It’s been 38 years since a total solar eclipse was last seen in the continental United States and 99 years since a total eclipse was visible coast to coast. But Americans who miss out on the big event later today (Aug. 21) won’t have to wait that long for the next one: The next total solar eclipse viewable in the US is only seven years away.
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse with a path of totality that spans from Texas to Maine will be visible in the US. The next annular solar eclipse (where the moon passes between Earth and the sun but doesn’t completely cover its disk) in the continental US will happen on Oct. 14, 2023, viewable from Northern California to Florida.
After 2024, it will be another two decades before the next total solar eclipse crosses the US. On Aug. 23, 2044, a solar eclipse will be viewable in Montana, and the eclipse occuring Aug. 12, 2045, will follow a similar totality path to this year’s eclipse.
Following those, the southeastern US will experience total eclipses in 2052 and 2078, and the northeastern US will get one in 2079. Alaska benefits from being the US’s northernmost state by getting its own, exclusive eclipses in 2033 and 2097.
According to calculations from NASA, it will take about 1,000 years for every geographic location in the continental US to be able to view a total solar eclipse.
Check out the totality paths of every eclipse happening in your lifetime with this helpful tool from the Washington Post. And remember there are other vantage points for viewing eclipses. The next total solar eclipse will be viewable in Argentina on July 2, 2019.