(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — There is a lot of excitement surrounding the next total eclipse. On April 8, 2024, the next total solar eclipse will take a path over the Continental United States and block out the sun for 15 states. Unfortunately, this will not take a direct path over Colorado, but you will at least show 60 to 80% totality over Southern Colorado on that date.

A total solar eclipse is when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and completely blocks out the sun. This is the only time that you can see the sun’s outer atmosphere, which is called the corona. An annular solar eclipse is when the moon passes in between the Sun and Earth but it is either at or near its farthest point away from the Sun, so the moon does not completely block out the sun and it appears smaller. A partial solar eclipse is when the moon, Earth, and Sun do not completely line up so the sun is only partially blocked out.

This one will be special as it will be the last total eclipse for 20 years to take a direct path across the United States. To be clear, there are a lot of eclipses between now and 2044 but this will be the last total eclipse to take a path over the Contiguous United States. Several annular and partial eclipses will go over the United States between now and then.

If you want to be in a state that will see the totality of the eclipse you can see it in states like Maine, New York, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and parts of Texas. Be forewarned that some hotels have significantly raised their prices for that date in anticipation of the eclipse.

If you want to stay here in Colorado to watch the eclipse, you will definitely at least see some of the eclipse. However, you can not view it with the naked eye. You will need to either purchase eclipse glasses or you can build your own solar viewer. You can view how to make a solar viewer at home in the video above.