Total Eclipse of the Sun: April 08, 2024
by Fred Espenak
Solar Eclipses For Beginners
Need a quick introduction to the basics of Solar Eclipses? Find out the What, When, Where, and Why to the grandest of celestial events in Mr. Eclipse's Solar Eclipses For Beginners.
Eerie twilight during Totality (click to enlarge)
Experiencing Totality
During the brief total phase of a total eclipse of the Sun (the period known as Totality), the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s brilliant face. You are suddenly plunged into an eerie twilight and the Sun's glorious corona is revealed for all to see. It has been said that a total eclipse of the Sun is "the most spectacular astronomical event visible with the naked eye". What is it like to witness this event?
Read Experiencing Totality to find out.
Safe Eclipse Glasses
How to Safely View a Solar Eclipse
Eclipses of the Sun are fasciating astronomical events that can be viewed safely if certain precautions are taken.
Learn all about How to Safely View a Solar Eclipse.
Google Map of the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
Google Map of 2024 Total Solar Eclipse through North America
2024 Eclipse Times for Major Cities
The following tables give the local times of the important stages of the eclipse (beginning, middle and end) for major cities in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
2024 Eclipse Times for any City or Location
The 2024 Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator calculates the eclipse times for any city or location (useful for cities and locations not listed in the previous three tables).
The Calculator includes city lists for seven geographic regions to choose from. You can also manually enter the geographic coordinates of any location you want. A table will be generated for the eclipse circumstances (times, sun's altutude, etc.) for each phase of the eclipse.
- Here is the link for: 2024 Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator
Animation of the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
This animation shows the Moon's two shadows as they sweep across Earth during the total eclipse of 2024. It is the view you would get if you were watching from the Moon.
The animation is available in three sizes/resolutions: small, medium, and large. They can be viewed through the following links:
- Small Animation (size 300 x 300 pixels)
- Medium Animation (size 400 x 400 pixels)
- Large Animation (size 800 x 800 pixels)
For more information about these animations, please visit: 2024 Map Animation
Books About the 2024 Eclipse
Get Eclipsed: A Family Guide to Two North American Eclipses
North America will be the scene for two spectacular eclipses of the Sun. On October 14, 2023, an annular eclipse of the Sun occurs in western USA and Mexico. Six months later, an incomparable total eclipse of the Sun occurs on April 8, 2024. Its 125-mile wide path crosses Mexico, the USA from Texas to Maine, and eastern Canada.
During both of these events, a partial eclipse of the Sun will be visible from virtually all of North America. The last annular eclipse visible from the USA was in 2012. The last total eclipse visible from the USA was in 2017, and the next one to cross the country won't be until 2044. Don't miss the incredible experience of seeing these celestial wonders!
Get Eclipsed is an easy to read, family friendly, inexpensive eclipse guide for the entire family. It tells you everything you need to know about the upcoming annular and total eclipses of the Sun in 2023 and 2024. And it comes with two pairs of special glasses for safely watching the partial eclipse phases and annularity.
For more information visit Get Eclipsed.
Road Atlas of the Total Solar Eclipse of 2024
The Road Atlas for the Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 contains a comprehensive series of 26 maps of the path of totality across Mexico, the USA and Canada. The large scale (1 inch ≈ 22 miles) shows both major and minor roads, towns and cities, rivers, parks, and mountains.
Although a partial eclipse will be seen from all of North America, the total phase in which the Moon completely covers the Sun (known as totality) will only be seen from within the 120-mile-wide path of the Moon’s umbral shadow as it sweeps across Mexico, the United States (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine), and Canada (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland).
Armed with this atlas and the latest weather forecasts, the road warrior is ready to chase totality no matter where it takes him/her along the entire path. This mobile strategy offers the highest probability of witnessing the spectacular 2024 total eclipse in clear skies.
For more information visit Road Atlas for the Total Solar Eclipse of 2024.
Eclipse Bulletin: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 April 08
The Eclipse Bulletin: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 April 08 is the complementary publication of the 2024 Road Atlas and is the ultimate guide to this highly anticipated event.
Eleven high resolution maps plot the total eclipse track across Mexico, the USA, and Canada. The large map scale (1 inch ≈ 53 miles) shows hundreds of cities and towns in the path, the location of major roads and highways, and the duration of totality with distance from the central line. Local circumstances tables for hundreds cities the USA, Canada, and Mexico provide times of each phase of the eclipse along with the eclipse magnitude, duration and Sun's altitude. A detailed climatological study identifies areas along the eclipse path where the highest probability of favorable weather may be found.
Finally, comprehensive information is presented about solar filters and how to safely observe the eclipse.
For more information visit Eclipse Bulletin: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 April 08.
Totality - The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024
The Totality - The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024 is a complete guide to the most stunning of celestial sights, total eclipses of the Sun. It focuses on the eclipses of August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024 that pass across the United States. The U.S. mainland has not experienced a total solar eclipse since 1979. This book provides information, photographs, and illustrations to help understand and safely enjoy all aspects of these eclipses including:
- How to observe a total eclipse of the Sun
- How to photograph and video record an eclipse
- Why solar eclipses happen
- The earliest attempts to understand and predict eclipses
- The mythology and folklore of eclipses
- The response of animals to total solar eclipses
- The response of man to total eclipses through time
- How scientists used total eclipses to understand how the Sun works
- How astronomers used a total eclipse in 1919 to confirm Einstein's general theory of relativity
- Weather prospects for the 2017 eclipse
- Detailed maps of the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse and the eclipses of 2018 through 2024
- Precise local times for the eclipses of 2017 and 2024 (the next total solar eclipse to visit the U.S.)
- Color and black-and-white photographs, diagrams, and charts to illustrate and explain total solar eclipses
- Global maps of total solar eclipses from 2017 to 2045 and lists of total and annual solar eclipses from 1970 through 2070
For more information visit Totality - The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024.
Safe Solar Eclipse Glasses
Every total (and annular) eclipse of the Sun begins and ends with a partial eclipse. The partial phases require either a projection technique or a special solar filter to be viewed safely. The easiest way to safely watch a solar eclipse is to use special Solar Eclipse Glasses. Read more about this at How to Safely View a Solar Eclipse.
Solar Eclipse Glasses must also be used during the Annular Phase of an annular solar eclipse, even though most of the Sun's disk is covered by the Moon.
