Total solar eclipse 2024 highlights: Rare phenomenon darkens North America’s skies

Path of totality spans parts of Mexico, eastern Canada and 13 US states, as experts give information about how to safely see it and take pictures

I traveled 300 miles to see the total solar eclipse

A total eclipse of the Sun plunged a stretch of North America into darkness on Monday, with millions of spectators across the US, Mexico and Canada hoping to catch a glimpse of the rare event.

It was North America’s biggest eclipse crowd ever, with the path of totality crossing directly over 44 million people.

More were drawn in from across the world thanks to the lure of clear skies and up to four and a half minutes of midday darkness in some places.

Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.

The best weather was seen in Mexico and at the tail end of the eclipse in Vermont and Maine, as well as New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

“Cloud cover is one of the trickier things to forecast,” National Weather Service meteorologist Alexa Maines explained at Cleveland’s Great Lakes Science Centre on Sunday. “At the very least, it won’t snow.”

Key Points

• Everything you need to know about the eclipse
• What’s so good about an eclipse?
• Total solar eclipse in pictures
• How the solar eclipse looks from space

[9 April 2024 11:29 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Jon Stewart points out flaw in Fox News tying eclipse to immigration

The Sun’s path of totality during Monday’s solar eclipse passed right over Eagle Pass, a town on the US-Mexico border that has become a popular route for migrants in recent years.

This was apparently enough reason for Fox News to tie the eclipse to immigration, with anchor Dana Perino warning viewers that higher traffic could be “a real opportunity for smugglers and cartels and migrants to come right in”.

The Daily Show host Jon Stewart was quick to call out Fox News, saying on Monday’s show: “Is there nothing Fox can’t tie to immigration?”

He then envisioned the network delivering an even more bizarre scenario: “This year’s cicada infestation provides perfect cover for Venezuelans.”

You can watch the clip and read the full story here:

[9 April 2024 12:35 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Woman blames eclipse for shooting spree

While Fox News blames the solar eclipse for increased cartel activity, a woman in Florida has claimed the celestial spectacle provoked a shooting spree along an interstate.

Taylon Nichelle Celestine, 22, of Georgia, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and improper discharge of a firearm over the alleged random shooting rampage on Monday.

According to Highway Patrol, Ms Celestine had recently checked out of a local hotel and told staff that she was about to embark on a shooting spree, saying she had been directed by God in relation to the solar eclipse.

You can read the full story here:

[9 April 2024 14:11 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

When is the next total eclipse?

The next total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States won’t take place until 12 August, 2045. But you don’t have to wait 21 years to watch one.

There will actually be an annular solar eclipse later this year in South America on 2 October, though it passes over far fewer people than yesterday’s event.

The next total eclipse will take place on 12 August, 2026, which Nasa says will be visible in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, and a small area of Portugal. A partial eclipse will be visible in Europe, Africa, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.

This is the route it will take:

(CC)

[9 April 2024 15:56 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Where to see the next eclipses

If you live in Australia, you’ve got a better-than-average chance of witnessing an eclipse over the next 16 years.

As this map shows, there will be four total solar eclipses that cross over Australia before 2040, with three of them also gracing New Zealand. In this same time period, not a single total eclipse crosses South America - though a fair few annular eclipses will.