Solar Eclipse 2024: List of Upcoming Eclipses, Safety Tips, and More

North America will witness a total solar eclipse on April 8. Find out how and where you can watch it. Around midday on April 8, 2024, the sky over parts of North America will suddenly go dark for a few minutes. The reason is a total solar eclipse that will begin over the continent from near Mazaltan, Mexico to beyond Montreal, Canada, passing through nearly a dozen states in the US. The path along which the total solar eclipse can be seen is approximately 115 miles wide, according to NASA.

Make sure you wear protective glasses when looking at the eclipse. Looking directly at the sun without protective glasses damages the retina.(Francisco Canedo/Xinhua/dpa/picture alliance)

For the millions of people in the path of the eclipse, sunshine will be blocked momentarily, causing a momentary dark dusk-like state during the prime of the day. Residents will have to wait until 2045 for the next solar eclipse over North America if they miss this one. (Also read: Solar eclipse 2024: City-wise guide to best times in the path of totality in US )