Indianapolis is in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse– officials expect over 100,000 people are here to see the rare celestial event with their own eyes (and a safe pair of eclipse glasses).
Use this page to follow along with WFY's news team throughout the day, as they meet people around the city to see how the whole thing goes down.
3:06 p.m.
Totality with the Boss family in Tarkington Park:
3:00 p.m.
Six minutes to go!
WFYI's video team is capturing the eclipse from the roof of our parking garage – we'll get it posted as soon as we can:
2:40 p.m.
A photo of the crowd at Conner Prairie, from Sydney Dauphinais:
2:35 p.m.
Jack La Lone of New Carlisle brought his Celestron telescope with him to view the eclipse today outside Butler University's Holcomb Observatory. And he's eager to show it off to anyone who wants to take a peak through the lens.
This is La Lone's second time experiencing a total solar eclipse. The first time was in 2017. He said he's obsessed with all things space. And he was worried about today's weather.
"Oh, very excited. I was worried watching the weather come in," La Lone said. "I've been watching for a week now, nervously. I was like, well, we'll just have clouds and we'll have cold and then we'll have clouds again. And now, I mean, it looks like we're going to get the full experience. It's exciting, and the cloud cover is very, very thin so we'll still be able to see through it."
2:30 p.m.
A few photos from the scene at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from Ben Thorp:
1:10 p.m.
73-year-old Jack Putnam (pictured below, left, with his brother-in-lawBob Nordloh, right) traveled to Fishers from Dayton, Ohio to see the total solar eclipse. He says he and his wife have been planning to see it for over a year.
“Indiana was really publicizing this and there was no publicizing going on in the state of Ohio or the Dayton area,"Putnam said. "So she started looking for motel rooms.”
This will be the first time Putnam has experienced totality.
12:45 p.m.
About one hour to go before the start of the eclipse! See detailed times right here.
Kendall Antron, our managing digital editor, visitedWhite River State Park this morning:
11:35 a.m.
Update from Jill Sheridan at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – an eclipse donut has appeared:
10:55 a.m.
Reporter Ben Thorp is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Indiana officials gathered with experts from NASA. NASA and Purdue University will host educational events there, in addition to performing research.
NASA’s Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (pictured below) says the space agency is hosting several events across the country.
“Today millions of Americans will stand together looking up at the sky in awe,” Melroy said.
10:40 a.m.
Reporters Sydney Dauphinais and Abriana Herron are at Conner Prairie, where an eclipse festival is happening from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m..
Dauphinais reports there were around 2,400 tickets sold as of this morning, and they're expecting walk-ups throughout the day.
10:25 a.m.
There's been some worry over the last week that cloud cover might obscure the solar eclipse for some along the path of totality. You can check the latest weather forecast for Indianapolis right here, and the latest detailed prediction from the National Weather Service in this graphic:
6:00 a.m.
Public schools districts in Marion County are either cancelled or doing remote learning today because of the total solar eclipse.
The partial phase of the eclipse will begin around 1:50 p.m., with totality starting around 3:05 p.m. This coincides with dismissal time for many schools.
School officials don't want children, parents and buses stuck on the roads. And since school buildings are closed, parents and caregivers will be responsible for making sure their kids wear solar eclipse glasses to protect their eyes.
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