The best solar eclipse app 2024: Get exact time based on your location — and a demo, too

The solar eclipse 2024 is today, and if you’re anything like me, you’re curious about what time — specifically — the highly anticipated celestial event will swing by your location.

If you’re not sure if you’re within the path of the solar eclipse, check out our 2024 solar eclipse calculators. (As for me, I live in New York, so while I won’t get to see a total solar eclipse, I’ll witness a partial one.)

Now that you know whether you’re within its path, you can check out our page of solar eclipse times for each time zone. But if you want to know its exact time, check out the SolarEclipseGuide app for iPhone.

Best app for solar eclipse 2024

I’ve downloaded a few apps for the solar eclipse, but my favorite is SolarEclipseGuide.

Thanks to this app, I can see the exact time of the solar eclipse’s appearance based on my location. For example, according to SolarEclipseGuide, I’ll see the moon begin to show its shadowy figure at around 2:19 p.m. ET and it will cover the sun at its fullest at 3:23 p.m., give or take a few minutes.

Not only does the app show me the exact time of the solar eclipse based on my location, but it also offers a demo of how the solar eclipse will look from my point of view.

According to the “SolarEclipseGuide” app, this is what the solar eclipse will look like for me based on my location.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

This allows me to see what, exactly, Mashable’s Mark Kaufman, our resident science and space expert, means when he says that I’ll only get to see a “partial eclipse.”

Enjoy the celestial show, but be careful

The solar eclipse is a beautiful show that doesn’t happen very often. (As Kaufman explained, it’s a rare occurrence). As such, you may be tempted to whip out your phone and take a picture of it. However, it’s not a good idea to take a picture of the solar eclipse with your phone (unless you’re a pro photographer and you have the proper filters for it).

And if you plan on stepping outside to witness the solar eclipse, make sure you’re wearing NASA-approved glasses so you don’t run the risk of damaging your eyesight.

Now that you’ve been prepped with the safety basics, and you now likely know when — exactly — you might be able to witness the rare solar eclipse, enjoy the show.