Chamber preparing for April 8 solar eclipse

The Gonzales Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture and Visitors Center has been preparing for the upcoming April 8 solar eclipse and looking to help residents and visitors alike “create monumental memories.”

The Gonzales Chamber office, 304 St. Louis St., in Gonzales distributed 350 pairs of eclipse viewing glasses before completely selling out on Tuesday, April 2.

They are encouraging residents to take advantage of this extraordinary astronomical spectacle by strolling around and viewing the various monuments in Gonzales. The community's monuments boast an ideal setting to experience and appreciate this captivating scientific phenomenon.

Students at Nixon-Smiley High School will be given solar eclipse viewers but can bring their own if they choose. They will be required to wear eye protection the entire time they are outside from 1:35 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Want to watch the eclipse from the comfort of your living room or can’t get out of the office? You can see it online at https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/live.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is warning travelers to expect severe traffic delays on Texas highways on Monday, April 8. As a result, no size/weight permitted travel will be allowed on that day from midnight to midnight in counties in which totality will occur.

The celestial celebration begins in Gonzales (29.5016257N, 97.4524926W) at 12:16:14 p.m. with the first “bite” of the eclipse taking place at 3 o’clock if you were looking at the sun as a clock face. Remember, you must use eclipse glasses to look at the Sun at this time!

Mid-eclipse (the point of greatest obscuration) takes place at 13:36:14 p.m. with 97.9 percent coverage of the sun’s diameter in Gonzales. Altitude will be at 68 degrees, or about three-quarters of the way up. The azimuth will be at 183 degrees or nearly due south — just three degrees past. The eclipse is expected to end in Gonzales at about 14:58:14, or two hours and 42 minutes after it first began.

You can see animation of what the eclipse will look like at https://eclipse2024.org/eclipse-simulator/2024/38761.