The upcoming solar eclipse will thrust Little Rock, Ark., into darkness between 1:51 p.m. and 1:54 p.m., giving viewers three minutes to take in the awe-inspiring totality. Eclipse viewers will also be able to witness more than two hours of partial eclipse, starting around 12:30 p.m. Since the state most likely won’t see another eclipse until 2044, residents are making the most of it and have planned plenty of ways to fill the rest of the eclipse weekend. That includes a viewing party at Riverfront Park and a weekend-long festival in the South of Main (SoMA) neighborhood. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will host a performance of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” while the Little Rock Zoo will throw a party, which will include chances for close encounters with some of the resident animals. The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts will put on a storytelling event, Native Americans and the Eclipse, and host an eclipse-themed movie marathon with screenings of Fantasia and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Since the path of totality will stretch over 100 miles across Arkansas, there are viewing parties and events all over the Natural State. Up in Greenbrier, Ark., about 45 minutes from the capital, Piccolo Zoppé is hosting an Eclipse Circus under the stars. For those who want to be up close and personal with the celestial event, Paradise Valley Skydiving in Clarksville, Ark., is taking folks up to jump out of planes during the expected three minute totality.
Note: The times in this simulation might differ from other sources of eclipse data by a minute or two. The discrepancy is most likely a small difference in the precise location of the calculation or a slightly different way of accounting for the time it takes the speed of light to travel from the sun to the Earth. Read more about our interactive here.