Your Complete Guide To Seeing The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse—According To Experts

Residents from all over and visitors from around the globe convene at Menan Butte to witness the solar eclipse, which took place on August 21, 2017 in Menan, Idaho. The spectacle attracted millions of people to regions in the United States that fell within the "path of totality" to personally observe a complete solar eclipse. (Image courtesy of Natalie Behring/Getty Images). Three months from now, a brief period of darkness will cross over North America. The fortunate 40 million inhabitants who reside within the trajectory of the lunar shadow, plus the millions intending to travel to these areas, will witness the renowned “hole in the sky,” or the Vanished sun’s corona, with unaided vision briefly. Eclipse 2024's expert, Dan McGlaun, conveys that an individual's experience during a total solar eclipse is unknown beforehand. “Your personalized narrative will develop spontaneously on eclipse day—it's similar to life,” he articulates. He advocates that people with plans to be eclipse chasers should start the preparations as early as possible. It is anticipated that about 50 million residents in the U.S., at least 32 million of them for sure, will witness the full eclipse on April 8. Experts predict that the event could result in traffic congestion and possible disarray, akin to hosting 50 Super Bowl events simultaneously. Effective planning can help ease these inconveniences. Eclipse expert, McGlaun, has already provided numerous lectures to communities expected to have an increased number of eclipse enthusiast arriving from all parts of the country and even across the world. It's still days away for many Americans until they personally experience the peculiar effects of full eclipse from their own residences— and they should absolutely not budge. The best places to witness the event in all its glory, for those looking to plan their trip, will fall under the path of totality. Being in the Moon's central shadow, a stripe just 115 miles wide, offers a unique experience. However, weather conditions could potentially throw a wrench in the plans. Hence, it's advised to take the weather forecast into consideration while deciding final locations a few days before the eclipse. In spite of all these elements, the basic idea is to get to the path of totality for the best view of the eclipse. Remember that watching the partial phases of the eclipse without proper safety eyewear can be harmful, that's why an audience has to be equipped with solar eclipse glasses. In the path of totality, viewers would need to remove their glasses when dark to view the solar corona. You should start your planning right away since an increase in price is already observed in regions falling in the path of totality. An important tip is not to select hotels between any large city and the path, as thousands are anticipated to travel from those cities to the path on the day of the eclipse. The next total solar eclipse is due on April 8, 2044, in North America. However, globally, total solar eclipses are not uncommon and happen every one and a half years approximately. The next total solar eclipse post-April 8, 2024, will occur on August 12, 2026, which could be observed in Greenland, Iceland, and Spain.