DeKalb County schools closing for April's solar eclipse

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County is closing its schools for one day in April so students and employees can enjoy the upcoming solar eclipse.

The school district announced that Monday, April 8, will be an Independent Learning Day for all students to allow for "the creation of safe viewing and educational experiences" related to the celestial event.

That Monday was originally supposed to be the first day back after DeKalb County's spring break.

Not everyone is happy about the district's decision. Some parents expressed their dismay that the choice to close school with less than two weeks' notice left them scrambling to find child care.

A spectator looks skyward during a partial eclipse of the sun on August 21, 2017, at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

What happens during a total solar eclipse?

The moon will line up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight. It will slice a diagonal line from the southwest to the northeast across North America, briefly plunging communities along the track into darkness.

The peak spectacle on April 8 will last up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds in the path of total darkness — twice as long as the total solar eclipse that dimmed U.S. skies in 2017.

This eclipse will take a different and more populated route, entering over Mexico’s Pacific coast, dashing up through Texas and Oklahoma, and crisscrossing the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and New England, before exiting over eastern Canada into the Atlantic.

In Atlanta, the partial eclipse will begin at 1:45 p.m. and continue until 4:21 p.m. - reaching its maximum amount of darkness at 3:04 p.m.  

The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance is hosting a NASA-affiliated eclipse viewing party on Bridges Avenue in southwest Atlanta starting at 1:30 p.m. You can find out more about the event here.

How do I safely watch the solar eclipse?

Sunglasses won’t cut it. Special eclipse glasses are crucial for safely observing the sun as the moon marches across the late morning and afternoon sky, covering more and more and then less and less of our star.

During totality when the sun is completely shrouded, it’s fine to remove your glasses and look with your naked eyes. But before and after, certified eclipse glasses are essential to avoid eye damage. Just make sure they’re not scratched or torn.

Cameras, binoculars and telescopes must be outfitted with special solar filters for safe viewing. Bottom line: Never look at an exposed sun without proper protection any day of the year.

When is the next total solar eclipse?

Full solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere, like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse, in 2026, will grace the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

North America won’t experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then that’s it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota.

There won’t be another U.S. eclipse, spanning coast to coast, until 2045. That one will stretch from Northern California all the way to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Aside from Carbondale, Illinois, in the crosshairs of both the 2017 and 2024 eclipses, it usually takes 400 years to 1,000 years before totality returns to the same spot.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.