Save the date: one year until a total solar eclipse

Remove your eclipse glasses: It’s only a year until a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America.

On April 8th, 2024, the Moon will cast a shadow over an area of ​​the United States, Mexico and Canada, plunging millions of people into noonday darkness.

It’s been less than six years since a total solar eclipse swept across the United States, from coast to coast. That was on August 21, 2017.

If you miss next year’s spectacle, you’ll have to wait 20 years for the next spectacle to hit the US, but this total eclipse will only be visible in Montana and the Dakota.

Here’s what you need to know to prepare for the 2024 show:

Where can I see it?

Next year’s eclipse will cut a diagonal across North America on April 8, which falls on a Monday.

It will start in the Pacific Ocean and first make landfall over Mexico around 11:07 a.m. local time, NASA expects. Then, it will cross into Texas and move through parts of the Midwest and Northeast in the afternoon.

Overall, it will hit parts of 13 US states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Cities in its path include Dallas. Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis. Cleveland and Buffalo, New York.

Parts of Canada — including Quebec and Newfoundland — will also get a glimpse before the eclipse takes to the sea in the early evening.

The total eclipse will be visible within 115 miles of width – the path of totality. Off this path, you can still see a partial solar eclipse, as the moon takes a bite out of the sun and turns it into a crescent shape.

Total eclipses happen about every 18 months, but more often they cross remote areas where few people see.

What happens during an eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, blocking sunlight from reaching us.

Although the Moon is about 400 times smaller than the Sun, it is about 400 times closer to Earth, University of Colorado astronomer Doug Duncan explains. So when the orbits line up just right, a young moon can block out the entire sun. Those standing in the right places will experience totality: when the moon casts a shadow over the landscape.

“In just seconds, you go from bright, bright daylight to midnight,” said Dr. Debbie Brown, who witnessed her first total eclipse in 2017 with Duncan in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

“The stars came out. Suddenly, all the animals fell silent,” recalls Brown, of Arlington, Virginia.

During the 2024 eclipse, the total will stretch to about four and a half minutes — nearly twice as long as in 2017.

What is the best spot?

Duncan said advance planning is key to getting the full eclipse experience. Weather can be a big factor because eclipses are coming in the spring, when conditions can be unpredictable. That’s why Duncan chose Texas for next year’s eclipse tour, where there are better odds for clear skies.

Your choice also depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for, said Bob Baer, ​​who coordinates eclipse plans at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

Carbondale—at the crossroads of both the 2017 and 2024 eclipse paths—will hold a viewing event at the school’s stadium once again. It’s a great team experience, Baer said, “In the last 20 minutes before the entirety, the field got noisy like a football game.”

But you can find eclipse events of all different flavors planned along the eclipse path: luxury cruises in Mexico, music festivals in Texas, ranch camping in Arkansas, and planetarium visits in upstate New York.

“The goal, at the end of the day, is to get as many people as possible outside, and look out for their eyes during college,” said Dan Schneiderman, who helps the Rochester Museum and Science Center plan events. “Hopefully with their close friends and loved ones.”

Schneiderman added that you’ll want to grab the eclipse glasses to see the partial phases before and after totality. Looking at the partially covered sun without protection can cause serious eye damage.

Brown and her husband plan to join Duncan’s eclipse tour in Austin. She passed her first experience of the eclipse.

“I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy this for a while longer,” Brown said. “To be able to immerse yourself in the moment.”

What other losses occur?

The United States will see a few eclipses before the big one in 2024. There will be an annular eclipse — when the sun isn’t completely covered, but looks like a ring of fire in the sky — later this year, in Oct. 14.

The path of this eclipse will cross from Oregon to California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Later this month, there will be a rare one Hybrid eclipse, which switches between the total eclipse and the annular eclipse at different points along its path. But few people will see it. The April 20 eclipse is located mostly over the Indian Ocean, crossing only a few slivers of Australia and Southeast Asia.

With a 20-year gap until the next total solar eclipse in the US, Duncan says it’s worth it to be on the way to totality next year. It has witnessed 12 total eclipses so far.

He said seeing the partial eclipse – even if it’s 90% covered – means “you’ve missed out on all the good stuff”.

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