BATON ROUGE — More than 30 million Americans live in the path of Monday’s total eclipse of the sun. While Baton Rouge doesn’t fall along the path of totality, Amy Northrop at the BREC Highland Observatory says she still expects a crowd for the partial eclipse that will be seen here.

"I'm really excited to be able to see the enthusiasm of a first-time eclipse," Northrop said.

In 2017, Northrop says the observatory was packed with patrons, and she expects a similar turnout this time.

"You couldn't move without bumping into people,” Northrop said.” Everyone was just as excited to be here as I was."

During Monday's eclipse in Baton Rouge, about 88 percent of the sun will be blotted out, with more darkened northwest of the city and less eclipsed to the southeast. For comparison, during the August 2017 eclipse about 80 percent of the sun will be blocked by the moon and in May 1984 the moon covered 98 percent of the sun during an eclipse seen at Baton Rouge.

The next partial eclipse with significant visibility at Baton Rouge will occur Jan. 14, 2029, when 54 percent of the sun will be obscured, and on Aug. 12, 2045, 94 percent of the sun will be obscured here.

The next total eclipse visible in Baton Rouge will occur May 11, 2078 — 54 years from now.

More than a century ago, the moon covered 99 percent of the sun on May 28, 1900. 

Seeing the moon's shadow could prove challenging for Baton Rouge this year. The weather forecast leading up to Monday hasn’t been ideal for seeing the eclipse clearly, but if skies are clear, the observatory has plenty of ways to watch. Patrons can watch the eclipse through special telescopes and protective glasses, which are provided by the observatory.

Northrop says spring is the best time to observe changes with the sun, like sunspots. She says in the hours leading up to the eclipse, viewers can see unusual activity.

"It's a very, very fun time to be viewing the sun,” she said. “There's sun spots, some bigger than the earth. There's one that's actually made a complete circuit of the sun twice now, and I'm hoping it will come around again in a few weeks.”

The observatory will be hosting a viewing of the eclipse on April 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.