Total Eclipse, April 8th, 2024

Visit Kennett, Missouri

You can see the world go dark.

The Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The total solar eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean. Weather permitting, the first location in continental North America that will experience totality is Mexico’s Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT. The partial eclipse will occur in Kennett, Missouri at 25 seconds after 12:39 pm, total eclipse will occur 14 seconds after 1:57 pm. The eclipse will last 2 minutes and 16 seconds. 

Resources, Links & FAQs

Where can I view?

Our current viewing locations: 

  • Indian Park, Shelton Pkwy, Kennett, MO 63857
  • Jerry P. Combs Lake Conservation Area located 5.4 miles East of Kennett. 
  • Southeast Missouri State University-Kennett Regional Campus, 1230 1st St, Kennett, MO 63857

***MORE LOCATIONS PENDING***

The April 8, 2024, eclipse will be a total solar eclipse. It will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.

Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. Viewing 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. When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. You can also use an indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector.

The April 8, 2024, eclipse will be a total solar eclipse. It will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.

A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. People viewing the eclipse from locations where the Moon’s shadow completely covers the Sun – known as the path of totality – will experience a total solar eclipse. The sky will darken, as if it were dawn or dusk. Weather permitting, people along the path of totality will see the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which is usually obscured by the bright face of the Sun.

  • After the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the next total solar eclipse that can be seen from the contiguous United States will be on Aug. 23, 2044.
  • We can’t normally see the corona ­– the Sun’s outer atmosphere – because the Sun’s surface below it is so much brighter. But during a total solar eclipse, the corona becomes visible, offering unique opportunities to study it.
  • When the Moon completely blocks the visible surface of the Sun during a total solar eclipse, viewers can remove their eclipse glasses. A total solar eclipse is the only type of solar eclipse where eclipse glasses can be momentarily removed.
  • When a solar eclipse reaches totality, nocturnal wildlife sometimes wakes up, thinking that it’s nighttime, and non-nocturnal wildlife might think it’s time to head to sleep!

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Fun Fact #1

The speed of the moon's shadow will accelerate from about 1775 miles per hour to 1900 miles per hour through Missouri.

Fun Fact #2

Solar eclipses will come to an end, in about 600 million years due to slowing earth rotation and tides.

Fun Fact #3

The word eclipse comes from the Greek word ekleipsis which means “being abandoned”.

Ask Kennett Chamber a question

Things you should know

The longest duration of totality is 4 minutes, 28 seconds, near Torreón, Mexico. Most places along the centerline (path of totality) will see a totality duration between 3.5 and 4 minutes.

The path of totality is where observers will see the Moon completely cover the Sun.

In the path of totality, where the Moon completely covers the Sun, the sky will become dark, as if it were dawn or dusk. For those who only experience a partial solar eclipse, the sky will appear slightly darker than it was before the eclipse, depending on how much the Moon blocks the Sun in their location.

You can expect the temperature to drop about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) depending on the humidity and cloud cover at your location.

Totality: Totality is when the Moon completely blocks the bright face of the Sun. This is the only stage of the eclipse that you can view with your naked eye. This stage can also reveal the chromosphere (a region of the solar atmosphere, appearing as the thin circle of pink around the Moon) and the corona (the outer solar atmosphere, appearing as streams of white light).