Plan Your Eclipse Party HOST | PLAN | PROMOTE

Choose a Location

  • Many eclipse enthusiasts host parties in local community centers, museums, observatories, parks or open fields. Even your own backyard is a good place to throw a party.
  • It’s always a good idea to choose place that has access to shade and facilities like restrooms and water fountains.
  • Keep an eye on weather websites for forecasts of your area. If the clouds move in, don’t worry! You can always connect to the live-streaming evens listed below.
  • Keep checking for other eclipse events in your area.
  • Timing is everything! Observers should be made aware of the precise start time, duration and end time of totality for their location.

Watch the Live Stream

If you’re not directly in the path, don’t worry. There are several ways for you to enjoy the entire experience from afar.

NASA Total Solar Eclipse Webcast

Date: Monday, April 8, 2024

Time: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT

Join NASA as a total solar eclipse moves across North America on April 8, 2024, traveling through Mexico, across the United States from Texas to Maine, and out across Canada’s Atlantic coast. Tune in for live views from across the path, expert commentary, live demos, and more.

Eclipse 2024 Live from SIU Carbondale

Date: Monday, April 8, 2024

Time: TBD

Tune in to the SolarSTEAM for an unforgettable experience of the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse.

ECLIPSE 2024 LIVE FROM SIU CARBONDALE

Tune in to the SolarSTEAM YouTube channel from anywhere in the world on April 8 and watch our live broadcast of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. See totality from telescope feeds in Mexico, the USA, and Canada. Engage with amateur astronomers, eclipse chasers, and NASA scientists. Come along with us on an exciting journey as we follow the shadow from first contact in Mexico, to totality at SIU Carbondale, and through last contact in Canada.

ECLIPSE EVE LIVE – SKY OBSERVERS HANGOUT

Join the Adler Planetarium of Chicago on April 7, 2024 for this special episode of the Adler Planetarium of Chicago Sky Observers Hangout, broadcast in front of a live audience from the steps of Shryock Auditorium at Southern Illinois University. Adler’s astronomy educators, Michelle and Hunter, will ensure that you’re fully equipped to observe the eclipse, but they won’t be alone! Special guests from SIU, SolarSTEAM, and NASA will join them on-stream, so come with all your eclipse questions in the chat!

SOLAR TELESCOPE FEEDS

SolarSTEAM in partnership with the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative and SIU Carbondale brings you live multi-wavelength video telescope feeds from across North America for the 2024 total solar eclipse via in person events, WSIU PBS programming, and through our YouTube channels. DEB processed imagery is available on the DEB image server from all 82 volunteer citizen science sites from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.

NASA EDGE

NASA EDGE is returning to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale to help share the DEB telescope feeds along the path and participate in the NASA TV broadcast of the 2024 Total Eclipse.

Exploratorium Total Solar Eclipse Webcast

Date: April 8, 2024

Time: 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT

Dive into the eclipse with our live telescope feeds and educational programming with live coverage of the eclipse from the Junction, Texas.

Join an Online Discussion: #Eclipse2023, #Eclipse2024

Stay up to date with the latest information from our eclipse community through a variety of social media channels.

SolarSTEAM Channels


APL Channels


NASA EDGE Channels
Exploratorium Channels
(SPANISH)

NASA Channels


NASA Channels (Sun/Solar)

Provide Hands-On Activities

Prepare a variety of activities for your attendees. You can often find great activities and materials at local clubs, schools and museums. Eclipse activities often include storytelling and/or arts and crafts. You can also find a wide selection of recommended activities online. Below are just a few to get you started:

Augmented Reality (AR) Experience

GLOBE Eclipse is a temporary tool in the GLOBE Observer app that will help you document air temperature and clouds during an eclipse. The tool is only visible while a solar eclipse is happening somewhere in the world.

Parker Solar Probe Informational Printable and Pinhole Projector

Intended to be printed double-sided on cardstock paper. Cut along marked border.

Braille Eclipse Book

“Getting a Feel for Eclipses, 2023 & 2024” explains and provides details about the eclipses on October 14, 2023, and April 8, 2024. To commemorate these events, NASA has created a tactile of graphics that illustrate the interaction and alignment of the Sun with the Moon and the Earth. Associated activities will clarify the nature of eclipses.

