Attention North America: one year before dusting off the glasses to see a total solar eclipse. On April 8, 2024, the Moon will cast its shadow on the Sun in parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada, and millions of people will be plunged into darkness in broad daylight.

It has been less than six years since a total solar eclipse crossed the skies of the United States from coast to coast. It was August 21, 2017.

Whoever misses the next show will have to wait 20 years until the next eclipse, but that one will only be visible in Montana and the Dakotas.

WHERE CAN I SEE IT?

Next year’s eclipse will move diagonally across North America. It will start in the Pacific and make landfall in Mexico around 11:07 a.m. local time, NASA reported.

According to the website https://eclipse2024.org/path-north-america.html, it will pass through the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Durango, Chihuahua and Coahuila.

It will then enter Texas, crossing parts of 13 states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It will cross the cities of Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis; Cleveland and Buffalo, New York.

In Canada, it will be seen in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.

The path of totality will be 185 kilometers (115 miles) wide. Outside this band, a partial eclipse will be seen, in which it will appear that the Moon will eat a piece of the Sun and turn it into a “half moon”.

Total eclipses occur approximately every 18 months, but many pass through remote areas where few people see them.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING AN ECLIPSE?

Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, blocking sunlight.

Although the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun, it is 400 times closer to Earth, explained astronomer Doug Duncan. So when their orbits align from Earth’s perspective, our natural satellite can block out the huge star. Those in the right places will see a total eclipse: when the Moon’s shadow covers the entire landscape.

Totality in 2024 will last four and a half minutes, almost twice as long as in 2017.

WHERE WILL BE THE BEST PLACE?

The weather can be an unfavorable factor, since the eclipse will occur in the spring, when the weather is unpredictable. Texas is a good place to find clear skies.

Events of all kinds are planned along the way: luxury cruises in Mexico, music festivals in Texas, camping in Arkansas and visits to planetariums in upstate New York.

Eclipse glasses are needed to see partial phases before and after totality, said Dan Schneiderman, who helps the Rochester Museum and Science Center with event planning. Looking at the partially covered sun without protection can be harmful to your eyesight. ___

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