Illinois Eclipse 2024: Tips for viewing the last total solar eclipse for 20 years
CHICAGO - Mother Nature is putting together quite a show for all to see on April 8.
It’s going to be the last total solar eclipse that we will see for the next 20 years and Illinois has some of the best seats to offer.
In a FOX 32 special report, Scott Schneider takes a look at how to get your tickets to see this rare and magnificent show.
For most people in the U.S., the sun will be partially blocked by the moon because of the total solar eclipse, except those in Illinois and Indiana.
"There’s a special band across the U.S. we call totality where the sun gets completely blocked out by the moon and that’s where the real event is going to be happening," said Michael Zevin, an astronomer at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium.
The eclipse’s path of totality stretches from Texas all the way up to Maine, though two of the best viewing spots along that path will be in Carbondale, Illinois and Indianapolis.
Both places have big plans in place for you to experience this astronomical event.
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"The main event is going to take place in Carbondale at Saluki Stadium at SIU (Southern Illinois University)," said Daniel Thomas, deputy director of the Illinois Office of Tourism. "The capacity there is for 15,000 people to experience the solar eclipse."
If you don’t want to stand in the stadium, Thomas said Illinois has plenty of other ways to observe this natural phenomenon.
"Maybe you’re outdoors in an RV at one of our state parks or in the region, the Shawnee National Forest, or the wine region. There is viewing right across 31 state parks," Thomas said.
"Taking a canoe or a kayak on the Cache River and actually experiencing totality on the water is a really unique thing to do."
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Thomas said about a third of the 15,000 tickets to see the eclipse at Saluki Stadium had been purchased and that many hotels in the Carbondale area have already reported being sold out.
"This is not a last-minute trip. It’s something you need to plan ahead," Thomas said.
When the last eclipse passed over southern Illinois seven years ago, about 200,000 people came to town.
Thomas said hotels were sold out all the way up to Champaign.
"The great thing about this region is there is a whole new range of accommodation options," Thomas said.
In addition to more hotel rooms now being available, Amtrak has also added express trains to southern Illinois, and a direct flight into Veterans Airport in Marion is on the schedule.
"We’re really confident there’s going to be options available for everyone, but again it is going to sell out pretty quickly," Thomas said.
Meantime over in Indianapolis, the home of the greatest spectacle in racing is gearing up for a spectacle of another kind.
"So lots of things going on besides just looking up at the sky," said Doug Boles, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"We’ll have all kind of STEM seminars. We’ll have astronauts here that NASA is bringing to interact with fans that are here," Boles said.
Boles said the speedway can hold over 235,000 people and tickets to see the eclipse there are free for kids 18 and under. Adults are only $20.
If you are not planning on hitting the road on April 8, you will still be able to experience the eclipse in the Chicago area, but on a smaller scale.
"You might see the light dim a little bit in Chicago, but the sun is so bright that even if only 10% of it is showing, you’re still not going to get that full experience of a complete nighttime," Zevin said.
"It’s really only in totality that you’ll get skies that look like the night sky in the middle of the day. You can see stars out. Animals and other things might start acting strangely because they’re seeing night come in the middle of the day. Temperatures will drop."
Zevin said eclipse watchers are welcome to see this sight from the Adler Planetarium's lawn. He also said you can simply watch it from your backyard. But wherever you decide to watch it, Zevin said you need to have a pair of solar glasses.
"It’s dangerous to look at the sun with our naked eye so you need to use special devices like these (solar glasses). These are called solar filters or solar glasses. What they do is they actually block a lot of light that’s coming from the sun," Zevin said.
"Even looking at it for a few seconds with the unfiltered eye can cause permanent damage to your retina," he added.
After the eclipse happens, there is one thing you can count on for sure and that’s lots of traffic trying to get home.