Total Solar Eclipse 2024: when will there be "darkness in the middle of the day and how it differs from the "Great American Eclipse".

This eclipse promises to be interesting and enchanting.

One million Americans remember where they were on August 21, 2017. For most of the enlightened who traveled the path of a total solar eclipse that day, the first from coast to coast in 99 years in the United States, it was the first glimpse of a total eclipse, the brilliant corona of the sun that could be seen during a few minutes of darkness in the middle of the day.

On April 8, all of this will happen again as the 115-mile total eclipse path stretches across North America, from northwestern Mexico through parts of 15 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces. Reflecting on and preparing for these magical moments of the full solstice may bring back memories of what happened seven years ago, but it will be a very different event.

This is how the total solar eclipse of 2024 differs from the total solar eclipse of 2017. Spoiler alert: it's more exciting.

The path of total eclipse is wider

The path of a total eclipse is the only place from where viewers can see the Moon completely obscure the Sun, revealing the star's outer atmosphere, the corona, to the naked eye for a few minutes.

On April 8, the Moon will be closer to Earth than during the 2017 eclipse, so the Moon's central shadow will be larger. In 2017, the width of the shadow was 62-71 miles. This time it will be 108 and 122 miles wide.

The path is diagonally opposite

In 2017, the path of the eclipse passed diagonally through the United States from the northwest to the southeast. In 2024, it will run from southwest to northeast. It all depends on the time of year when the eclipse occurs. Because the Earth's axis is tilted, it changes orientation in each season. In April (early spring), the Earth will be tilted differently than in August (late summer), so as the Earth rotates, the shadow will go up instead of down.

The total eclipse will last much longer

Because the Moon is closer and its shadow is larger, it will take longer for it to cross observers. In 2017, the longest full moon period lasted 2 minutes and 42 seconds near Carbondale, Illinois. This time, the total eclipse will last up to 4 minutes 28 seconds northwest of Torreón, Mexico, and in the United States, from 4 minutes 28 seconds at the border with Mexico in Texas to 3 minutes and 21 seconds when the shadow enters Canada.

The eclipse lasting more than 4 minutes will extend north all the way to New Castle, Indiana. Even when the eclipse leaves the U.S. and enters Canada, it will last up to 3 minutes and 21 seconds.

More people will see it

In 2017, NASA estimated that 215 million American adults (88% of the U.S. adult population) observed a solar eclipse directly or electronically. Most have only observed a partial solar eclipse, which is not something exciting. About 12 million lived on the path of the total eclipse, which stretched from Oregon to South Carolina.

This time, about 31.6 million people live on their way to the U.S. from Texas to Maine. Another 10 million live on their way through Mexico and Canada.

The sun is getting more active

The Sun has an 11-year cycle during which its magnetic activity waxes and falls. In 2017, the activity of the Sun decreased to its minimum, but this year this did not happen. Scientists predict that 2024 will be the year of solar maximum, when sunspots can be seen throughout the surface of the Sun during an eclipse, and a larger and more powerful corona during a total eclipse. During a total solar eclipse, it will also be possible to see prominences - pink curls or loops on the surface of the Sun.

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