Astronomy Essentials

Total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024

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January 1, 2022

Animation showing moon's shadow moving across the Earth. — April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse, as seen from the moon’s vantage point. The moon’s large penumbral shadow is lightly shaded and is outlined with a solid black edge. A partial eclipse is visible from within this penumbra. A total eclipse is visible along the yellow line. Animation by Fred Espenak and Michael Zeiler.

Total solar eclipse

A total solar eclipse sweeps across North America, Mexico, and eastern Canada on the evening of April 8, 2024. A partial solar eclipse is visible over North and Central America.

Partial eclipse begins: at 15:42 UTC (11:42 a.m. EDT) on April 8.
Total eclipse begins: at 16:38 UTC (12:38 p.m. EDT) on April 8.
Greatest eclipse: at 18:17 UTC (2:17 p.m. EDT) on April 8.
Total eclipse ends: at 19:55 UTC (3:55 p.m. EDT) on April 8.
Partial eclipse ends: at 20:52 UTC (4:52 p.m. EDT) on April 8.
Note: The instant of greatest eclipse – when the axis of the moon’s shadow cone passes closest to Earth’s center – takes place at 18:17 UTC (2:17 p.m. EDT). It’s a relatively long total eclipse with a duration of totality lasting 4.47 minutes.

Remember that the number one rule for solar eclipse observing is to make sure you protect your eyes by using an appropriate filter. Purchase a pair of eclipse glasses from the EarthSky Store.

Moon, constellation, saros

Greatest eclipse takes place one day after the moon reaches perigee, its closest point to Earth for the month. During the April 8, 2024 eclipse, the sun is located in the direction of the constellation Aries.

This eclipse has a magnitude of 1.0566.

The Saros catalog describes the periodicity of eclipses. The eclipse belongs to Saros 139. It is number 30 of 71 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the moon’s ascending node. The moon moves southward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series.

Cities where the eclipse is visible

List of cities. — Cities where the partial solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 is visible, via TimeandDate.com.

Next eclipse and eclipse seasons

The total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, is preceded two weeks earlier by a penumbral lunar eclipse on March 24, 2024.

These eclipses all take place during a single eclipse season.

An eclipse season is an approximate 35-day period during which it’s inevitable for at least 2 (and possibly 3) eclipses to take place. The next eclipse season has two eclipses: October 2 and October 17, 2024.

Maps and data

Find maps and eclipse timings below. Remember to convert UTC to your time.

Total solar eclipse — A map for the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. It sweeps across North America, Mexico, and eastern Canada. You must protect your eyes to watch even the partial phases of any solar eclipse. Note the difference between UTC and TD (terrestrial dynamical time, often abbreviated TT as well). Key to solar eclipse maps here. Image via Fred Espenak.

• Timeanddate.com to get the exact timing of the eclipse from your location.
• Orthographic Map: detailed global map of eclipse visibility.
• Google Map: interactive map of the eclipse path.
• Path Table: coordinates of the central line and path limits.
• Circumstances Table: eclipse times for hundreds of cities.
• Saros 139 Table: data for all eclipses in the Saros series.
• Additional Tables and Data.

Covers of 3 of Fred Espenak's large-format eclipse publications. — Thank you, Fred Espenak, for granting permission to reprint this article. For the best in eclipse info – from an expert – visit Fred’s publications page.

Here is what a total solar eclipse looks like

Total solar eclipse; A black sphere with a white glow around it. — A total solar eclipse on June 21, 2001. Image via Detroit Free Press.

Bottom line: A total solar eclipse will take place on Monday, April 8, 2024. The path sweeps across North America, Mexico, and eastern Canada.

See photos of the December 2021 solar eclipse

EarthSky’s monthly planet guide: Visible planets and more

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January 1, 2022

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Astronomy Essentials

Fred Espenak

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About the Author:

Fred Espenak is a scientist emeritus at Goddard Space Flight Center. For decades, he has been NASA's expert on eclipses, and some of you may know him as Mr. Eclipse. Fred maintains NASA's official eclipse web site (eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov) as well as his personal web site on eclipse photography (mreclipse.com). Now retired and living in rural Arizona, Fred spends most clear nights losing sleep and photographing the stars (astropixels.com). His latest website is devoted to helping you enjoy eclipses (www.eclipsewise.com). He is an EarthSky content partner.