The complete shrouding of our sun by the moon has mesmerized humanity for millennia — a moment in time when skies darken and stillness creeps in.
It’s spellbinding not only for the lucky ones in the path of total darkness, but also those on the fringes of the moon’s shadow getting a partial glimpse.
The cosmic curtain is about to rise again on the greatest show on Earth: a total solar eclipse that will dazzle tens of millions as it races across North America.
Day will turn into night as the moon perfectly positions itself between Earth and the sun on April 8, temporarily blocking the sunlight. The eclipse will begin in the Pacific, cross into Mexico and then cut through Texas on a northeasterly path through 15 states before heading out over Canada and the North Atlantic.
Totality will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds — enough time for the wonder of it all to soak in, weather permitting.
“The sight of a total solar eclipse is stunning because the most beautiful celestial object — the sun’s corona — is hidden from us all our lives except for the precious moments of totality,” eclipse mapmaker Michael Zeiler said in an email.
Even scientists like NASA’s Kelly Korreck find themselves in awe.
“There might have been tears of joy the first time,” she said. “To actually experience it was just really a powerful, moving experience.”
While full solar eclipses happen every year or two or three, they’re often in remote locations like the Arctic or Antarctica, the southern tip of South America or the Pacific.
The last time totality crisscrossed the U.S. was in 2017, with totality lasting 2½ minutes. After April, it won’t happen again until 2045, but get set for six full minutes of totality.
“To actually experience it was just really a powerful, moving experience.” — NASA scientist Kelly Korreck
(File Photo/AP/Jeff Roberson)
This multiple exposure photograph shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse Aug. 21, 2017, over the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
(File Photo/AP/Khaled Kamel)
A man uses special glasses to view a partial solar eclipse March 20, 2015, as people gather near the Sphinx at the Giza Pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo.
(File Photo/AP/Natacha Pisarenko)
Using a welder’s mask as protection, a man views a total eclipse Dec. 14, 2020, in Piedra del Aguila, Argentina.
(File Photo/AP/Frank Boxler)
Shepherd Heinz Greiner watches the beginning of a total solar eclipse Aug. 11, 1999, near Augsburg, southern Germany.
(File Photo/AP/Richard Vogel)
The progression of a total solar eclipse is seen in a multiple exposure photograph taken Oct 24, 1995, in five-minute intervals, with the moon passing in front of the sun above Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia.
(File Photo/AP/Oleg Romanov)
A total solar eclipse is observed above the mountainous Siberian Altai region, about 1,850 miles east of Moscow, on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008.
(File Photo/AP/NASA/Bill Ingalls)
In this photo provided by NASA, the International Space Station is silhouetted against the sun Aug. 21, 2017, during a solar eclipse as seen from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park in Washington state.
(File Photo/AP/Dave Caulkin)
Members of the British Astronomers Association prepare their telescopes Aug. 10, 1999, at their campsite near Truro, England, preparing for a total solar eclipse the next day.
(File Photo/AP/Marcos Brindicci)
The moon passes in front of the setting sun July 2, 2019, during a total solar eclipse in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
(File Photo/AP)
Eclipse watchers squint through protective filters Aug. 31. 1932, as they view an eclipse of the sun from the top deck of the Empire State Building in New York.
(File Photo/AP/Joe Holloway Jr.)
Steve Spalding of Chattanooga, Tenn. squints through the viewfinder of a movie camera March 7, 1970, at a Valdosta industrial park as the solar eclipse begins in Valdosta, Ga.