obscured by the moon. But even this period is brief, so people should be aware of when to remove their glasses, if at all; don’t take them off if you’re not in a totality.
“The rule of thumb is that when you’re looking at the sun through the eclipse glasses, and you can’t see anything on the sun anymore, that means it’s eclipsed enough that you can take the glasses off and look at it for those few moments,” Regas said. “The second the sunlight pops back out the other side, then you got to put the glasses on right away.”
Don’t just buy any glasses, though. Glasses certified for the eclipse should be labeled as complying with the ISO 12312-2 international filtering standard.
Beware of cheap knockoffs that have the label but aren’t up to standard. Regas recommends testing your glasses with a very bright flashlight to check “if you can see any holes, any weak spots, that kind of thing” before using them.
In addition, the American Astronomical Society has compiled a list of safe suppliers, which you can read here, if you plan on buying online. The Haile Planetarium at NKU and the Cincinnati Observatory also have glasses on hand for local people.
Finally, you’ll need to plan for travel. Grupe said that it’s unlikely the traffic would be as bad as the last eclipse in 2017, but people will still be traveling. Moreover, many schools will be closed on the day of the eclipse, which may have an effect on traffic.
County Closed School Districts Boone County -Boone County Schools Kenton County -Beechwood Independent Schools (early release)
-Covington Independent Schools
-Erlanger-Elsmere Independent Schools
-Kenton County Schools
-Ludlow Independent SchoolsCampbell County -Bellevue Independent Schools
-Campbell County Schools
-Newport Independent Schools
-Southgate Independent Schools
“The event is expected to bring at least 150,000 visitors to the path where it crosses several Western Kentucky counties, with more than 1 million travelers predicted to drive through Kentucky to nearby viewing spots along the main path in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois,” said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray in a recent press release.
The cabinet will remove work zone restrictions on April 8 in areas where traffic is expected to be heaviest. In Northern Kentucky, the cabinet identified I-275 as the most affected road in the region.
Check out more resources for the eclipse below:
- NASA’s Eclipse Explorer for complete maps and times for the eclipse throughout the country
- NASA’s eclipse safety tips
- American Astronomical Society’s general eclipse tips
- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s travel and safety tips
- Haile Planetarium’s website
- Dean Regas’ website