If you saw it, you’ll never forget April 8’s total solar eclipse. Some enjoyed over four minutes of totality that day, something exceptionally rare for a total solar eclipse—most last two minutes or so. But a longer totality is coming—162 years from today. It’s not the next total solar eclipse, but it will be the longest.
Middle Child
Total solar eclipses come in families, and April’s was a middle child. It was a member of Saros 139, a repeating cycle that produces a very similar solar eclipse every 18 years, 11 days and eight hours.
It may have produced a very long totality in April, but the best of Saros 139 is yet to come. Saros 139 will peak on July 16, 2186, when a totality lasting seven minutes and 29 seconds will occur off Brazil.
Longest Eclipse
It will be the longest total solar eclipse that will ever occur, but only by a fraction. The next longest between 2,000 B.C. And 3,000 A.D.—the period calculations and predictions exist for—happened on June 15, 743 B.C., off the coast of Kenya and Somalia in Africa. It was one second shorter at seven minutes and 29 seconds.
‘Exeligmos’ Explained
Not that Saros 139 is done with the U.S. It repeats every 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours. It’s that last eight hours that ensures an eclipse returns to roughly the same place on Earth every (because three times eight hours is 24 hours—one revolution of Earth). So, every fourth eclipse in a Saros—so, every 54 years, 33 days—a solar eclipse returns to the same place on the planet. This period is called an exeligmos.
Wait For 2078
Precisely 54 years and 33 days after April 8, 2024 is May 11, 2078. On that day, another—almost identical—total solar eclipse will occur over the Gulf of Mexico, with the coast of Louisiana having the best views. Cities experiencing totality will include New Orleans, Mobile, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbia, Charlotte, Raleigh and Norfolk.
Totality will last for a maximum of 5 minutes and 40 seconds because as Saros 139 gets closer to its peak in 2186, its eclipse will get longer.
Next Eclipse
The next total solar eclipse in the U.S is on March 30, 2033, when St. Lawrence Island, Barrow/Utqiagvik, Kotzebue, or Nome in Alaska will be the places to witness a totality lasting 2 minutes 37 seconds maximum just after sunrise.
The next total solar eclipse in the contiguous U.S. (contiguous refers to the 48 adjoining U.S. states and D.C.) will be August 23, 2044, when Montana and North Dakota will experience a pre-sunset totality.
Remarkably, the following year, on August 12, 2045, there will be a 6 minutes 6 seconds total solar eclipse in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like Stellarium and The Sky Live. Check planet-rise/planet-set, sunrise/sunset, and moonrise/moonset times to see where you are.
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Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
