The last total solar eclipse visible from the continental United States occurred August 21, 2017.

This was the first such event to touch the 48 states since February 26, 1979. Great weather abounded along the path. The dark part of the Moon’s shadow first touched land in Oregon, crossed 13 more states, and ended in South Carolina before heading into the Atlantic Ocean.

I conducted a huge public observing event at Rosecrans Memorial Airport in St. Joseph, Missouri. At that site, 25,000 people showed up to experience 2 minutes 39 seconds of totality, only 1 second short of the maximum time possible.

Now we look forward to the 2024 eclipse, which will cross the U.S. from the southwest to the northeast, and which will feature a maximum length of totality of 4 minutes 27 seconds in our country. Don't miss it!

Click here to read a story I wrote for Astronomy magazine that looks forward to the 2024 total solar eclipse.