This solar saros series began with a partial eclipse on 17 May 1501, has a total of seventy-one events and will end with a partial eclipse on 03 July 2763. This saros series has completed all 19 events of the first two divisions and is currently in division three, which is the forty-three Total eclipses.

The total eclipse on 08 April 2024, event number 30 (see below in next section) will have a maximum duration of 4 minutes and 28 seconds, after which subsequent future eclipses will gradually increasing in duration, continuing to do so until event 39 on July 16, 2186, which total solar eclipse will produce an eclipse with a duration of 7 minutes and 29 second, the longest duration of all total eclipses calculated for the ten millennia from 4000 BCE to 6000 CE.

After the 16 July 2186 eclipse, totality duration will decrease until event number 62 on 03 July 2763, which total eclipse will have a duration of only 35 seconds.

Saros Series 139 includes the following events:

Event 29, 29 March 2006, W. Brazil, Atlantic, E. Med Sea, Turkey, Russia

Event 30, 08 April 2024, S. Pacific, Mex., TX through ME, N. Atlantic

Event 31, 20 April 2042, Indonesia, off coast Japan, N. Pacific

Event 32, 30 April 2060, S. Atlantic, Africa, Iraq

Event 33, 11 May 2078, S. Pacific, Mexico, Gulf of M. SE US, N Atlantic

Event 39, 16 July 2186, Galapagos, Ecu., Colum., Venez., Guyanna, S. Atlantic

Regardless of where you may choose to view this total solar eclipse, you will do well to locate the path of totality and take up your position within this path of totality in advance before the shadow of the moon reaches that location. The place with the longest viewing time is on or near to the centerline of the moon′s shadow.

Those who view the eclipse outside of the Path of Totality and for a hundred miles in opposite directions, will see a ninety-five percent partial solar eclipse because you will be in the moon′s penumbra shadow. Those in ever further distance from the Path of Totality will see the partial eclipse of an increasingly lesser percentages. The point, you will not see the Total Eclipse unless you are in the Path of Totality.

The total eclipse on 08 April 2024 will last longer in any given location than did the eclipse on 21 August 2017, which eclipse was dubbed The Great American Eclipse of 21 August 2017. That eclipse, had two minutes and forty seconds as its maximum duration.

However, the 08 April 2024 total eclipse will be almost double the duration that previous eclipse, with a maximum duration of four minutes and twenty-eight seconds of total eclipse time. The 2024 total eclipse with viewing in large areas of northern Mexico and from southwest Texas to the eastern maritime provinces of Canada.

Furthermore, the 2024 total eclipse will be considerably darker than the 2017 total eclipse and the Sun′s coronal should be much more visible than it was in the previous 2017 eclipse.

Coordinates: 30.405500, -98.734000

Duration of Totality: 4 minutes, 24.2 seconds

Duration of Eclipse: 2 hours, 40 minutes, 39 seconds

C1 - 12:15 CDT, Altitude: 60.4°, Azimuth: 136.3°

C2 - 13:33 CDT, Altitude: 67.2°, Azimuth: 178.0°

C3 - 13:37 CDT, Altitude: 67.2°, Azimuth: 180.8°

C4 -1 4:56 CDT, Altitude: 60.5°, Azimuth: 223.6°

We all sit on chairs that Kevin has brought out for us and begin looking through the eclipse glasses that Barry brought for everyone. The location were we are viewing this solar eclipse will be within The Path of Totality, about ten miles east of the centerline of that Path.

After the totality, Wendy and the kids make a large bowl of egg-clipse salad for us to each make sandwiches.

As the moon moves toward the sun in the sky, the official eclipse begins with event C1, which, from the viewers perspective is when the moon appears to touch the sun at the viewer′s location. The C1 event, at our location, occurred at 12:16 CDT today, and this is when we began to see the moon make incursions into the disk of the sun as an increasing partial eclipse. We see the moon crossing the entire surface until the sun only has a few small sections of light remaining at the end of this event. We then see the Baily′s Beads and finally the Diamond Ring.

As the moon approaches the eclipse C1 event (First Contact), the moon arrives at the edge of the penumbra shadow and the partial eclipse of the moon begins. As the moon travels through the penumbra shadow, more of more of the moon will block the disc of the sun. Then, in the last few moments of this event, the Baily′s Beads, which are caused by sunlight shining through valleys on the surface of the moon and can be several spots of light, slowly begin to disappear leaving only two, then one bright light at the edged of the sun. The very last bead showing is referred to as the Diamond Ring.

