An extremely rare total solar eclipse will take place in 2024. Sun chasers, hurry up and collect your guide!

8 tips for traveling during the 2024 total solar eclipse

How should we prepare for the upcoming total solar eclipse, starting with finding a safe observation area.

A total solar eclipse will pass across the entire North American continent on April 8, 2024.

(Photo credit: Edwin Rensenberg/Getty Images)

1. Understand the map symbols and their meanings

2. Don’t worry about the so-called center line

3. Find a unique observation location and angle

4. Consider the impact of clouds and clear weather

5. Get ready for a road trip

6. Consider the possibility of an “urban solar eclipse”

7. Put down your camera and embrace your binoculars

8. Don’t walk right after eating

On April 8, 2024, we will have a rare total solar eclipse. If you haven't done anything yet, you can start preparing for it now. This visual feast will be more grand than the annual solar eclipse in the past. By then, the day will be as dark as night, and the corona can be seen with the naked eye, but you must choose the right place and time.

For most people, this total solar eclipse won’t be much different than the one that occurs on October 14, 2023. According to NASA, this total solar eclipse will cross three states in Mexico, 15 states, and four provinces in Canada, with a total path of 185 kilometers. Such grandeur and rarity make this eclipse chase much more expensive and require more comprehensive preparation. Here are my top eight tips for preparing to observe this total solar eclipse.

1. Understand the map symbols and their meanings

The path of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, with the map divided by state. (Image credit: Mike Zeiler/GreatAmericanEclipse.com)

The path of the total solar eclipse refers to the path that the inner shadow of the moon will move across the North American continent during the eclipse. This path is only 185 kilometers wide, but 13,000 kilometers long. People outside the path of the total solar eclipse will observe a partial solar eclipse, which looks like the moon taking a bite of the sun.

On the Eclipse2024.org website or on the official website of the eclipse computer Xavier Jubier, we can experience excellent and advanced interactive maps. In this interactive map, printed maps, books and manuals are available. Observers can get a better viewing experience of this great solar eclipse.

The path of totality will cover the states of Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

2. Don’t worry about the so-called center line

Just get inside the path of totality and don't worry about the center line. (Image credit: Michael Zeller/GreatAmericanEclipse.com)

You just have to be within the path of totality to observe a total solar eclipse, but how long you can observe it depends on two things: where you are in that path, and where you are relative to the edge of that path.

No matter where you are in the eclipse path, the centerline of the eclipse path is where the shadow of the moon is widest, and this shadow will pass over our heads the longest. That is, in the eclipse path, you can observe the total solar eclipse for a longer time. Due to the attention of this total solar eclipse, accommodation near the centerline may have been sold out long ago. However, you can use your geographical knowledge to reverse the situation of having no place to stay. If you stand in the sky over Texas just 2 minutes and 52 seconds after the total solar eclipse leaves Canada, you may enjoy a total solar eclipse of 4 minutes and 27 seconds. The analysis here uses the scale of America. The maximum speed of the moon's shadow here is faster than in northeastern North America, and the period of passage becomes shorter accordingly.

Knowing this will be important for our successful observation of the 2024 North American total solar eclipse. But this is the longest total solar eclipse in 10 years. So, when the total solar eclipse occurs in April 24, whether you grab a place in the eclipse path or find a place to stay in the area where the total solar eclipse period is about three minutes, it will be a huge achievement for this observation.

3. Find a unique observation location and angle

Choosing between watching the solar eclipse in a group or watching it alone (Image credit: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers, Getty Images/Getty Images)

The best places to observe the solar eclipse can be anywhere. Niagara Falls, Lake Erie, to the mountains of Texas, Petygin State Park in Arkansas, etc. But we should avoid considering those "scenic spots" because there will definitely be a lot of people in those places, causing traffic jams and inconvenience in travel.

The climax of the total eclipse is to see the interlaced and changing light and shadows, the birds perched on the trees in the dim light, and the shock and joy on the faces of the sun chasers. If the eclipse is close to your home, you might as well watch it at home, after all, this is a solar eclipse that only occurs once a year. If you like to be alone, you will spare no effort to scan the entire map and find places where you can watch the eclipse alone; if you prefer to observe the eclipse in a group, you can see where your ideal carnival, observation event or rooftop party will be held, and then make an appointment.

