Will I See The Total Solar Eclipse In Fairfax City?

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Excitement is building in Fairfax City 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.

At least one City of Fairfax school will be taking advantage of Monday's partial solar eclipse to teach students something about this rare event.

Daniels Run Elementary will be providing all of its students with eclipse viewing glasses, which they can wear during at an Eclipse Walk taking place from 3-3:30 p.m. on Monday, according to CFS spokeswoman Carrie Dorsey.

RELATED: Eclipse Viewing Plans For Monday Made By Some Fairfax City Schools

Although Fairfax High School was unable to secure eclipse viewing glasses for all of its students, some individual classes have planned activities around the eclipse.

Katherine Johnson Middle School will be dismissing students at 2:15 p.m., which will be shortly after the eclipse begins. Dorsey reached out to some of the middle school's afterschool clubs to see if they were planning any eclipse-related activities.

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. In Fairfax City, the moon will cover about 87.7 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: 2:04 p.m
• Maximum: 3:20 p.m.
• Partial ends: 4:32 p.m.

The eclipse will last 2 hours and 28 minutes from beginning to end in Fairfax City.

Here are some of the places around Fairfax County to watch the eclipse:

• Ellanor C. Lawrence Park (2-4 p.m.)
• Burke Lake Park (2-4 p.m.)
• Historic Huntley (1:30-4:30 p.m.)
• Turner Farm Park (1:30-4:30 p.m.)

Right now, it looks like we could have partly cloudy skies for the big event, according to NASA's forecast.

• Related: You Must Protect Your Eyes, Regardless Of Eclipse Totality: What You Need

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