Why April’s Total Solar Eclipse Is So Different From 2017’s ‘Great American Eclipse’

13.03.2024 - 16:11 / forbes.com

A million Americans remember where they were on August 21, 2017. For most of the enlightened who made a trip into the path of totality that day—the first to go coast to coast in the U.S. For 99 years—it was their first glimpse of totality, the eclipsed sun’s glistening corona on display for a couple of minutes of darkness during the middle of the day.

On April 8, it all happens again when a 115-mile-wide path of totality stretches across North America, from northwest Mexico through parts of 15 U.S. States and six Canadian Provinces. Thinking about and preparing for those magical moments of totality—and the event’s multi-Super Bowl status—may bring memories back of what happened seven years ago, but this will be a completely different event.

Here’s how the 2024 total solar eclipse differs from, and more exciting than, the 2017 total solar eclipse, from the path and timing to duration and scientific research.

The path of totality is the only place from where viewers can see the moon completely block the sun, revealing the star’s outer atmosphere, the corona, to the naked eye for a few minutes.

On April 8 the moon will be closer to Earth than during 2017’s eclipse, so the moon’s central shadow will be larger. In 2017, the path was 62 to 71 miles wide. This time, it will be 108 and 122 miles wide. It’s also within 200 miles of another 150 million people, making it far easier for way more people to experience totality.

In 2017, the path of totality went diagonally across the U.S. From northwest to southeast. In 2024 it will go from southwest to northeast. That’s all down to the time of year the eclipse occurs. Since Earth’s axis is tilted, it changes orientation in each season. Earth will be leaning a different way in April (early spring) compared to August (late summer), so as Earth rotates, the shadow appears to go up instead of down.

Since the moon is closer and its shadow is larger, it will take longer for it to cross over observers. In 2017, the longest period of totality was 2 minutes and 42 seconds near Carbondale, Illinois. This time, totality will last up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds just northwest of Torreón, Mexico, while in the U.S., it will last from 4 minutes and 28 seconds at the border with Mexico in Texas to 3 minutes 21 seconds as the path enters Canada.

Durations longer than 4 minutes stretch as far north as New Castle, Indiana. Even as the eclipse exits the U.S. and enters Canada, the eclipse will last up to 3 minutes and 21 seconds.

In 2017, an estimated 215 million U.S. adults (88% of U.S. adults) viewed the solar eclipse, either directly or electronically, according to NASA. Most viewed just a partial solar eclipse, which is nothing exciting to watch. Around 12 million lived on the