CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Six months ahead of the next full solar eclipse - and just over six years since the last full solar eclipse in the United States - the sun is in the perfect position for you to secure your planning.
"For the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse, look now through the first week of September to see where the sun will be," Tony Rice, a Raleigh-based NASA ambassador, explained. "If there is a building or tree or whatever blocking the Sun over the coming weeks, your view of the eclipse will also be blocked in April."
An online tool helps you know the times to check the sun. Checking it this week at the same times listed for 2024 will help give you the most accurate prediction.
Unlike 2017, the 2024 eclipse will not be a total eclipse in the Carolinas. At best, North Carolina and South Carolina will experience a partial solar eclipse. A full solar eclipse will be experienced elsewhere in the United States come 2024. Even a spot with just a sliver of sun visible will be a different experience from true totality, Connell said.
NASA released a set of detailed new maps showing the path of the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse. The map also referenced an annual solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023.
One factor that's hard to plan for: Weather. While many cities and tourists will make their plans far in advance, weather forecasts won't have much certainty until one week out — a situation eclipse-watchers in Charleston may remember well.
"There was a pretty dramatic storm moving in, coming from the west to the east," Explore Charleston VP Doug Warner. "The clouds were really building as it got dark, including a lot of electricity."
But, he said, it was "spectacular."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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