Marvel at the Spectacle: WA’s Hidden Gem for Eclipse Viewing

A solar eclipse pinhole projector is what they call it now, but when I was in Kindergarten, we called it a “viewing box.”

My little kindergarten classmates and I painstakingly made one of those makeshift boxes and I recall seeing a crescent shape appear on the tiny piece of construction paper that we had used.

It wasn’t a big deal to me to see a total eclipse. Since everyone else around me was so excited about it, especially my kindergarten teacher, I faked being excited, too.

But secretly inside my 5-year-old mind, I was like, “Ooh, an eclipse. Big whoop! I wanna go play the parachute game!”

It’s that time of year where I will once again fake being excited about the total eclipse that’s coming up on April 8th.

I have a 13-year-old child now, and she is crazy about space and all things celestial, so perhaps she will be more into viewing it than me.

For those of us who live in Washington state, we aren’t expecting to see thousands of visitors pouring into town to have Total Eclipse Watch Parties.

We also are expecting to have most of the state covered in clouds, which could possibly distort our partial eclipse views? (I’m not the weather expert, so don’t quote me on that!)

There is one section of Washington State, however, that I think will boast the BEST views of the partial eclipse without cloudy skies.

It’s in the most unexpected place of all because it happens to be right where I live, Yakima County!

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Yakima is expected to have mostly sunny skies on April 8th, while the other towns and counties will be overcast and have mostly cloudy skies.

So perhaps there will be a small onslaught of tourists pouring into Yakima so they can be (genuinely) excited about seeing the partial total eclipse.

I’m just a little upset at myself for throwing away the one pair of solar eclipse glasses I had when I was doing a little decluttering last year!

SEE ALSO: Which City in WA Gets the MOST Sunshine?

IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANY SOLAR ECLIPSE GLASSES, HERE IS AN EASY DIY PINHOLE PROJECTOR
(Shout out to Meteorologist Catherine Liberta in Savannah, GA!)

@catlibertawx If you don’t have eclipse glasses, no worries! Here’s how to make a pinhole projector which can be used to view the total solar eclipse on April 8th. #eclipse #eclipsesolar #fyp #foryou #eclipseviewer #localnews #meteorologist ♬ original sound - Catherine Liberta

INSIDER’S TIP: DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN.

via GIPHY

Check out this map and click on Washington state to see how much of the partial eclipse you can see in your city despite the cloudy skies.

Here are three other Washington towns that will have a good view of the partial eclipse through the clouds:

• Pine Tree Canyon (28%)

• Malden (27%)

• Long Ridge (29%)

• PASCO: 26%

Broken Clouds
TOTAL VIEWING TIME: 1h, 51m, 55s
First AM Glimpse: 10:36

Best AM Viewing Time: 11:31

Eclipse Afternoon View Ends: 12:27

• YAKIMA (and Yakima COUNTY): 23%

Mostly Sunny
TOTAL VIEWING TIME: 1h, 48m, 19s
First AM Glimpse: 10:36

Best AM Viewing Time: 11:29

Eclipse Afternoon View Ends: 12:25

• SPOKANE: 26%

Overcast
TOTAL VIEWING TIME: 1h, 52m, 3s
First AM Glimpse: 10:39

Best AM Viewing Time: 11:35

Eclipse Afternoon View Ends: 12:31

• PULLMAN: 28%

Overcast:
TOTAL VIEWING TIME: 1h, 54m, 32s

First AM Glimpse: 10:37

Best AM Viewing Time: 11:34

Eclipse Afternoon View Ends: 12:32

• SEATTLE: 20%

Partly Cloudy
TOTAL VIEWING TIME: 1h, 42m, 14s

First AM Glimpse: 10:39

Best AM Viewing Time: 11:29

Eclipse Afternoon View Ends: 12:21

Source: TimeandDate.com

WATCH THE NASA LIVE STREAM OF THE TOTAL ECLIPSE!

MORE TO READ:

• Scientists: You're Missing Out If You're Not Wearing These Two Colors During the Eclipse