NEW YORK (AP) — Just one year from now, a total solar eclipse will sweep across North America. The eclipse will slice a diagonal line across 13 states in the U.S., from Texas through Maine. Parts of Mexico and Canada will also get a look, while those outside of the path will get to see a partial eclipse. Events and tours are already scheduled for April 8, 2024, including luxury cruises, music festivals and camping trips. Veteran watchers say you should start planning now. A total eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, blocking out the sun.
Your choice also depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for, said Bob Baer, who’s coordinating eclipse plans at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Carbondale — in the crossroads of both the 2017 and 2024 eclipse paths — will hold a viewing event at the school’s stadium again. It’s a big group experience, Baer said: “The last 20 minutes before totality, the stadium gets as loud as a football game.”
But you can find eclipse events of all different flavors planned along the eclipse path: luxury cruises in Mexico, music festivals in Texas, farm camping in Arkansas, planetarium visits in upstate New York.
The U.S. will get some eclipse action ahead of the big event in 2024. There will be an annular eclipse — when the sun isn’t completely covered, but appears like a ring of fire in the sky — later this year, on Oct. 14. The path of that eclipse will cross from Oregon down through California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Later this month, there will be a rare hybrid eclipse, which switches between a total and an annular eclipse at different points along its path. But few people will see it. The April 20 eclipse is mostly over the Indian Ocean, and only crosses over a few slivers of Australia and Southeast Asia.
The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. is 20 years away and will only be visible in Montana and the Dakotas.