The next event in a solar eclipse, called C 2, is when the last bead of light is extinguished. At this time stamp, immediately, the dark of the moon′s shadow engulfs the viewers as the surrounding daylight diminishes greatly. In many cases, the daylight is dimmed to such an extent, that stars will appear in the surrounding skies. For us during this total eclipse, the only thing the skies are filled with are clouds.

This begins the totality portion of the eclipse of the sun and as the leading edge of the shadow arrives at the ground where the views are located. The time of Totality will continue in darkness until the trailing edge arrives at the location of the view.

As the moon approaches the eclipse C1 event, the leading edge of the disc of the moon′s shadow, traveling across the surface of the earth will progress until it arrives at the viewers location. The At this point across the disk of the sun until only a small remnant of the sun remains shining out from behind the moon. This is the Bailey Beads, or spots of light on the easternmost area of the moon. These will slowly decrease until there is only one left which is called the diamond effect.

This total eclipse lasted four minutes and twenty-four seconds and as abruptly as the sunlight departed the viewers, it returns just so. Boom and it is bright again, well, not as bright as full daylight, but since the umbra shadow has moved north of us, the Sun and Moon are still doing the partial eclipse dance in the penumbra shadow, the full light of day is still some time away.

At the moment of the event C4, the Sun and Moon have completed their dance and it will not come back to dance again in this Solar Saros until Event 31, which will occur in 6585.32 days on 20 April 2042. However, that event, in order view it will required the viewers to travel to Indonesia, and/or the North Pacific off the coast of Japan.

I hope to see you there.

On 08 April 2024, at precisely 13:24 CDT (18:28 UTC), the more than one hundred mile wide umbra shadow will reach the Rio Grande River at a location just north of Eagle Pass where it will cross into Texas. From that moment, that leading edge will continue in the state of Texas for only twenty minutes passing through the entire state. Then, the leading edge of the umbra shadow will cross into Oklahoma will be at 13:44 CDT.

It was reported that the Great American Eclipse of 2017 was view by about 20 million people from the west coast of Oregon to the east coast in South Carolina. Too, about 12 million lived directly within the Path of Totality during the eclipse in 2017.

Due to that last eclipse, now many millions of Americans know about the exquisite beauty of the Sun′s corona shinning out from behind the pitch black Moon in the benighted daytime sky. Now, we should expect that many more millions will flock to this Path of Totality to see something truly worth seeing. In fact, some 31.5 million people in the United States, (about two and a half times more than in 2017) live directly within the Path of Totality of the 08 April 2024 total eclipse. What is more, the most all of the large cities along the eastern seaboard are within two hundred miles of the Path of Totality.

Therefore, in 2024, tens of millions more will likely travel to visit the Path of Totality than did the number who did in 2017, so be prepared for the single-biggest mass travel event that has ever occurred in the United States. Lets hope this will be a safe and positive celestial event for each and every one of them.

Be sure to acquire a pair of viewing glasses.

On 08 April 2024, at the moment of sunrise at 06:08 local time (16:08 UTC), the eclipse can be seen in the Pacific Ocean at coordinates: -6.771735°, -152.261641°. Interestingly, at this location, the total eclipse will have already begun five seconds before the sunrise, so this is a location and opportunity to see a total eclipse sunrise, a very rare phenomena indeed.

However, also at this location, the total eclipse will only last two minutes and six seconds. Then the dark disk that is the moon′s shawdow will travel for about two hours before the total eclipse will have reached the coast of Mexico.

The absolute first landfall of the Moon′s shadow in the Path of Totality will be upon its arriving at Isla Socorro (18.78357°, -110.97201°), about 310 miles (600 km) from the Mexican mainland. The duration of the total eclipse on this island will be 3 minutes and 22.6 seconds. The nearby Isla San Benedicto will also be in the Path of Totality, but since this is a volcanic island, it might not be safe to view from this location.

The next landfall will be at the Isla Maria Madre archipelago, of which both Isla Maria Madre and Isla San Juanito will be completely in The Path of Totality, but Isla Maria Mgdalena will only have the extreme western coast within The Path of Totality. However, the Path of Totality will miss entirely both Clepha Island and Campamento Isla Isabel, they will not be in the path.

