ECLIPSE UPDATES: A photo gallery | Speedway, White River State Park draw crowds | Visitors travel far for eclipse

IBJ had reporters at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Monument Circle, in Franklin and at White River State Park to check out Monday’s eclipse festivities. Here’s a look at the big day.

6:30 p.m.

White River State Park crowd topped 40,000, organizers say

White River State Park officials said late Monday that its “conservative estimate” is that 40,000 people showed up to view Monday’s solar eclipse.

The event, called Lunacy! Solar Eclipse Festival, included food trucks, live music, yoga classes and more, ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

White River State Park Director Jake Oakman said his organization expects to have better data on Monday’s crowd size in a few days.

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4:36 p.m.

Thousands gather at White River State Park under clear skies for total eclipse

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4:35 p.m.

Images from the eclipse in central Indiana

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4:28 p.m.

From far and wide

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4:25 p.m.

Street legal? Maybe or maybe not

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3:08 p.m.

Downtown goes dark

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3 p.m.

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2:55 p.m.

Franklin cafe slashes prices for eclipse event

Tickets to a sit-at-the-eclipse event hosted outside of Main & Madison Market Cafe, a coffee shop in downtown Franklin, were originally advertised at $150 for an individual ticket and a VIP table of six for $675. The price included solar eclipse glasses, a boxed lunch, a “totality champagne toast” and “celestial cake” among other things.

A week ago, that price was slashed in half. The morning before the eclipse, a sign out front advertised $25 for a seat. By 2 p.m. Monday, the owners were inviting people in at no cost.

Amy Richardson, one of three owners of the shop, told IBJ it’s just been a matter of supply and demand.

“For us, being able to sell food and drink is a big deal. So, we modified it at that point,” she said.

The outdoor space wasn’t full at 2 p.m., but a few dozen attendees sat and enjoyed cocktails and a live band.

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2:49 p.m.

Amateur astronomer from England lands at Monument Circle

Plan B brought Yusuf Dips, an amateur astronomer from Leeds, England, to Monument Circle to witness Monday’s solar eclipse.

Originally part of a group that flew to Texas for the event, Dips didn’t like the weather forecast and drove 17 hours on Sunday to Indianapolis.

“It was my first time driving in the States,” he said.

Dips selected a spot on Soldiers and Sailors Monument to camp out with his camera, telephoto lens and solar filter. He said a newly purchased weather app indicated the monument would be a perfect spot for viewing.

– Dave Lindquist

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2:15 p.m.

Crowds gather at White River State Park

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1:30 p.m.

Grandstands fill up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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1 p.m.

IMS allowing eclipse viewers to stand on track

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is marking Monday’s celestial rarity with a rare treat for its visitors: It’s allowing thousands of fans to stand on the track to view the eclipse.

Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp., which owns the track and the IndyCar Series, said he thinks the decision will create a special opportunity for many of the more than 50,000 visitors attending the event. Among them, he said, will be his 11-year-old granddaughters.

“I was with them last night, and they were asking me to tell them why they couldn’t go out on the track on Race Day, in May. I told them ‘Listen, you’ve got a ways to wait,’” Miles said. “But they don’t today, and they don’t know that yet. I haven’t told them yet that they can go out there today, so I know they’ll light up.”

Generally IMS does not allow anyone in the general public onto the track if they are under 18. And while the speedway offers tours and other events that allows the public on the track, doing so for such a large group is not a frequent occurrence.

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12:15 p.m.

Franklin expecting big turnout

Although sidewalks aren’t full and traffic isn’t at a standstill in the small city of Franklin (at least so far), officials are already calling the eclipse a big success.

“It’s amazing. It’s everything we hoped for,” Ken Kosky, executive director of Johnson County’s tourism bureau, told IBJ. He said visitors have come from France, Scotland, Mexico and at least 29 U.S. states. Of the 100,000 eclipse glasses the county tourism bureau ordered, they have handed out 85,000.

Kosky previously told IBJ that the county expected between 100,000 and 150,000 visitors to venture to the area for the eclipse. In the city of Franklin, which has a population of about 26,000, he expected about 34,000 visitors.

At a cookout outside of City Hall about two hours prior to the start of the eclipse, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett said he was pleased with the turnout.

“I’ve talked to folks from California, and they’ve just been so nice and telling us how nice our city is, and how clean it is,” Barnett said.

Franklin’s appeal for eclipse watchers is due to the city’s ideal location in the path of the eclipse, in which it will receive more than four minutes of totality.

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11:45 a.m.

Latest weather forecast

Clouds are forecast for much of the eclipse route through the United States with some possible patches of clear skies in some spots, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.

In Indianapolis, where the eclipse is expected to reach totality just after 3 p.m., local forecasters as of late Monday morning were predicting about 33% cloud cover at the time of totality. Those clouds are expected to be Cirrus clouds, which are high clouds that typically appear wispy, thin and delicate. No rain is expected.

The National Weather Service is predicting an increase in cloud cover at noon to about 46%, but it quickly will dissapate.

Temperatures in central Indiana are predicted to reach the low-70s by Monday afternoon.

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10:40 a.m.

NASA at IMS

As more than 50,000 count down the final hours before the total solar eclipse at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASA officials and other scientists are tackling a series of space-related topics through several symposiums and panel discussions.

The panels, which offer two separate tracks—one focused on more technical aspects of space exploration and the other catered more to general audiences—are intended to address several areas.

Among them are the eclipse experience for those with visual impairments, technologies used to study the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope, opportunities in science through STEM education, and the science behind how the eclipse occurs. There will also be a presentation on Purdue alumnus and moon-landing astronaut Neil Armstrong, a panel with several astronauts, and another on the intersection of motorsports and manned space travel.

The panels, all held in the Gallagher Pavilion near the Pagoda at IMS, began at 10 a.m. and will run until 12:45 p.m.

A full schedule can be found here.

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10 a.m.

Today’s weather info

Eight@8’s Mason King recommends this National Weather Service site for the latest weather predictions by hour across central Indiana.

At the moment, the site says it will 63 degrees at 3 p.m. with 26% cloud cover in central Indiana.

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9 a.m.

No glasses? No problem. 3 cool ways to safely view the eclipse.

Don’t have eclipse glasses for today? Check out these tips for enjoying the phenomenon anyway.