ROCHESTER, N.Y. – People gathered at the Harley School on Sunday for “Roc the Eclipse” – a meeting aimed at spreading information about how to view one of the more rare celestial events in history on April 8, 2024.

While forecasting how the weather will be next year on that day may be impossible this far out, it may not matters as Rochester is set to be one of the best viewing areas in the direct path of the total solar eclipse.

At Sunday’s meeting, neighbors learned more about how to safely view the total solar eclipse scheduled to begin at 3:20 p.m. on April 8 and last for three minutes.

During that time, scientists say the sky will become dark as deep twilight, bright stars, planets, and other objects in the sky will be visible.

Dan Schneiderman is the Eclipse Partnership Coordinator at Rochester Museum and Science Center and hopes everyone will prepare for the historic event.

“We are out promoting the eclipse and what we do best, which is spreading the word and getting the community excited for this once in a lifetime, in the Rochester area, experience at total solar eclipse.”

Scientists at Sunday’s meeting also said that changes in the temperature, winds and animal behavior are expected to occur during the time of totality.

The last time the Rochester area was in the path of a total solar eclipse was January 24, 1925.

More information here.