On April 08, 2024 at 18:08 UTC (11:08 MST), the leading edge of this total solar eclipse will immerge from the south Pacific Ocean and touch the coast of Sinaloa, Mexico in the area just south of Mazatlán (23.0637772°, -106.2516709°).

At this location, the moon′s shadow, upon entering Mexico, has a duration time along the centerline of 4 minutes and 26 seconds. The shadow will be traveling at the speed of 1563 miles per hour (mph) and has a diameter of 123.3 miles wide.

The total eclipse will continue to travel across Mexico, crossing parts of the states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Coahuila. While in Mexico, the duration of the total eclipse will begin with a time of four minutes and twenty-seven six, but will begin to increase.

Then, at 18:14 UTC (12:14 CST), just a few miles north of Nazas, Durango, the leading edge of the total eclipse reaches it′s maximum duration of four minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Too, the speed of the eclipse travel has deceased slightly to 1561 mph and the shadow now has a width of 122.4 miles.

From this location, the time of the eclipse duration at any given location, will begin to slowly decrease until the end of this eclipse.

Upon arriving at the Rio Grande and just before arriving within the United States, the duration of the total eclipse here will continue with four minutes and twenty-seven seconds of duration. The speed of the shadow will be at 1587 mph and the diameter will be 120.9 miles wide.

Upon crossing into the United States at 13:28 pm CDT (18:28 UTC), the leading edge of the moon′s shadow will be just north of Eagle Pass at coordinates: 28.8481856°, -100.5724413°.

After crossing the Rio Grande River and continuing northeast, the Path of the Totality will cross thirteen states, including in the following order: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

On 08 April 2024, at precisely 12:28 CST (18:28 UTC), the 120.8 mile wide umbra shadow traveling at the speed of 1589 mph, will have reached the Rio Grande River with its centerline just north of Eagle Pass and at this point, the leading edge of the shadow will begin it travel within Texas.

At the moment the leading edge enters Texas, the time of duration of the solar eclipse will be 4 minutes and 27 seconds. The umbra shadow will then travel through Texas until the leading edge of the shadow crosses into Oklahoma, which will be at 13:44 CDT.

As the Path of totality continues into the United States, the duration of the total eclipse will be slowly decreasing as the total eclipse proceeds in this northeast direction towards New England and the Atlantic ocean.

While the shadow of the moon is in the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the northernmost flank of the moon′s shadow (path of the totality) will be in parts of the adjacent areas of Ontario and Quebec.

Next, upon leaving the United States from the last state, Maine at the coodinates of 46.2931884°, -67.78228116°, the Moon′s shadow will travel across areas with the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland before it exits land into the North Atlantic Ocean.

The eclipse will leave Canada from Maberely, Newfoundland, near Elliston Point at 17:48 NDT (19:48 UTC) into the north Atlantic ocean one hour and forty minutes after arriving on land in Mexico.

Then, the moon′s shadow will continue it rapid pace across the remainder of the thirteen states and then leading edge will arrive in the province of Ontario, Canada at 15:13 EDT. At this point, the moon′s shadow will travel along the US-Canadian Border until the trailing edge of the shadow departs from Quebec, Cananda at 15:33 EDT and simultaneously enters New Brunswick, Canada. Not long after that, the trailing edge will leave the US state of Maine at 16:35 EDT and also at the same time enter the Atlantic ocean.

Next, the umbra shandow will continue its northeastern direction and into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, during which the shadow will touch land on north Prince Edwards Island, directly over the archipelago of Cap aux Meules beginning at 16:37 ADT, and then, at 17:09 NDT, the leading edge will cross northern Cape Breton Island and enter Newfoundland and Labrador. At this time the duration of Totality will have decreased to just three minutes.

At 17:13 NDT, the leading edge of the shadow will have arrived at the easternmost shore just south of Bonavista, Newfoundland and just three minutes later at 17:16 NDT, the moon&primes shadow will depart land into the north Atlantic. The duration at this time will have decreased to 2 minutes and 49 seconds and the width will have decreased to less than 100 miles.

Many would say, that at the location near Elliston Point in Newfoundland on the east coast of Canada, this would be the last opportunity to see this eclipse. That may be true, well, unless you have a boat which could take you into the North Atlantic ocean.

Then, your last opportunity would be at coordinates: 47.62152, -19.82454 some 500 miles off the extreme southwest coast of Ireland, or 600 miles of the northwest coast of Spain.

Likely, many from Ireland and Europe who do have boats will be traveling to this area in the north Atlantic.