Home > Ephemeris Program, Observing, Solar Eclipse > Ephemeris: 02/09/2024 – Two lunar months until the total solar eclipse!

Ephemeris: 02/09/2024 – Two lunar months until the total solar eclipse!

February 9, 2024

This is Ephemeris for Friday, February 9th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 6:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:50. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.

Today marks two lunar months before the April 8th total eclipse of the Sun. It will be partial here when nearly 90% of the Sun will be blocked by the Moon. The best place to see the total part of the eclipse is on the line from Texas through Indiana, Ohio and ending in Maine. We will not have another total eclipse visible in the continental United States until 2044 and again in 2045. The 2044 total eclipse path will only touch North Dakota and Montana at sunset, after descending south from Canada*. The eclipse of 2045 will have a path across the United States much like, but south of, the path in of the August 21st 2017 eclipse. This time passing from Northern California to Northern Florida. So it’s going to be a long drought of total solar eclipses unless one travels to other continents or go on an eclipse cruise.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

* On the radio program I have the Moon’s shadow going the other way. This is a rare eclipse where the Moon umbral shadow (the part that produces totality) starts and ends at local sunset.

Addendum

The path of the April 8th 2024 total solar eclipse which will pass from southwest to northeast across the United States from Texas to Maine. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. This image is part of an interactive eclipse map at https://eclipse2024.org/eclipse_cities/statemap.html. Credit: Eclipse2024.org.
The path of totality of the August 23, 2044 solar eclipse is outlined in blue. The path of totality actually starts in northern Greenland and ends up in the northern United States all of it occurring near sunset. It will not be visible at all from Michigan. Credit NASA.
The path of totality of the August 12, 2045 solar eclipse is outlined in blue. The path of totality crosses the United States from Northern California to Florida. The path is just south of the path of the 2017 eclipse. This next Great American Eclipse will be 21 years away. Credit NASA.

I will have Ephemeris Extra posts soon about how to observe the eclipse safely.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Observing, Solar Eclipse Tags: ,