BOSTON (CBS) — Where will you be in two years?
Believe it or not, thousands of people already know and have made arrangements. That’s because a total solar eclipse is coming to the United States, and it will be even more of a spectacle than the 2017 edition!
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On April 8, 2024, the moon will pass directly between the earth and the sun to produce one of the most stunning scenes the natural world has to offer.
Crowds from Mexico to Maine will be ready to enjoy the show. While the images will be the same as in 2017, the big difference will be the duration of the eclipse. Five years ago, the maximum total time to enjoy it was two minutes and 40 seconds. This one will be a maximum of four minutes and 26 seconds long in parts of Texas!
For context, only two in US history were longer (five minutes and 20 seconds in 1778 and four minutes and 52 seconds in 1806).
You may remember the mad rush to find suitable glasses in 2017, despite the fact that New England was not in the path of the whole.
Those who traveled to other places enjoyed the thrill of seeing the moon’s shadow rush towards them and engulf the landscape as the disk of the sun disappeared. And then the beauty of totality, when the brilliant corona of the sun is visible around the edges of the moon. The stars and planets appear in the sky as if it were night. Truly a bucket list experience.
For those planning on taking part in the 2024 event, you won’t have to go that far. The path of totality passes through New England!
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To be more precise, northern New England.
And if you want the full show, you absolutely must enter the path of totality. 99.5% won’t. So where to travel? You’ll have a variety of options in northern New England, from Vermont to New Hampshire to Maine. You can enjoy it from Lake Champlain, or from the high peaks of Stowe, Sugarloaf, or perhaps Mt. Katahdin. And you should probably plan on a lot of traffic going back and forth, because it’s going to be a scene.
That said, will the weather cooperate? The weather says… probably not. The timing is not good for New Englanders, as April is often either the cloudiest or second cloudiest month of the year, depending on your exact location. Parts of northern New England have almost an 80% chance of cloudy skies in early April.
Could we get lucky and have a big fat area of high pressure above us that day? Of course!
But the odds are not in our favor.
If you really wanted to maximize your chances, then there is no better place for the 2024 event than Texas. It’s a very sunny spot in April, and the famous bluebonnet flowers would be in bloom as an added bonus. Also, plenty of open ground to navigate if you need to get away from the clouds at the last minute.
The countdown is on! And if you’re wondering when the Boston area might have a total solar eclipse, it’s going to be a while.
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But if you’re around in May 2079, I’ll see you at Great Blue Hill.
Reference-boston.cbslocal.com