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Will you be in Shadowland, Texas, to see the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024? How about watching the lunar disk cross the solar disk from Moon Beach, New York, or glimpsing the sun's halo from Corona, Missouri?
You could visit thousands of locations to experience totality in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada, but make sure you are within the path of totality. Only then will you experience darkness in the middle of the day and be able to see the sun's corona with your own eyes, at all other times precautions must be taken. About 115 miles wide, it will stretch 10,000 miles across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans via North America, making land at Mazatlán, Mexico and departing from Newfoundland, Canada.
In between, it will cross parts of 15 U.S. states — and dozens of eclipse-themed place names. "I found a database of every single place name in North America, and I just searched through this database for eclipse-related place names," Michael Zeiler, an eclipse cartographer and historian at GreatAmericanEclipse.com, told Space.com. "These were the best ones that I found." Some have a history associated with historic solar eclipses; others are by pure chance.
REMEMBER to NEVER look at the sun directly. To safely view this solar eclipse you must use solar filters at all times. Only during the exact moment of totality, when the sun's disk is 100% blocked by the moon can you look with the naked eye. This is possible only within the path of totality, and only for a few minutes depending on your location within the path. At all other times, precautions must be taken. Observers will need to wear certified solar eclipse glasses, and cameras, telescopes and binoculars must have solar filters placed in front of their lenses. For more information on solar viewing safety check out our how to observe the sun safely guide.
Here are the highlights — and a complete list of all the eclipse-themed locations you could experience totality from on April 8, 2024:
Eclipse Island, Newfoundland
Eclipse Island is off Burgeo, Newfoundland.
(Image credit: Posnov via Getty Images)
"The best one is Eclipse Island in Newfoundland," said Zeiler. "It got that name because Captain James Cook observed an eclipse from that island."
An annular solar eclipse — known as a "ring of fire" — occurred on August 5, 1766, though if Cook did see it from Eclipse Island, near Burgeo, then he would have observed it from very close to the central path as an 84% partial solar eclipse.
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He recorded the exact times of the beginning and end of the eclipse to help calculate his longitude. At the time, Cook was mapping the coast of Newfoundland and the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River aboard HMS Grenville. Although potentially a fun place to watch the eclipse, this day has been cloudy 78% of the time since 2000, according to Timeanddate.
Shadowland and Sun Valley, Texas
Northern Texas has two eclipse-related place names very close to each other in Red River County, close to the border with Oklahoma. Sun Valley has a population of 69 and is seven miles east of Paris, Texas, where a red cowboy hat sits on top of a 60-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower.
Slightly closer to the centerline of the path of totality is Shadowland, five miles west of Bogata, though it's a name on the map rather than an actual place, with no evidence of any buildings. Don't confuse it with Shadowland Cabin, a luxury log cabin in Wimberley, Texas, already booked up for the eclipse.
Eclipse-related place names in the path of totality:
Villa Corona, Durango, Mexico Local time and duration of totality: 12:09 p.m. MST; 4 minutes, 18 seconds
Corona del Valle, Durango, Mexico Local time and duration of totality: 12:13 p.m. CST; 3 minutes, 33 seconds
El Sol, Coahuila, Mexico Local time and duration of totality: 12:19 p.m. CST; 1 minute, 51 seconds
Ejido Mota de Corona, Coahuila, Mexico Local time and duration of totality: 12:24 p.m. CST; 3 minutes, 25 seconds
Luna, Texas Local time and duration of totality: 1:40 p.m. CDT; 1 minute, 23 seconds
Shadowland, Texas Local time and duration of totality: 1:44 p.m. CDT; 4 minutes, 20 seconds
Sun Valley, Texas Local time and duration of totality: 1:44 p.m. CDT; 4 minutes, 6 seconds
Moon, Oklahoma Local time and duration of totality: 1:45 p.m. CDT; 4 minutes, 16 seconds
Sun Terrace Cove, Arkansas Local time and duration of totality: 1:52 p.m. CDT; 2 minutes, 47 seconds
Luna, Missouri Local time and duration of totality: 1:54 p.m. CDT; 1 minute, 54 seconds
Corona, Missouri Local time and duration of totality: 1:54 p.m. CDT; 4 minutes, 2 seconds
Sun Valley, Ohio Local time and duration of totality: 3:10 p.m. EDT; 2 minutes, 27 seconds
Luna Pier, Michigan Local time and duration of totality: 3:13 p.m. EDT; 6 seconds
Moon Beach, Sterling, New York Local time and duration of totality: 3:21 p.m. EDT; 3 minutes, 29 seconds
Moon Island, Maine Local time and duration of totality: 3:32 p.m. EDT; 1 minute, 55 seconds
Half Moon Pit, New Brunswick Local time and duration of totality: 4:32 p.m. ADT; 3 minutes, 19 seconds
Eclipse Island, Newfoundland, Canada Local time and duration of totality: 5:11 p.m. NDT; 2 minutes, 16 seconds
Places called 'Eclipse' in the U.S. outside the path of totality:
Away from the path of totality, there are just as many eclipse-related names, of course, with two called Eclipse, one close to Norfolk, Virginia (79% partial solar eclipse) and the other near Houston, Texas (94% partial solar eclipse).
Jamie Carter is a Cardiff, U.K.-based freelance science journalist and a regular contributor to Live Science. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and co-author of The Eclipse Effect, and leads international stargazing and eclipse-chasing tours. His work appears regularly in Space.com, Forbes, New Scientist, BBC Sky at Night, Sky & Telescope, and other major science and astronomy publications. He is also the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.
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