Solar eclipse 2024: Use this online tool to see what the event will look like, based on location

May 22, 2023

On April 8, 2024, the total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, the United States and Canada, according to NASA. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel)Staff-Shot

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — An exciting and rare phenomenon will be visible for people across North America next year, when a total solar eclipse appears in the sky.

On April 8, 2024, the total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, the United States and Canada, according to NASA.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun. During this time, the sky will darken, as if it were dawn or dusk.

You may be wondering if you’ll have a view of the total solar eclipse. Thanks to a new web tool, designed by Eclipse2024.org and EclipseSimulator.Solar, you can preview what the eclipse will look like from any location in the country.

It can help you plan your viewing activities, as you’ll be able to see the impact of the event during totality or partial totality. You’ll also be able to see what the eclipse will look like if you can't be in the path of totality.

Go to the eclipse map selection page at https://eclipse2024.org/eclipse-simulator/ and choose Total Solar Eclipse of 8 Apr 2024. A new window will open that will allow you to type in your city. A dropdown will appear to choose the location, which will tell you what your view of the eclipse will look like — whether it is total, partial, or not available in your location.

You’ll then be prompted to click "Launch the Eclipse Simulator" for your location, and agree to the terms to launch the simulator. Just click the play button to watch an animation of the moon covering the sun.

Weather-permitting, the first location in continental North America that will experience totality is Mexico's Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

The path of the eclipse continues from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. The eclipse will exit continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, at 5:16 p.m. Newfoundland Daylight Time.

If you plan on viewing the eclipse, whether total or partial, you’ll need to wear specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing.

Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse — when the moon completely blocks the sun's face — it's not safe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection. Looking at any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury, NASA warned.

When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you should use safe solar viewing glasses, or eclipse glasses, or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. Eclipse glasses are not regular sunglasses, as regular sunglasses aren't safe for viewing the sun.

Looking directly at the sun during an eclipse can cause "eclipse blindness" -- a serious injury in which the eye's retina is damaged by solar radiation, according to the American Optometric Association.

Make your own pinhole projector to safely view the eclipse without looking directly at it or purchase eclipse glasses certified by NASA and the American Astronomical Society.

After the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the next one can be seen from the contiguous United States on Aug. 23, 2044.