The total solar eclipse on April 8 has the country totally on the edge of its seat.
Will the weather cooperate? How will tiny towns cope with the influx of visitors? And where can one find dependable eyewear to view it with?
With so many questions, the historic few hours promise to be memorable, according to a Texas county official, two former NASA astronauts, and a Memphis, Tenn., man who has already manufactured nearly 75 million glasses for Monday’s eclipse.
While about 31 million people across the United States live within the path of totality – including those in Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Buffalo – millions more who aren’t in those locations are gearing up this week to travel for the big day.
All of which means those who live in small towns and counties, like Bell County in central Texas, are anticipating quite a few new friends in their backyards like April 8.
“Traffic congestion is by far the biggest concern we have to date,” Bob Reinhard, emergency management coordinator for Bell County, population 400,000, tells PEOPLE. “Every one of these large arteries [including Interstate 35] has the potential to be packed with motorists. Not only the day of the event, but also on the days leading up to Monday the 8th. Trying to keep those traffic lanes moving at some pace will be a huge challenge.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
On Feb. 21, Bell County was one of the first in the nation to declare a local state of disaster ahead of the event, with county officials expecting its population to double in the days leading up to the eclipse, putting a strain on its infrastructure .
Reinhard said with the declaration in place, it is now a requirement for all private property landowners in unincorporated areas to register with the county if they are planning to host events with more than 50 people.
American Paper Optics
The information will provide a “situational awareness” for leaders in the area so that they can help stage resources in the event of an emergency.
Another concern is cellular coverage, Reinhard says.
“Having this many people in the same area, all using their cellphones for one purpose or the other will undoubtedly place a strain on our cellular infrastructure,” he tells PEOPLE.
As government officials prepare for the eclipse, John Jerit, CEO of American Paper Optics, has been hard at work for 34 of his company’s 35 years so that people can enjoy the eclipse without straining their eyes.
Jerit’s eclipse glasses are made in America, and ISO certified, which means the filter and the glasses have been safety tested, he tells PEOPLE.
“A lot of the glasses that are coming from overseas and from China, they’re tested in labs that aren’t necessarily qualified to test for that particular product,” Jerit tells PEOPLE. “You have to have the right spectrometry equipment and such and know the standards. So a lot of them are just popping up. And we’ve just seen the last 10 days on Amazon and there’s a lot of counterfeit glasses that come over with our name on them.”
American Paper Optics
Jerit emphasizes that the “best thing” consumers can do is to buy from a domestic manufacturer, whether it’s his company or another.
“We are the people who actually make the glasses for NASA,” Jerit tells PEOPLE. “We’ve gotten 2.5 million for them, 4.6 million for the government through a library grant, and just tons of stuff for the government in terms of making glasses. And we will have shipped 75 million glasses by the end of the week from Friday. I think we’ll have 75 million at the door.”
With glasses in hand, what can eclipse viewers expect on Monday?
“When the moon first moves in front of the sun, you don’t really notice it,” Terry Virts, a retired NASA astronaut who spent time on the International Space Station (ISS), tells PEOPLE. “And then as it gets close to covering up the whole sun, it starts to get a little bit dark. But totality is that moment when the moon completely covers up the sun and then it’s very quickly in the matter of seconds.”
Virts continues, “It gets really dark. And I remember when I saw my first total eclipse, the animals started to bark and the birds, all the animals noticed it and they were like, ‘Hey, why is it nighttime all of a sudden?’ And all of a sudden they thought it was nighttime.”
Virts , who is partnering with Sonic for the restaurant’s pegged-to-the-eclipse Sonic Blackout Slush Float and giveaway glasses, cautions about one thing.
“You don’t want to stare at the sun,” he says. “It’s like you wouldn’t stare at the sun normally, so don’t stare at the sun unless you have your eclipse glasses because it can damage your vision.”
And even if Monday is cloudy where you are, Virts says the experience will be “interesting” regardless.
“Hopefully here in Texas, we’ll have some sun, but it’ll still get dark,” he tells PEOPLE. “So basically you just won’t see what’s happening. When you look up at the sun, if you have glasses on, it’s amazing. It looks like something’s taking a bite out of the sun, while the moon is coming. But during totality , it’ll be like all of a sudden somebody turns the sun off, all of a sudden it turns night.”
He adds, “I’d rather be where it’s clear and you can see, but having a cloudy day that just turns dark all of a sudden, that would be kind of interesting in its own way.”
For Jose M. Hernandez, who traveled to the ISS as a mission specialist in 2009 onboard the Discoverythe day is both a teachable moment and an enduring lesson.
“A solar eclipse is nature’s way of reminding us of the grandeur and mystery of the cosmos, a breathtaking spectacle that humbles us and inspires a deeper appreciation for the wonders of the universe,” Hernandez, who is set to give a speech to school children at the AT&T headquarters in Dallas during the eclipse, tells PEOPLE. “I expect this event to spark the imagination of the next generation of space explorers.”
