DALLAS — At 1:40 p.m., native Texans and out-of-state visitors who descended on North Texas got to view a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event.
Over the course of four minutes (more or less depending on where you were in the Metroplex), what was once light became dusk and the temperature dropped significantly. There was a noticeable glow around the moon that captured the gaze and amazement of hundreds of thousands in North Texas.
When will North Texas see another total social eclipse?
We won't experience another -- at least being in the path of totality -- until the year 2317.
When was the last solar eclipse in the US?
The last time the U.S. had a total solar eclipse from coast-to-coast was on Aug. 21, 2017.
More than 215 million U.S. adults viewed that celestial show, either in person or virtually, according to NASA.
Seven years ago, the path started in Oregon, stretched across the U.S. and exited through South Carolina. The path ranged from 62 to 71 miles wide, according to NASA.
The path of totality in 2024 will be twice as wide as the one in 2017 due to the moon's distance from earth during the eclipse.
When is the next solar eclipse after 2024?
North America won’t experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then that’s it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota.
There won’t be another U.S. eclipse spanning coast-to-coast until 2045. That one will stretch from Northern California all the way to Cape Canaveral, Florida.
How often does a solar eclipse occur?
Solar eclipses of all kinds happen more frequently than one might think.
NASA breaks down the math to about 2,380 solar eclipses of all kinds every 1,000 years — or roughly 2-3 solar eclipses each year. For total solar eclipses, where the moon completely covers the sun, it works out to two eclipses every three years.
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