The approximate path of the 2024 total solar eclipse. (Inset photo via NASA) If you missed the 2017 total solar eclipse that turned day into night and wowed millions of Americans from coast-to-coast, you have the rare chance to see another one on April 8, 2024.According to the American Astronomical Society, the total solar eclipse coming to North America in 2024, just seven years after the 2017 eclipse shadowed much of the continental U.S., will be at least partially visible "to nearly everyone in North America fortunate to have cloud-free skies."This time, the moon’s shadow will be roughly 115 miles wide and sweep from Mexico to Maine.
Astronomers said the best place to see the eclipse is within the path of totality, where the sun is 100% obscured by the moon – and in areas with the most favorable weather forecasts.
In 2024, that would be Mexico or South Texas. The northwest and southwest regions of the U.S. will get a partial eclipse.JACKSON, WY - AUGUST 21: A woman views the solar eclipse in the first phase of a total eclipse in Grand Teton National Park on August 21, 2017 outside Jackson, Wyoming. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) When the moon passes between Earth and the sun and scores a bull’s eye by completely blotting out the sunlight, that’s a total solar eclipse.
The moon casts a shadow on our planet. Dead center is where sky gazers get the full treatment.Total solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic.