2024 Solar Eclipse

Monday, April 8, 2024: Mark Your Calendar!

Experience the 2024 Solar Eclipse: On April 8, 2024, North America awaits another spectacular celestial event. Similar to the memorable 2017 total solar eclipse, this upcoming phenomenon promises awe-inspiring views. Unlike the previous event, which spanned the continental United States, this eclipse's path will sweep from Mexico through the United States, reaching parts of Eastern Canada.

During a total solar eclipse, the Moon briefly obscures the Sun's bright face, revealing the magnificent corona, or "crown," around the Sun. This shimmering outer atmosphere, composed of rarefied gas heated to millions of degrees, is a sight to behold. The eclipse also brings forth other remarkable phenomena: the ruby red arc of the chromosphere, a deep twilight blue sky, vibrant sunrise/sunset hues on the horizon, and the appearance of bright stars and planets. Additionally, observers may notice a drop in air temperature and changes in animal behavior as daylight turns to twilight.

Get Yourself into the Path of Totality!

Outside the path of totality nearly all of North America will get a partial solar eclipse. But even a 99% partial eclipse pales in comparison to a total one. If you didn't know a partial eclipse was happening, you might overlook it, as it gets no darker than on a cloudy day. Within the path, though, as the Moon covers the last 1% of the Sun's bright face in less than a minute's time, the daylight fades by a factor of up to 1,000! If you weren't expecting that, you might think the world was coming to an end!

With the path stretching from Mexico to Canada, where should you plan to rendezvous with the Moon's shadow? Most eclipse aficionados go where the weather prospects are most favorable. For this eclipse, as shown in the graphic below, that's Mexico or southern Texas. But anywhere within the path beats everywhere outside it, so if you can't travel to Mexico or Texas, try to get into the path wherever you can — you won't regret it!