Monday, April 8’s total solar eclipse in North America will be a landmark moment for the celestial event on planet Earth. About 12 million Americans experienced totality on August 21, 2017—and on April 8, 2024 another 31 million will do so.
The next total solar eclipse on U.S. soil is in 2033 in Alaska. After that, it’s 2044 in Montana and the Dakotas before a coast-to-coast whopper in 2045.
You don’t have to wait that long—if you’re prepared to travel long-haul.
During a rare total solar eclipse, only a small portion of Earth’s surface is covered by the moon’s shadow. Only within that path you can you experience totality—sudden darkness during the day, rapid cooling, eerie light, strange animal behavior, and a chance to see the sun’s corona.
To get that experience you need to be at the right place at the right time—and that typically means traveling to random places in the world. Here’s when and where to go to experience another total solar eclipse after April 8:
1. Greenland, Iceland and Northern Spain Eclipse: August 12, 2026
This eclipse will offer a two-minute totality, and Iceland will be a popular place to observe it. The western tip of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Reykjavik, the capital city, are two great places to witness the event. Northern Spain will also be a popular option, although the eclipse will happen dangerously close to sunset, so be very low in the sky.
2. North African Eclipse: August 2, 2027
This eclipse will offer a massive six minutes+ totality, the longest one left this century. The path of totality crosses southern Spain and much of North Africa, but Luxor in Egypt, home to the Valley of the Kings and Karnak, will be the place to go. A massive six minutes and 20 seconds of totality will be experienced there.
3. Australia and New Zealand Eclipse: July 22, 2028
Sydney Harbour in Australia will be the place to be for this eclipse, with three minutes and 44 seconds of totality on offer, though if you want to guarantee a clear sky the Australian Outback is yours to explore. Queenstown in New Zealand will also see totality close to sunset.
4. Southern Africa and South Australia Eclipse: November 25, 2030
Southern Africa will make a great destination to experience a two-minute totality before a game drive in Namibia and Botswana. South Australia will see it an hour or so before sunset. Which continent do you fancy?
5. Pacific Ocean Eclipse: November 14, 2031
A long and lonely cruise from Hawaii will be how to see this hybrid solar eclipse. The spectacle will transit from a “ring fire” annular solar eclipse to a total solar eclipse southeast of Hawaii, then back again.
6. Alaska And Siberia Eclipse: March 30, 2033
This eclipse will offer a two-minute totality from Alaska and an opportunity to see the Northern Lights. Seeing the Great Bering Strait eclipse in clear skies is probably unlikely, but it will also offer the chance to explore remote Alaskan towns like Barrow/Utqiagvik, Prudhoe Bay/Sagavanirktok, and Kotzebue. If it is clear, the northern lights could just make an appearance during totality.
7. Central Africa And Asia Eclipse: March 20, 2034
This will be the first “equinox eclipse” since 2015, and a path of totality brings four minutes and nine seconds of totality to Central Africa and South Asia. Southeastern Egypt is probably the place to go, and eclipse chasers will be there in droves for this long eclipse. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Persopolis in Iran is another option. The path of totality will pass through Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal.
8. China, North Korea And Japan Eclipse: September 2, 2035
Beijing, China, or Tokyo, Japan, will be the places to go for this East Asian eclipse. Just north of Beijing will see almost two minutes of totality, similar to Pyongyang in North Korea, though a trip just north of Tokyo will get you an extra 30 seconds.
9. Australia and New Zealand Eclipse: July 13, 2037
A mid-winter eclipse Down Under will see places such as Geraldton, Uluru (Ayers Rock), Byron Bay, the Gold Coast, and the remote Lord Howe Island thrown under the moon’s shadow for as long as three minutes and 58 seconds. The North Island of New Zealand will also get a look-in, including the Ngauruhoe volcano (Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings films) in Tongariro National Park, and coastal Napier in Hawke’s Bay.
10. Australia and New Zealand Eclipse: December 26, 2038
If eclipse chasers have any air miles left from events 18 months previously, this mid-summer eclipse will occur largely over the remote Australian Outback, though the path of totality passes just north of both Adelaide and Melbourne. The two-minute totality will also be seen over the northern and southern tips, respectively, of New Zealand’s North and South Islands.
For the latest on all aspects of April 8’s total solar eclipse check my main feed for new articles every day.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
