Total Solar Eclipse

 

State Employees watch The Eclipse.

The next total solar eclipse – when the moon completely blocks the face of the sun – could be your last chance to see one occur for decades to come. 

According to NASA, that will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous U.S. until August 2044. 

During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between the sun and Earth, blocking the sun's light and darkening the sky as if it were early in the morning or late in the evening. The last time this type of eclipse event took place over the U.S. was in August 2017, when people were able to see the event across the entire continent for the first time in nearly 100 years. 

Total solar eclipses happen every one to three years, but the events are usually only visible from Earth's poles or from the middle of the ocean. 

While next year's eclipse won't be visible from coast-to-coast, the path of totality does go across a dozen states, including Texas, Arkansas, New York and Pennsylvania. Totality will start over the South Pacific Ocean before crossing over Mexico, into the U.S. and ending after crossing Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador. States not in the path of totality will still be able to see a partial solar eclipse. 

The first spot in North America expected to witness totality is Mexico's Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT, according to NASA. While the eclipse will last a couple of hours, totality will last just about four minutes. It's only during these few minutes that it's safe for people to remove their special eclipse glasses.