The Great North American Solar Eclipse of 2024 will be Marylanders’ next readily accessible opportunity to witness firsthand one of the grandest of all astronomical phenomena, a total solar eclipse. As April 8th, 2024, is about 1 ½ years away and long-range planning is required for a successful eclipse experience, now is a great time to start getting ready. This talk will be a very interactive discussion that builds on the foundational eclipse material presented in Part 1 of this series at the June 2021 HAL general meeting (PDF slides / Zoom recording on YouTube ). Part 2 of this series will revisit The Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017: The Collective Experience of the Howard Astronomical League presentation to explore how HAL members and guests prepared for the eclipse, traveled to eclipse viewing sites, and dealt with difficulties that were encountered five years ago, and how these lessons might be applied to preparations for the 2024 eclipse.

Jim Johnson has been a HAL member since 2012. He is a retired Marine and a retired Federal civil servant, and has served HAL in many capacities over the ten years of his membership. Within two years of joining, he was a park keyholder hosting public, members only and impromptu star parties. Also at around this time he served on the observatory committee as plans to build HALO and install the Watson telescope were being finalized, and he participated in placing the observatory in service after the building was complete. Jim first served on the HAL Board as secretary during the 2015 and 2016 terms, and as president during the 2017 and 2018 terms. Under Jim’s leadership, the Board resolved to replace the Watson telescope with an instrument more appropriate for public outreach, and subsequently accept and install the Illig telescope in HALO. After moving off of the Board, he has continued to support HAL by serving as HAL Elections Committee chair in each election since 2019. Jim also enjoys leading an occasional HAL AstroSchool session or appearing as a guest speaker at a monthly meeting. His personal astronomy journey continues in the art of planetary and deep space object astrophotography, and he is a frequent contributor of astrophotos presented at the monthly meetings.