Why the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse May ’Outshine’ 2017 Michael d’Estries - Mother Nature Network
go to original August 25, 2017

President Donald Trump might be seeing spots for a while. If he's lucky, that's the worst effect he'll suffer after gazing skyward Monday. (The Oregonian)

The first total solar eclipse in nearly a century not only injected a much-needed sense of awe towards astronomy into our culture, but also introduced a golden age of eclipse watching. In the 21st century, 10 total solar eclipses will send the moon's shadow over U.S. soil, with six of these events passing over vast swaths of the country.

The next one occurs on April 8, 2024, a brief intermission of only seven years, and will cut a path from Mexico to Texas to Maine and the maritime provinces of Canada. Nicknamed "The Great North American Eclipse," 13 states will find themselves squarely within the narrow path of totality. Cities like San Antonio, Dallas, Little Rock, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse will likely witness a healthy influx of eclipse chasers.



Extremely lucky sites such as Carbondale, Illinois, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Paducah, Kentucky found themselves at the intersection of this year's eclipse and the April 2024 one, thus enjoying two total solar eclipses in only seven years.

While the 2024 total solar eclipse will certainly offer new opportunities for those states that missed out on this year's lauded "path of totality," it's the duration of totality that will have eclipse-o-philes counting down the days. For the 2017 eclipse, the duration of totality will last between 20 seconds (over Kansas City, Kansas) to a maximum of two minutes and 40 seconds (over Carbondale, Illinois). The 2024 eclipse by comparison will average just under 4 minutes (4 minutes 27 seconds in Texas) along the path of totality.

As American writer and editor Mabel Loomis Todd proclaimed over a century ago, those additional seconds to experience the wonders of totality will most certainly be worth getting excited for.

Read the rest at Mother Nature Network

Related: Solar Eclipse Glasses Expire: Why You Can't Save Them for Next Time (silive.com)

Related: The Best Solar Eclipse Photos from Around the Internet (Popular Mechanics)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!