Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - We're a couple of weeks out from the Total Solar Eclipse set to sweep directly through Western New York, and experts say there will be significant differences from the 2017 Partial Solar Eclipse we saw.
Those difference will also apply elsewhere in North America.
Tim Collins of the Buffalo Eclipse Consortium says in addition to the partial eclipse of 2017 vs. the Total Solar Eclipse in 2024, this one is a little bit wider.
"The moon is a little bit closer to Earth this time than it was in 2017. So it's giving us almost an extra minute and a half of totality that we didn't have back then," said Collins in an interview with WBEN.
In 2017, Collins says Wester New York had a 79% partial eclipse.
"In a partial eclipse, you really don't notice too much darkness until it's about 70%-to-75%. We got lucky enough to have that," Collins said.
This time, though, the partial eclipse bands go across the entire continent.
"Almost everybody will see some form of a partial eclipse, even if they don't have totality across Canada, U.S. and Mexico." Collins explained.
Collins says the difference can be significant even here. "At the center line area and areas about 40 miles on either side of that you'll have about three minutes and 46 seconds. As you start getting toward the edges of the eclipse because of the geometry, it drops off dramatically. If you're in Olean, you're not getting any eclipse there. But if you drive about 10 miles away, you might get about 30 seconds of totality," explains Collins.
"At the centerline area and areas about 40 miles on either side of that, you'll have about three minutes and 46 seconds. As you start getting toward the edges of the eclipse, because of the geometry, it drops off dramatically," Collins explained. "If you're in Olean, you're not getting any [totality] there, but if you drive about 10 miles away, you might get about 30 seconds of totality."