Illinois Again In Line For 2024 Total Eclipse Of The Sun, Experts Say

ILLINOIS — Sky-gazers who made the journey to the southern part of Illinois in 2017 to witness a full solar eclipse can now start planning as astronomy experts have pinpointed when and where they can witness the sun disappearing totally behind the moon will take place.

Seven years after the first full solar eclipse in the continental U.S. in 38 years took place, the event is scheduled to happen on April 8, 2024, according to astronomy.com. Experts wrote on the site that the event will last longer than it did in 2017 but the totality of the total solar eclipse will still last less than five minutes.

Four minutes, 28 seconds to be exact.

How long the total (or partial) solar eclipse lasts and what version of the eclipse sky-gazers will get depends greatly on where they are located, experts wrote on the astronomy.com report. The length of the eclipse varies from one year’s viewing to the next but is dependent on the fact that the Earth is not always at the same distance from the sun and the moon is not always the same distance from Earth, experts said.

While the solar eclipse will cross the U.S.-Mexico border and extend into Texas, the centerline of the event will then move north and will pass through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Vermont, and Maine, astronomy.com said.

In Illinois, the optimal chance to see the most extensive version of the eclipse will take place in downstate Makanda, which is located just south of Carbondale, experts recently said. The timing of the event will also play a big factor as the skies tend to be much clearer in August – when the solar eclipse took place in 2017 – and in April when the 2024 event will return.

Astronomy experts said that to get optimal viewing, those hoping to witness as full of an eclipse as possible should strive to find the clearest skies. That means heading closer to the southwest part of the country and catching the event before it makes its trek to the north.

Experts also maintain that while the nearly seven years that passed between the most recent eclipse and the coming event may have seemed long, the period after 2024 will be much longer. The next total eclipse will take place in 2044, according to astronomers which means one thing.

Start making your travel plans now.