First Alert Weather In-Depth: What else will be in the sky on April 8?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Did you know that there is a Total Solar Eclipse that will pass through Rochester on April 8?

During this once-in-a-lifetime sight, the areas under the “path of totality” will go into complete darkness for the duration that totality is. This means that it will be night time for a short period of time in the middle of the afternoon on April 8. With that said, this means that the stars and planets will be visible too! Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and Mars will be visible when we are in totality.

Jupiter will be to the east of the eclipsed sun. Venus will be the first planet to the west of the sun. Saturn and Mars will be to the west as well, but they will be closer to the horizon. Not only that, but some major stars you may know will also be visible. Those include starts within the constellation Orion like Betelgeuse and Rigel. Other stars visible will be Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Capella, and Aldebaran. Other stars will also be out if skies are clear enough and you are furthest away from light pollution. One of the wild card sights for the eclipse will be the opportunity to view a comet!

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, or also known as the “Devils Comet,” could be visible if it has an outburst of gases and vapor during totality. This comet will be just to the west of Jupiter. The best chance to view this will be with a telescope or strong binoculars.

We will be in totality for approximately three minutes, so while you admiring the eclipsed sun take a few moments to also find the planets and stars too!