Every solar eclipse…where the moon blocks the sun…in part or in full, is an amazing thing to witness. But a total eclipse where the moon completely blocks the sun…so much so, that you can view this stage (called totality) with the naked eye…is something special and a rare event for most of us.
The path, where the moon casts it’s shadow on the earth, called the path of totality, is small. It is around 160 miles wide and of course it’s always moving. For the eclipse on April 8th 2024, it started in Western Mexico and traveled Northeast, through Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and New York, and Maine. Those in a small part of Eastern Canada were on the line too.
People travel from all over to set up some place along this path, and if the sky is clear enough of clouds, they should enjoy an amazing view.
Totality, where you can remove safety glasses and just watch with the naked eye, is brief. If you are near the center line of the path, you’ll have the longest duration of totality…for the most recent eclipse that was around 4 minutes plus a few seconds. As you move more to the edges of the path the time gets shorter, down to just a couple of minutes.
In short order, the moon shifts just a bit more and the blistering bright edge of the sun explodes once again, almost immediately brightening the entire landscape.
This is the moment when totality ends.
The next total solar eclipse over the United States will take place in 20 years.