Plan for the Next Total Solar Eclipse

If your first thought after seeing a total solar eclipse was, “I need to see that again,” read on. We’ve gathered the dates, the locations, and the best observing locations for the next total solar eclipses.

Be warned: eclipse-chasing can be expensive — and addictive. But is there any better way to see the world than by following the shadow of the Moon?

Monday, December 14, 2020
South Pacific, Chile, and Argentina (again!)

If there’s an easy total solar eclipse to aim for in the next few years, it’s probably this one. A late-afternoon eclipse with up to 2 minutes 10 seconds of totality, it takes place during the good-weather month of December. By far the best place to head to is the spectacular –– and tourist-friendly –– area of Villarica and Pucón in the Chilean Lake District. With excellent fishing, boating, hiking, and hot springs, this is an ideal area for touring and eclipse-chasing.

Saturday, December 4, 2021
Antarctica, Weddell Sea

How are your sea-legs? And your wallet? Making a land expedition to Antarctica is very expensive, and the likely weather makes a clear totality unlikely. So there are two ways to maximize your chances of seeing up to 1 minute 54 seconds of totality; join a cruise ship in the vicinity of South Georgia island, or take a special eclipse flight from Chile; both will set you back several thousand dollars, though. This eclipse might be one for most of us to follow from afar, but the prospect of a beautiful totality over Antarctica will be more than enough to attract hardcore eclipse-chasers.

Thursday, April 20, 2023
Australia, Timor Leste, and West Papua

Although totality will last no more than 76 seconds, this eclipse is nevertheless a fascinating one: It’s a rare hybrid solar eclipse. At the beginning and end of the eclipse’s path, it will appear as an annular “ring of fire” eclipse, but those near the center of the track will see full totality. This situation occurs when the Moon, in its elliptical orbit around Earth, is right on the cusp of being too far away to totally eclipse the Sun. And since Earth is a sphere, the midpoint of the track is closer to the Moon by nearly 4,000  miles than the track's ends.

For eclipse-chasers, this geometry means the Baily’s beads — reams of sunlight that stream between the Moon’s mountains, visible on the limb of the Moon before and after totality — will linger for much longer than usual. The hybrid nature of the eclipse also means a high chance of shadow bands, wavy lines of alternating light and shadow on the ground just before and after totality.

The bad news? This is a mostly remote eclipse track. It just grazes Western Australia; Cape Range National Park on Exmouth Peninsula is going to be busy.

Monday, April 8, 2024
North America

It’s a good time to be chasing eclipses in America; 2017 was the first of two total solar eclipses in just seven years. Even better, the 2024 event is technically even more impressive, with totality lasting 4 minutes 28 seconds at its peak. However, it occurs in spring when clear skies are less likely. Making landfall first in Mexico and ending in Canada (passing through Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland), the path of totality also crosses parts of 15 states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and central Maine.

Greatest duration will occur near Torreón, Mexico, and Mexico and Texas will have the greatest chance of clear skies. Dallas will receive 3 minutes 49 seconds of totality and Waco 4 minutes 13 seconds, while Austin and San Antonio are both just inside the path of totality’s southern limit.

Visit eclipsophile.com to find weather info (and hence, destination guidance) for these future eclipses.