Total solar eclipse 2024

After days of obsessing over clouds, millions of eclipse watchers are finally getting a clear picture of which areas of the US are most likely to have ideal, good and disruptive viewing conditions.

Ideal: Lucky viewers in northern New England, including Maine, New Hampshire and much of Vermont should get the absolute best view of totality. Parts of the Plains and West could have similar great conditions for views of a partial eclipse.

Good: Expect these conditions in parts of the Midwest, including Indiana, Missouri and Illinois. Clouds in this area should be of the high and more scattered variety, which will at least afford some view of the eclipse.

Disruptive: For areas in the path of totality, these conditions are expected in the South, particularly southern Texas, and in the eastern Great Lakes and Interior Northeast. The Northern Plains also looks rough for partial eclipse views.

Of course, nothing in weather is simple. The final thickness, type and coverage of cloud overhead at the exact moment of totality will also decide how much of the eclipse you can see from the ground.

The colorful graphic below shows a forecast model's depiction of how thick and at what levels of the atmosphere the clouds will be at 2 p.m. ET. If you've clouds in your forecast, thicker, low-level ones are the worst for viewing since they block out the sky. Higher, scattered clouds tend to afford the best chance of a view.

For many babies in Ohio, the next time they will live through a total solar eclipse will be when they are 75 years old.

But for today, a number of babies are preparing for the event wearing special onesies and eye covers that look like eclipse glasses.

Therese Razzante, NICU family support specialist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s said she thought the outfits were a “great way to make this a special day for our babies and their families, so they have something memorable to look back on.” 

A total solar eclipse offers a unique opportunity to see the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere. It’s not usually visible because the surface of the sun is much brighter, but with the moon blocking it during totality, the outer edge shines through.

Compared to the 2017 solar eclipse, the sun’s corona will be more active this year, according to NASA. That means there’s a better chance to see prominence — curls, loops and flares coming off of the sun from behind the moon.

This is because the sun was in a solar minimum cycle in 2017, meaning it was more magnetically balanced. In April 2024, the sun will be reaching its peak of solar maximum, known as Solar Cycle 25. Lucky for eclipse-watchers on Monday, Solar Cycle 25 is expected to put on a show.

The cycle has already been full of activity, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The increased animation has included strong solar flares and coronal mass ejections, or large clouds of ionized gas called plasma and magnetic fields that erupt from the sun’s outer atmosphere.

How it works: The gases in the sun are constantly moving. This causes the sun’s magnetic fields to stretch, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center says. During every cycle, the magnetic field flips. When the magnetic fields change, so does the amount of activity on the surface of the sun, according to the agency.

CNN's Ashley Strickland contributed reporting to this post.

The only time it’s safe to view the sun without eye protection is during the “totality” of a total solar eclipse, or the brief moments when the moon completely blocks the light of the sun, according to NASA. Staring directly at the sun can result in blindness or disrupted vision.

During the 2017 total solar eclipse, a young woman was diagnosed with solar retinopathy, retinal damage from exposure to solar radiation, in both eyes after viewing the eclipse with what doctors believed were eclipse glasses not held to the safety standard.

There is no treatment for solar retinopathy. It can improve or worsen, but it is a permanent condition.

Remember: Sunglasses won’t work in place of eclipse glasses or solar viewers, which are 100,000 times darker and held to an international safety standard.

The lenses of solar eclipse glasses are made of black polymer, or resin infused with carbon particles, that blocks nearly all visible, infrared and ultraviolet light, according to The Planetary Society. Sunglasses don’t block infrared radiation.

Weather permitting, today's total solar eclipse will be an incredible opportunity for photographers of any skill level. Stan Honda — an experienced astrophotographer who has captured three total solar eclipses — has some tips on how to make the moment last through images. All you need is a sturdy, steady tripod and a remote shutter release for your camera.

From pizza to doughnuts to eyewear sellers, plenty of brands are trying to cash in on the rare total solar eclipse with special product promotions.

Krispy Kreme has created a “Total Solar Eclipse Doughnut” to mark the minutes-long event, while Pizza Hut has rolled out a “Total Eclipse of the Hut” deal on eclipse day, pricing any large-sized pizza for $12.

Even the most perfectly named, celestially inspired, snack — MoonPie — is in on the act with a limited edition boxed version of its cookie treat called “Solar Eclipse Survival Kits.”

It's been nearly seven years since a total solar eclipse traced a path over the US – but if you thought you'd seen everything in 2017, astronomers are quick to remind us that these celestial events aren't exactly alike.

The 2017 eclipse began in Oregon and ended in South Carolina, while this year's eclipse will move in the opposite direction, beginning in Texas and covering more ground.

More people will be able to see the 2024 eclipse because the path of totality, or locations where people will witness the moon’s shadow completely covering the sun, will be wider.

This is all because of the moon.

The moon’s distance from Earth varies as it orbits our planet. And during the 2017 total solar eclipse, the moon was farther away from Earth and caused the area of totality to be narrower, extending from about 62 to 71 miles (100 to 114 kilometers) wide. But the moon will be closer to our planet during this year’s event, so the path its shadow will follow over North America is expected to stretch about 108 to 122 miles (174 to 196 kilometers) wide.

April’s eclipse will also have a longer period of totality than 2017 because of the moon’s proximity to Earth. Totality is one of the shortest phases of an eclipse, and its duration is dependent on the viewing location. Observers closest to the center of the path will experience the longest totality, and the length of that window decreases closer to the path’s edge.

In 2017, skygazers glimpsing the longest totality experienced it for 2 minutes and 42 seconds near Carbondale, Illinois.

Thousands of keen spectators have arrived in the small Maine town of Houlton to get some of the best views of today's eclipse.

Jane Torres, of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce says already the crowds have exceeded expectations.

About 6,000 people call Houlton home, and Torres said there has been extensive organization to ensure the eclipse viewing goes smoothly — including providing an additional 100 portable toilets.

But for those wanting to see the eclipse in Houlton, Torres says you may want to remember your own glasses, with almost 59,000 pairs already snapped up by keen viewers.

"We actually ordered 60,000 pairs of glasses and we're down to about... I'm going to say a thousand left, so we hope everybody brings some."

As darkness envelops millions of people during Monday’s eclipse, spectators will hold their cellphones skyward to capture the moment. But could the surge in cell usage cause networks to go dark?

As eclipse tourists flock to city centers and rural towns, network providers and public officials say they are preparing for significant increases in traffic on cellular and Wi-Fi networks. Similar to a football game or a concert in a crowded stadium — the larger the crowd, the more difficult it can be to find a cell connection.

Major providers like AT&T and Verizon say their networks are prepared for bogged down cell service, but people traveling for the eclipse might want to download their navigation directions, in case of poor connection.