The solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, also known as the Great North American Eclipse,[1] was a total solar eclipse visible across a band covering parts of North America, from Mexico to Canada and crossing the contiguous United States. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the Sun. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight. Totality occurs only in a limited path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a larger surrounding region.
During this eclipse, the Moon's apparent diameter was 5.5 percent larger than average. With a magnitude of 1.0566, the eclipse's longest duration of totality was 4 minutes and 28.13 seconds just 4 mi (6 km) north of the Mexican town of Nazas, Durango.
This eclipse was the first total solar eclipse visible from Canada since August 1, 2008, and from the provinces since February 26, 1979.[2][3] It was the first over Mexico since July 11, 1991.[4] It was also the first over the United States since August 21, 2017. This is the only solar eclipse in the 21st century with totality visible from all three countries.[5] The next total solar eclipse in the US will be on March 30, 2033, which will pass over Alaska. The next total eclipse in the lower 48 states of the US will be on August 23, 2044. The next total eclipse of similar width will take place on August 12, 2045, which will traverse coast-to-coast in a trajectory similar to the 2017 eclipse.
The totality of the solar eclipse was visible in a strip from the Pacific Ocean 230 miles (370 km) north of the Marquesas Islands and later in North America, beginning at the Pacific coast, then ascending in a northeasterly direction through Mexico, the United States, and Canada, before ending in the Atlantic Ocean.[6]
A partial solar eclipse was visible in all of the other parts of the contiguous United States, Hawaii, and southeast Alaska (Alaska Panhandle).[15]
Delta Air Lines scheduled two special eclipse-following flights: one from Austin to Detroit on a large-window A220-300, and one from Dallas to Detroit.
[16] Various other flights in the path of totality also avoided cloud cover entirely.[17]
A partial solar eclipse was visible in all of the other parts of Canada, except the western part of Yukon and the western tip of the Northwest Territories.[27][28]
Central America and South America
The partial eclipse was seen in all Central American countries, from Belize to Panama, all the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica), and northern South America (Colombia).[15]
A partial eclipse passed over Svalbard (Norway), Iceland, Ireland, western parts of the United Kingdom, north-western parts of Spain and Portugal, the Azores, and the Canary Islands.[29] Cloud cover prevented views of it from most of the British Isles,[30][31] although it was seen in Western Scotland.[32] Unusually, this eclipse extended below the horizon, where the greatest phase was observed at mid-nautical twilight in Galicia (Spain) and the beginning of astronomical twilight in Nouvelle-Aquitaine (France).[33] The extension of the eclipse path within the twilight zone created what was likely the best observation window for the 12P/Pons–Brooks comet located closely to Jupiter.[34]
The eclipse occurred around the solar maximum, a period of greatest solar activity in the Sun's 11-year solar cycle, and it was anticipated that solar prominences would be visible during totality.[38] Many observers reported seeing solar prominences during the event.[39][40][41] Most plainly visible to the naked eye was a very bright, ruby-red point of light near the south pole of the Sun's disk, which on telescopic views and photographs showed a tent-shaped angular structure. Telescopic photographs revealed the western limb having several smaller, irregular shapes, of which one large, ragged shape was disconnected from the Sun's surface. Several smaller prominences were also visible on the eastern limb. These shapes correlate in detail with the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatorysolar telescope images taken in space at the same as the earthbound eclipse.
Shadow bands
The shadow bands phenomenon was observed and documented in some locations with clear skies. Attempts to observe and record shadow bands on the ground were disappointed in many areas of totality by the phenomenon not appearing in the event, perhaps having been washed out by the diffuse illumination of cloudy skies in various locations.[42][43]
Impact
It was projected before the eclipse that there could be a $6 billion boost to the US economy due to the eclipse. The Mayor of Rochester, New York, Malik Evans, told reporters that the city was expected to bring in between $10–12 million to the city's economy from the Friday before the eclipse to the day of it.[44][45]
One company that tracks Airbnb data likened the economic impact of the event to having Taylor Swift's concerts taking place simultaneously in every city along the eclipse's path. In the United States, the prices of motels and hotels near the path of totality increased up to 100 percent on April 7 and April 8. Montreal saw a 20% surge in hotel occupancy for April 7 and April 8.[46][47][48]
The eclipse caused a drop in solar power generation, with Texas experiencing a decrease from 12,000 MW to just over 3,000 MW at 2 p.m. Wind power generation also decreased by about 50% that day. However, there were no disruptions in power distribution as supply exceeded demand.[49]
Highways in the area of totality saw significant increases in traffic, with departing tourists causing traffic jams lasting up to eight hours.[50] Many of those trying to pass through Franconia Notch in New Hampshire, for example, found themselves in jams lasting until 2 a.m. the following morning.[51] In Vermont there were an estimated 60,000 additional cars and 248 inbound aircraft over the span of the eclipse weekend, with about 160,000 visitors coming into the state per Secretary of Transportation Joe Flynn.[52] New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced record breaking tourism numbers between April 6-9, that was a 45% increase compared to 2023, with nearly one million visitors to New York State parks and over 5.5 million toll transactions recorded.[53]
Responses
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders preemptively declared a state of emergency related to the eclipse, citing the expected increase of travel to the state which could result in transportation difficulties, such as in Fort Smith, where the police prepared for traffic congestion as hotels filled up.[55][56]Bell County, Texas Judge David Blackburn preemptively declared a state of emergency in February 2024 due to the projected number of visitors to the area.[57] The region surrounding Niagara Falls, Ontario, also declared a state of emergency; as an existing major tourist destination along the path of totality, it expected an influx of at least one million visitors on April 8.[58]
A lawsuit was filed on April 2 by six inmates of various religions at Woodbourne Correctional Facility in New York against the state, stating that the decision to lock down the prison during the eclipse conflicted with their religious beliefs. The solar eclipse is important in various religions.[59] The state settled the lawsuit by allowing them to view the eclipse.[60]
Related eclipses
The eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[61] It is also part of saros series 139, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, 8 hours, containing 71 events, and part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month).
The path of the April 8 eclipse also crossed the path of the annular solar eclipse that occurred less than 6 months prior, on October 14, 2023, intersecting in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas.[63]
^"Where & When". NASA. April 6, 2024. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
^"Total Solar Eclipse in Mexico". Time and Date. April 2024. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024. Total Solar Eclipse durations: Durango, Durango – 3m 47s; Mazatlan, Sinaloa – 4m 20s; Torreón, Coahuila de Zaragoza – 4m 9s.
^Carter, Jamie (November 20, 2023). "The best places in Mexico to see the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024". Space news. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024. Mazatlán, on the country's western coast, will be the first region of mainland Mexico to experience totality, followed by Durango, Torreón, and Monclova as the path tracks northeast toward the U .S. border at Piedras Negras.
^"Solar Eclipse of April 8 2024 from Mazatlán, Mexico". The Sky Live. April 7, 2024. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024. A Total Eclipse of magnitude 1.0216 will be visible from Mazatlán, Mexico on April 8 2024. Maximum eclipse will be at 11:09:38 local time and totality duration will be 4m 19s.
^"Great North American Eclipse: Dallas". Perot Museum of Nature and Science. April 3, 2024. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024. On April 8, 20 24, Dallas will be the largest city in the path of totality for the once-in-a-lifetime Great North American Eclipse.