2024 Total Solar Eclipse – USA Map – NASA Pinhole Projector

Download this Zip file, which includes the 2D paper cutout and the 3D print versions of the U.S. annular eclipse map, along with activity directions for engaging learners. For specific file usage, be sure to review the README file.

3-Hole PUNCH Pinhole Projector

NASA’s PUNCH mission outreach team created a 3-hole pinhole projector to help explore how and why pinhole projection works to create real images of the Sun. The PUNCH mission itself is a constellation of four small satellites in Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit that will produce deep-field, continuous, 3D images of the solar corona as it evolves into the young solar wind.

2D & 3D Printable 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse - USA Map – NASA Pinhole Projector

Download the 2D paper cutout and the 3D print versions of the U.S. annular eclipse map, along with activity directions for engaging learners.

NASA HEAT Eclipse Resources

Enjoy this growing list of eclipse activities from the NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT), including eclipse posters, pinhole projectors, interactive maps and more!

Explore Mobile Apps

GLOBE Eclipse is a temporary tool in the GLOBE Observer app that will help you document air temperature and clouds during an eclipse. The tool is only visible while a solar eclipse is happening somewhere in the world.

This app includes an accessible, multisensory experience of a total solar eclipse, both for people who are visually impaired and for others who have never experienced an eclipse.

Total Solar Eclipse is the Exploratorium’s free mobile app that incorporates their eclipse live-streaming programs. Now available for iOS and Android users through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app allows you to view the Exploratorium’s livestreams of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

Watch and Share Videos and Animations

Watch and share video clips that explain eclipses and contain exciting information about Parker Solar Probe, our closest spacecraft to the Sun! They can be downloaded in various sizes and formats.

Parker Solar Probe Videos

Parker Solar Probe and the August 21, 2017, Solar Eclipse

Learn about the connections between Parker Solar Probe and the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse.

How Data Gets from the Sun to the Scientists | Parker Solar Probe

How does does NASA’s Parker Solar Probe get information from the Sun to the scientists on Earth? With some careful timing and aiming – and detailed planning.

Parker Solar Probe: Keeping Its Cool

How does Parker Solar Probe keep its cool? The answer is creative engineering. The spacecraft is protected from the Sun’s heat by a state-of-the-art shield. Just 4.5 inches thick and made of carbon, carbon foam and composite, the shield can withstand temperatures that approach 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,400 degrees Celsius).

Why NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Swings by Venus

So why is Venus so important to a mission to the Sun? No rocket could supply the amount of power required to get Parker Solar Probe as close to the Sun as it needs to be. So, we need to borrow force from Venus. It sounds like science fiction, but in reality, spacecraft can leverage the gravity of other planets to speed up, like a slingshot, or slow down, like tapping the brakes. This is called a gravity assist maneuver, or a gravity assist.

Eclipse Videos

A Tour of NASA’s Solar Eclipse Map for 2023 and 2024

This video zooms into different parts of the eclipse map, explaining the path and other features that describe what observers across the country can expect to see during the 2023 annular solar eclipse and the 2024 total solar eclipse.

Eclipse Videos – The Exploratorium »

Who knew there were different kinds of eclipses? The Exploratorium, which in this series of videos explains the difference between a total, annular, partial and lunar eclipse.

Answer Eclipse Questions

People will have all sorts of questions about the eclipse and, most likely, about other astronomy topics, so be prepared to spend some of your time providing answers. The following resources will help you with that task:

Invite Local Speakers

Provide Safe Solar Viewing

An eclipse is a rare and striking phenomenon you won’t want to miss, but you must carefully follow safety procedures. Don’t let the requisite warnings scare you away from witnessing this singular spectacle! You can experience the eclipse safely, but it is vital that you protect your eyes at all times with the proper solar filters. No matter what technique you use, do not stare continuously at the Sun. Take breaks and give your eyes a rest! Do not use regular sunglasses: They don’t offer your eyes sufficient protection.

Learn more at NASA’s Solar Eclipse Safety web page.