Six-month countdown is on to our next Great American total eclipse

As of this past weekend, the second of a rare pair of total solar eclipses is exactly six months away.

The Great American Eclipse in 2017 brought spectators from around the world to western Kentucky and southern Illinois for the "once-in-a-lifetime" experience of a few minutes of totality and the ability to look directly at the sun blotted out by the moon.

But on April 8, 2024, it'll happen for the second time in seven years for a very tiny square of America, which happens to be right here in our region.

During the 2017 "Great American Eclipse," the shadow of the moon tracked across 14 states from the Pacific Northwest to the Atlantic Ocean, racing from coast to coast in two hours and forty minutes.

The rest of the United States saw varying degrees of the partial solar eclipse. But those of us who were under the narrow 70-mile wide ribbon of totality saw the streetlights come on, the stars come out, and the birds go silent.

In our region, the path directly under the shadow ran from St. Louis to Nashville. Towns along the center line experienced up to 2 minutes and 40 seconds of totality, while those along the edge of the shadow had just a few fleeting seconds.

Carbondale, Paducah, the Land Between the Lakes and Hopkinsville hosted festivals, stadium events and scientific experiments until the shadow raced by. After that, many Midsouth highways became massive parking lots as millions of revelers all tried to go back home at the same time.

Much of that will repeat itself next April, but not so much in western Kentucky. In fact, this time Paducah is on the literal edge of totality.

In 2017, Paducah experienced over two minutes and 20 seconds of total darkness; next year, the downtown riverfront will only see one minute, thirty-three seconds. Just a few miles away, the southside shopping area gets only 48 seconds, and you'll drive out of the shadow before you get to Reidland or Ledbetter.

A small wedge of western Kentucky will be in the 2024 path of totality, including:

LaCenter - 2 minutes, 53 seconds
Wickliffe - 2:44
Kevil - 2:40
Bardwell - 1:55
Burna - 1:39
Columbus - 1:25
Arlington - 1:05
Salem - 1:03
Smithland - 33 seconds
Marion - 24 seconds

The rest of western Kentucky will still see an amazing natural event, with just the tiniest sliver of the sun remaining exposed, ranging from 99.97 percent coverage in Ledbetter, to 98.8 percent in Murray.

The focal point next April will be southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. Many locations will get more than 4 minutes of totality along a path from Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau to Carbondale and McLeansboro.

Other southern Illinois towns and their time of totality next April:

Anna - 4 minutes, 4 seconds
Harrisburg - 3:52
Vienna - 3:43
Cairo, Joppa - 3:06
Golconda - 2:51
Metropolis - 2:33
Cave-In-Rock - 2:23

A Google Map of the 2024 eclipse with duration of totality, or the percentage of partial coverage can be found here. A similar map from 2017 can be found here.

A point between Carbondale and Makanda is the "X" where the center lines of both eclipses cross. 

Carbondale has already made plans for another Crossroads Eclipse Festival, April 6-8, and tickets are on sale now be part of the crowd in the SIU Saluki football stadium to witness the moon's passing shadow.

In Hopkinsville, Casey Jones Distillery is already producing another run of its Total Eclipse Moonshine and Total Eclipse Bourbon. They'll host a party during next year's eclipse with live music and food trucks.

After this seven-year flurry of astronomical activity, we won't see another total eclipse in any part of America again until 2045, when the moon's shadow crosses Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.




(Photo: 2017 total solar eclipse taken by the National Weather Service at their Paducah offices)