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When is the next eclipse?

Posted 2008-02-20T15:07:30+00:00 - Updated 2008-02-20T15:07:30+00:00

Map showing paths of total solar eclipses crossing North America between 2001 and 2040. Note a totality path that crosses South Carolina and southwestern NC in August 2017.

Susan

MIKE MOSS SAYS: Susan, That depends on whether you include the one that occurs tonight (the total lunar eclipse of Wed 20 Feb 08). Looking ahead beyond that one, the next eclipses on the calendar are a total solar eclipse on August 1, 2008 that is not visible from here (path of totality is from north central Canada to eastern China) and a partial lunar eclipse on Aug 16, 2008 that is also not visible from central NC.

As for eclipses that ARE visible from our viewing area, the next significant ones are a total lunar eclipse on Dec 21, 2010, and a total solar eclipse on Aug 21, 2017. That one will cover about 90% of the sun as seen from central NC, but the path of totality is not too far away, and crosses the southern mountains of our state (see the path on the attached map, from the NASA eclipse web site).