A Total Solar Eclipse Will Be Visible in North America for the First Time in 6 Years—Here's How and When to See It

With October's rare "ring of fire" eclipse barely in the rearview, there's already another exciting eclipse to put on your radar. On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada, according to NASA.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and earth, completely blocking the face of the sun and causing the sky to darken. People viewing the eclipse from locations where the moon's shadow covers the sun in its entirety (also known as the path of totality) will experience a total solar eclipse, NASA reports.

The first location in continental North America that will experience totality is Mexico at around 11:07 am PDT. The path of the eclipse continues from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. From there, the eclipse will enter Canada.

Weather permitting, viewers along the path of totality will see the sun’s corona (its outer atmosphere), which is usually obscured by the bright face of the sun, according to NASA.

When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through eclipse glasses or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a solar filter over the front will cause severe eye injury. The only time it's safe to look directly at the eclipse is during totality—when the moon completely blocks the sun’s bright face, NASA reports.

After April's total solar eclipse, the next one that can be seen from the United States will be on August 23, 2044.