Denton residents may need to travel even farther away from the city to view the total eclipse on Monday, as a newly published eclipse map projects even less of the city will be in the path of totality.
Eclipse expert John Irwin recently published a new map of the solar eclipse’s path, with lines at the edges of totality showing Denton lost some ground. Irwin’s new calculations, published by the Besselian Elements eclipse blog, take into account topographic elevations of both the Earth and the moon.
On the map, red lines show the edges of the path of totality as previously calculated, while the orange lines show the paths updated with the new data.
Forbes listed Denton as one of the 15 “edge location” cities to avoid for the eclipse. (Don’t worry, Denton. Austin and San Antonio made the list, too.)
Forbes’ Jamie Carter advised that Denton residents travel southeast to the southern half of Lewisville Lake for a short totality.
Rebekah Purvis, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of North Texas, said the map in the Forbes article matches the source she uses, the National Solar Observatory.
“The edge of the path of totality is difficult to predict, and there is some error in the prediction, so I am not surprised that a slight change was made this week,” Purvis said via email. “My message to everyone at UNT since January 2022, when I first looked closely at the projected path, has been that Denton is not in the path of totality — 99.8% coverage, some parts 99.9%, but not 100% coverage.”
Where does the path go through Denton?
According to the Besselian Elements eclipse map, a portion of far southeast Denton will be within the path of totality.
Spc. Ernest W. Dallas Jr. Veterans Memorial Park, at 6100 Sun Ray Drive, is projected to be the only park in Denton that will see totality, although it’ll be quick.
Teasley Lane at Hickory Creek Road is projected to be one of the edges of totality in Denton. The map shows Kroger at 5021 Teasley Lane narrowly within the edge of totality; meanwhile, Sprouts Farmers Market across the street will miss out.
Previous projections had Buc-ee’s, the Unicorn Lake area and Medical City of Denton narrowly included in the path of totality. Now, they’re not.
The sun will appear to be 99% covered in most of Denton. That means totality won’t be seen at landmarks like Quakertown Park, UNT’s Denton campus and Texas Woman’s University — although there will be free eclipse-watching events at all three locations.
Communities in the area that will get full coverage include Shady Shores, Lake Dallas, Hickory Creek, Lantana, Bartonville, Highland Village, Lewisville and Providence Village.