A total solar eclipse moves across North America on 8 Apr 2024
A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk.
From 1 to 4 p.m. EDT (1700 to 2000 UTC) on April 8, we’ll share conversations with experts and provide telescope views of the eclipse from several sites along the eclipse path. Throughout the broadcast, send us your questions in the chat using #askNASA for a chance to have them answered live.
WARNING: Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. Indirect viewing methods, such as pinhole projectors, can also be used to experience an eclipse. For more on how to safely view this eclipse: https://go.nasa.gov/Eclipse2024Safety
How the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Is Different than the 2017 Eclipse
The total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, was photographed from Madras, Oregon. The black circle in the middle is the Moon. Surrounding it are white streams of light belonging to the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
On April 8, the Moon’s shadow will sweep across the United States, as millions will view a total solar eclipse. For many, preparing for this event brings memories of the magnificent total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017. In 2017, an estimated 215 million U.S. adults (88% of U.S. adults) viewed the solar eclipse, either directly or electronically. They experienced the Moon pass in front of the Sun, blocking part or all of our closest star’s bright face. The eclipse in 2024 could be even more exciting due to differences in the path, timing, and scientific research.
The path of totality – where viewers can see the Moon totally block the Sun, revealing the star’s outer atmosphere, called the corona – is much wider during the upcoming total solar eclipse than it was during the eclipse in 2017. As the Moon orbits Earth, its distance from our planet varies. During the 2017 total solar eclipse, the Moon was a little bit farther away from Earth than it will be during the upcoming total solar eclipse, causing the path of that eclipse to be a little skinnier. In 2017, the path ranged from about 62 to 71 miles wide. During the April eclipse, the path over North America will range between 108 and 122 miles wide – meaning at any given moment, this eclipse covers more ground. The 2024 eclipse path will also pass over more cities and densely populated areas than the 2017 path did. This will make it easier for more people to see totality. An estimated 31.6 million people live in the path of totality this year, compared to 12 million in 2017. An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality. You don’t need to live within the path of totality to see the eclipse – in April, 99% of people who reside in the United States will be able to see the partial or total eclipse from where they live. Every contiguous U.S. state, plus parts of Alaska and Hawaii, will experience at least a partial solar eclipse.
In April, totality will last longer than it did in 2017. Seven years ago, the longest period of totality was experienced near Carbondale, Illinois, at 2 minutes, 42 seconds. For the upcoming eclipse, totality will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds, in an area about 25 minutes northwest of Torreón, Mexico. As the eclipse enters Texas, totality will last about 4 minutes, 26 seconds at the center of the eclipse's path. Durations longer than 4 minutes stretch as far north as Economy, Indiana. Even as the eclipse exits the U.S. and enters Canada, the eclipse will last up to 3 minutes, 21 seconds. During any total solar eclipse, totality lasts the longest near the center of the path, widthwise, and decreases toward the edge. But those seeking totality shouldn’t worry that they need to be exactly at the center. The time in totality falls off pretty slowly until you get close to the edge.
Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024
The solar eclipse during totality, seen from Indianapolis, Indiana
The solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, dubbed the Great North American Eclipse by some media, was a total solar eclipse visible within a band covering parts of North America, stretching from Mexico to Canada and covering the contiguous United States. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness.
Totality occurs only in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometers wide (the Moon's diameter is approx. 3470 km or 2160 miles). One day after perigee on April 7, 2024, the Moon's apparent diameter was 5.5% larger than average. With a magnitude of 1.0566, the eclipse's longest duration of totality was 4 minutes and 28.13 seconds just 4 mi (6 km) north of the Mexican town of Nazas, Durango.
This eclipse was the first total solar eclipse visible in Canada since February 26, 1979;[4][5] the first in Mexico since July 11, 1991;[6] and the first in the United States since August 21, 2017. No other solar eclipse in the 21st century will be totally visible in all three countries.[7] It was the last total solar eclipse visible in the contiguous United States until August 23, 2044, while the next eclipse of similar breadth will occur on August 12, 2045. The final solar eclipse of the year will occur on October 2, 2024.
8 Apr 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
What the Eclipse Will Look Like near the Maximum Point
The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looks like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.
The next 8 Total Solar Eclipses
A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon completely covers the face of the Sun. To see it, you have to be somewhere within a narrow path of totality.
Every 18 months or so—somewhere in the world—a total solar eclipse takes place. The total phase of the eclipse, where the Moon completely covers the Sun, is visible from along a narrow path of totality. Typically, this path across the globe is around 15,000 km (9000 miles) long, but only about 150 km (90 miles) wide. Observers outside the path of totality may see a partial eclipse. By convention, eclipses are named after their darkest phase—if a solar eclipse is total at any point on Earth, it is called a total solar eclipse.
The next 8 Total Solar Eclipses:
