Total Solar Eclipse: How Much We’ll See In Loudoun, When To See It

ASHBURN, VA — Excitement is building in Ashburn and Loudoun County for the April 8 total solar eclipse. We’re not among some 32 million Americans living in the path of totality, but neither will we miss out on the celestial sensation.

In the United States, the path of totality extends from Texas to Maine, but each of the 48 continental states will see some of the solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon slips between our bright star and Earth.

None of the total solar eclipse will reach Virginia, but the partial eclipse will be viewable. In Ashburn, the moon will cover about 88.6 percent of the sun at the peak of the eclipse, according to a NASA map that is searchable by ZIP code.

Here are the details:

Partial eclipse begins: 2:03 p.m.
Maximum: 3:19 p.m.
Partial ends: 4:32 p.m.

The eclipse will last nearly two and a half hours from beginning to end in Ashburn.

Virginia State Parks plans to host solar eclipse viewers at its 42 state parks around the commonwealth. At Loudoun County's new Sweet Run State Park, eclipse viewing will start at 2:02 p.m., reach a peak of 89.9 percent coverage at 3:19 p.m. and end at 4:30 p.m.

Other Loudoun County solar eclipse viewing events on April 8 include:

• Loudoun Valley Community Center solar eclipse viewing: 1:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse Extravaganza at Douglass Community Center: 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Cosmic Celebration at Bluemont Community Center: 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse Viewing Party at Lucketts Community Center: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse Festival at Senior Center of Leesburg: 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse For All Event at Franklin Park Art Center: 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Banshee Reeks Eclipse Party at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse Festival at Hal and Berni Hanson Reg. Park: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Ahead of the solar eclipse, Brambleton Library will host NASA Solar System Ambassador Amit Sircar at 7 p.m. on April 4 to explain the science behind the 2024 event, including how to safely view it.

Hal and Berni Hanson Reg. Park's planetarium will also host a recap of the solar eclipse at several times on the evening of April 8.

The total solar eclipse starts in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as small parts of Tennessee and Michigan, before entering Canada in southern Ontario through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton before exiting continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

• Related: Animals May Behave Oddly During Eclipse