YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – It is just about a year to the day from a total solar eclipse that people will be able to watch right here in the Valley. Two recent eclipses in the area weren’t total.

A map from NASA shows that Liberty Township and places northwest in Trumbull and Mercer counties will see the full show from nature on April 8, 2024. It will slowly get darker as the sun goes away in the middle of the afternoon.

“The birds will have reactions to that. They will start to go to sleep. They’ll start tweeting away,” said Jay Reynolds, an astronomer from Cleveland State University.

It will start at 1:30 p.m., and the solar eclipse will hit around 3:16 p.m. and will be more dramatic than the eclipse in 2017.

However, it all depends on exactly where you’re at for the eclipse. In Youngstown, it will be 99.7 percent covered.

Further north in Trumbull County will be under the total eclipse even longer, with about 3 minutes of the sun remaining in the dark. The Cleveland area will be covered longer.

“It’s going to get as dark as twilight, but you’re going to be able to see a bright glare of where the sun is at in the sky,” said Curt Spivey, a planetarium engineer at Youngstown State University.

Safety equipment is necessary to prevent the bright sun from blinding those who choose to watch.

“You’ll see a lot of knockoff ones that are out there. Make sure you use the ISO-approved shades,” explains Spivey.

Spivey recommends you don’t use a pair from 2017.

The next total solar eclipse for the area won’t come until 2099.