4. Consider the impact of clouds and clear weather

View image of To observe the solar corona, you first need a cloud-free sky. (Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Obsessing over the centerline and finding the best viewing spot are part of preparing for a total solar eclipse. But if you want to be organized, you'll want to do it twice.

What if you suddenly find that the weather is bad where you were planning to go on that day? You can get a three-day forecast of the weather (Windy and eclipsophile.com are great for predicting cloudy days). These forecasts can be off, but unless you keep the eclipse in your car, you must be prepared to drive 1,000 miles and travel for several days. Until then, stay mobile and keep an eye on eclipse maps and route guides. Potential interstate transportation shortcuts are your best friend during eclipse days. Have a backup plan for the unpredictable, as the probability of cloudy days between Canada is more than 50%.

5. Get ready for a road trip

Road trips allow you to stay highly mobile and focus more on the journey. (Photo credit: Sun Yapeng/Songsha Wang/Getty Images)

To take a road trip, we need to have a good way to stay mobile and ensure the quality of the trip. These factors may depend on whether you can book a camper or RV to stay in the eclipse trail for the entire period of totality. This may be easier than finding a place to stay within the eclipse trail. However, a road trip that traverses the eclipse trail has other advantages.

You might want to visit the Johnson Space Center in Houston before heading to Texas to see the eclipse, or go to the state's remote Big Bend National Park to gaze at the stars (there are many national parks that are good for stargazing). The week before the eclipse will be around the first day of the lunar month, which is great for stargazing.

6. Consider the possibility of a solar eclipse in your city

Rochester, New York is just two of the cities that have organized the best total solar eclipse viewing events. (Image credit: Roland Shanitz via Getty Images)

There are about 32 million people living in the food trail, about three times the number in 2017. Most of them are urban residents. While hotels and B&Bs in the mountains of Texas and Arkansas charge sky-high rents due to the high probability of sunny weather, urban accommodation actually has higher capacity and cost-effectiveness.

It is rare for large cities in North America to observe a total solar eclipse, but this time, large cities including Mazatlan, Torrio, Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, and Montreal can observe the total solar eclipse. In addition, there are actually a number of cities around the eclipse path that can observe the total solar eclipse.

7. Put down your camera and embrace your binoculars

Eclipse photographers rarely get to see a total solar eclipse through a telescope. (Image credit: LINDSEY PARNABY/News Agency/Getty Images)

Is it better to take a set of beautiful photos of the entire eclipse, a panoramic continuous exposure, or a close-up of the corona after the eclipse is maximum? You have to set up your equipment, and the filters, and when to remove the filters and when to put them back, and use the most magical few minutes of life when the eclipse occurs to fiddle with your exposure equipment.

Why would anyone bother photographing a total solar eclipse? The emotions are a bit like your wedding. It's easier to do it with your phone: just turn on your wide-angle lens, stand at a moderate distance, lock on to the subject before the lens starts to fade, focus (with a long press), and then press the shutter before you completely press down. You only live once! You should put your phone aside during a total solar eclipse and take out your binoculars to enjoy the total solar eclipse! You won't regret it!

Remember! If you don't take perfect safety measures, you can only see the sun with your naked eyes after the sun's light is completely blocked. At all other times, observers must wear professional solar eclipse glasses, and single-tube binoculars must be equipped with solar filters in front of the lens!

8. Don’t walk right after eating

Don’t leave right after the eclipse is complete; stay to see the partial eclipse as the perfect end to this spectacular event. (Image credit: Philip Hart/Stocktrek via Getty Images)

As we all know, after the "great solar eclipse" on August 21, 2017, the traffic was terrible and it took hours to get home by public transportation. If you are not prepared for this, it will be difficult to cope with such a situation again after the solar eclipse 24 years later. So, it is better to stay at the observation site for a while after the total solar eclipse.

BY:Jamie Carter

FY:E-Orange

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