Watch Solar Eclipse At Houston Watch Parties

HOUSTON, TX — Next Monday, folks all around the country and the world will experience a solar eclipse, which is a somewhat rare celestial event. Here in Houston, people will witness anywhere from 64-71 percent eclipse because of where we lie geographically.

Star gazers who stand directly in the moon's shadow on Earth next Monday will see the disc of the moon move slowly in front of the sun until it covers it completely, leaving only a burning ring of light around the edge.

For those in the Houston Metro area who can’t drive north to get directly in the path, the moon will begin its orbital path and eventually curve away, covering up to 70 percent of the sun for Houstonians.

This site gives a fairly accurate reading on when the eclipse will start and end at your home, but also diagrams the path of the moon as it rockets between Earth and the sun.

The sky will darken and the temperature will drop when the moon obstructs part of the sun from view.

Though it’s rare to witness more than one solar eclipse — the last one here was in 1979 — Texas will get a better shot at a near-total solar eclipse in 2024, when it’s projected most Texans will get around 90 percent of a total eclipse.

Watching Parties

There are many people who plan on playing hooky from work next Monday to attend a solar eclipse watch party. If you don’t plan on meeting a group of fellow observers for a private party (with proper eyewear or viewing devices, of course), here are some area venues that will host parties. At some of the venues, protective goggles will be provided.

Levy Park

August 21, noon – 2 pm

3801 Eastside

University of Houston

11:30 a.m.

There will be solar goggles, filtered telescopes, pinhole projection assemblies, demos, live streaming of footage courtesy of NASA and more.

Freeman Branch Library

August 21, noon – 2 pm

16616 Diana Lane

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) will be hosting free two events August 21 at Levy Park and the Clear Lake City-County Freeman Branch Library. Scientists and educators from LPI will be onsite. Safe solar viewing glasses will be available at both locations.

HMNS at Sugar Land

August 21, 11 am – 3 pm

13016 University Blvd.

Children’s Museum of Houston

August 21, 11 am – 3 pm

1500 Binz

Learn more about the Solar System, the Solar Eclipse and watch from the Allen Family Courtyard Weather Station. Activities are included with $12 paid admission.

Brazosport Center for the Arts & Sciences

11:30 a.m.

The BASF Planetarium will host a solar eclipse viewing. Visitors can be confident that they will see the eclipse, even if it rains, as the BASF Planetarium will show NASA's live eclipse feed on the planetarium’s ceiling. Outside, sky-watchers can observe the eclipse with the aid of special viewing glasses and the assistance of the Brazosport Astronomy Club.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

12 p.m.

As expected, the HMNS is a natural place to start when it comes to anything space-related. Both the Hermann Park location and the Sugar Land satellite will have activities for people to learn about and observe the eclipse, including movies as well as volunteers on hand to help those who want to view the eclipse outside. The museum will also have a live feed from Casper, Wyoming, which is in the path of totality. Attendees can also purchase special glasses from the gift shop to better view the eclipse.

Southwest Airlines

Travel the path of totality. Southwest will take stargazers into the sky for an unparalleled experience. The airline will have scheduled flights to experience maximum effects of the eclipse and will give customers on those flights commemorative flair, including special viewing glasses, cosmic cocktails and social-media engagement across the atmosphere on Southwest's gate-to-gate WiFi.

Check the website for participating flights.

Crosby Branch Library

August 21, 2017, 12 pm – 2 pm

135 Hare Rd., Crosby

Crosby Branch Library will be hosting a free Solar Eclipse Viewing Party. Thanks to a grant from the Space Science Institute, the library will have a limited number of solar viewing glasses available to experience the eclipse together. They also will have a NASA live stream of the eclipse from the path of totality.

Space Center Houston

1601 NASA Parkway

Space Center Houston has a day full of activities planned for the total solar eclipse. Guest speakers from NASA Johnson Space Center will be sharing info on eclipses, components of the sun plus solar weather and how it affects earth. Space Center Houston will have eclipse viewing areas for safe solar viewing at Independence Plaza and Zero-G Dinner Patio. Guests also can create their own eclipse projector inside the center at Pop-Up Science Labs and experiment with spectroscopes. NASA’s livestream of the eclipse will be displayed on screens inside the center so guests will still be able to experience the eclipse in the event of overcast or rainy weather. Guests will be provided with solar viewing glasses to safely observe the total eclipse of the sun.

Caption File photo, the annular solar eclipse is seen as the sun sets behind the Rocky Mountains from downtown Denver. Destinations are hosting festivals, hotels are selling out and travelers are planning trips for the total solar eclipse that will be visible coast to coast on Aug. 21, 2017. A narrow path of the United States 60 to 70 miles wide from Oregon to South Carolina will experience total darkness, also known as totality.

AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File