As the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory in Tupper Lake continues a summer program series, there is one spring 2024 event everyone there is talking about.

On April 8, Tupper Lake will be at the epicenter of a total solar eclipse.

“This is very rare. It's like I said, it's never happened in the Adirondacks that I know of and certainly not in Tupper Lake. We've not had anything like this before,” said Seth McGowan, the observatory’s president.

“The difference between 3 minutes and 33 seconds and a minute and 15 seconds is maybe only a 20-minute drive for people. And that's why when people want to see the eclipse, they want it. They want to be saturated with as much time as possible,” McGowan said of being in the direct path of the total eclipse.

In 2017, the contiguous United States saw a total eclipse with a path across part of the country, according to NASA.

It’ll be approximately three-and-a-half minutes of amazing views people will want to take part in.

“This could be comparable to the [Lake Placid] Olympics,” McGowan said.

The community is part of a task force of sorts to organize family events, activities, viewing parties and live streams across the country that will follow the eclipse’s path of totality. McGowan said there will also be restaurants and hotels open that aren’t usually open in April.

“We want to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for people,” McGowan added, adding the NYSP and NYSDEC are also involved in planning.

McGowan says more than 50,000 eclipse glasses have been ordered for schools, community groups and others within the region, and another 50,000 or so could be added to the order for guests to the Adirondacks.