Next Solar Eclipse in North America: 2026 to 2045

The next total solar eclipse to touch US or Canadian soil will not happen until March 30, 2033, when totality sweeps across northern and western Alaska, so anyone hoping to stand in the Moon's shadow in the Lower 48 has to wait for August 23, 2044 (Montana, North Dakota, and Western Canada) or August 12, 2045, when a path runs coast to coast from California to Florida. In between, the US and Canada get a string of partial solar eclipses and several lunar eclipses worth planning a night around. Below is the full calendar of every solar and lunar eclipse touching North America between now and 2045, how to watch each type safely, and how to plan a trip around the ones that matter.

Every Solar and Lunar Eclipse Visible from the US and Canada, 2026 to 2045

Check our events calendar closer to each date for exact local timing, and pair a trip with a stop at one of the certified dark sky parks near the path for a bonus night of stargazing before or after.

The 2026 Eclipses Are Already Behind Us

Four eclipses touched, or brushed past, North America earlier this year, and all of them have now happened. On February 17, 2026, an annular "ring of fire" solar eclipse traced a path across Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters, so nobody in the US or Canada saw so much as a partial bite of the Sun that day (NASA). Skywatchers had a much better night on March 3, 2026, when a total lunar eclipse turned the Moon a coppery red across all of North and Central America, with totality running from roughly 3:04 a.m. to 4:03 a.m. PST (6:04 to 7:03 a.m. EST) before dawn (NASA, EarthSky).

On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse crossed Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, and Spain, the first path of totality to cross mainland Europe in 27 years. North America never got totality, but it did see a partial show: Alaska saw 17 to 37 percent of the Sun covered in the morning, the northern US saw 3 to 28 percent around midday, and Canada saw anywhere from 5 to 53 percent depending on location, while Greenland's evening partial eclipse reached 79 percent coverage (NASA). Two weeks later, on the night of August 27 into August 28, 2026, a deep partial lunar eclipse covered about 96 percent of the Moon and was visible to roughly 3.3 billion people worldwide, including observers coast to coast in the US and Canada, with the West Coast catching it just after sunset and the East Coast seeing maximum eclipse close to midnight local time (Space.com).

Total, Annular, Partial, and Penumbral: What Sets Them Apart

A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon fully covers the Sun's disk, but only inside a narrow path of totality a few dozen to a few hundred kilometers wide; everywhere else sees a partial eclipse at best (NASA). An annular eclipse happens when the Moon is near the farthest point in its orbit and looks too small to fully cover the Sun, leaving a blazing "ring of fire" around it, which means an annular eclipse is never safe to view without a solar filter, even at its peak (NASA). A partial solar eclipse is simply any location outside the path of totality or annularity, where the Moon takes only a bite out of the Sun.

Lunar eclipses work differently, and none of them require eye protection. A total lunar eclipse happens when the Moon passes fully into Earth's dark umbral shadow and typically turns a deep red or orange, popularly called a "blood moon." A partial lunar eclipse only dips part of the Moon into that umbral shadow, and a penumbral lunar eclipse only grazes Earth's much fainter outer shadow, which is why penumbral eclipses like the ones in February 2027 and July 2028 are so easy to miss with the naked eye (Canadian Space Agency, NASA).

Eye Safety: How to Watch a Solar Eclipse Without Damaging Your Eyes

Looking at any part of a partial or annular solar eclipse, or at the partial phases before and after totality, requires certified solar filters at all times; the only moment it is briefly safe to look with the naked eye is during the seconds or minutes of full totality inside the path itself (NASA). Safe eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers must meet the international ISO 12312-2:2015 standard, which blocks all but a tiny fraction of visible sunlight along with the ultraviolet and infrared radiation that can burn the retina without any pain to warn you (AAS). Ordinary sunglasses, no matter how dark, do not meet this standard and are never safe for looking at the Sun (NASA).

Before using any eclipse glasses, inspect them for scratches, punctures, or loose filters, and never look through a camera, telescope, or binoculars using ordinary eclipse glasses as the filter, since the concentrated sunlight can burn straight through them; those instruments need their own certified solar filters mounted over the front lens (AAS). The American Astronomical Society keeps an updated list of reputable ISO 12312-2 suppliers if you are buying glasses for a trip, and it is worth checking before an eclipse date rather than the week of, since counterfeit glasses have shown up in past eclipse years (AAS). If you are watching with kids, plan on direct supervision the entire time the Sun is even partly uncovered. None of this applies to lunar eclipses: a total, partial, or penumbral lunar eclipse is always safe to watch with the naked eye, no filters needed.

The Landmark Eclipses Worth Building a Trip Around

Three eclipses stand out from the rest of this list because they put real totality over accessible ground in North America. The first is March 30, 2033, when the path of totality crosses northern and western Alaska, including Nome and Utqiagvik (Barrow), with totality lasting up to about 2 minutes 37 seconds over the Arctic coast; this is a mid-morning eclipse, so warm clothing and a clear northern horizon matter as much as eye protection (Wikipedia, NASA).

The next is August 23, 2044, the first total solar eclipse to cross the contiguous US since 2024. The path runs through eastern British Columbia, Alberta, southwestern Saskatchewan, northern Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories in Canada, then northeastern Montana, western North Dakota, and the extreme northwest corner of South Dakota, with totality lasting up to about 2 minutes 4 seconds along a fairly narrow, 453-kilometer-wide path that misses most major cities (Wikipedia, NASA).

The big one is August 12, 2045, the long-awaited successor to 2017's coast-to-coast eclipse. The path of totality crosses the US from northern California through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia to Florida, then on to the Bahamas and Caribbean, with totality reaching more than 6 minutes near Camden, Alabama, among the longest of the 21st century (Wikipedia, NASA).

How to Plan Eclipse Travel

Whichever of these three you build a trip around, lodging inside the actual path of totality, not just nearby, is the single most important decision, since a few miles outside the path means missing totality entirely. Hotel demand around a total solar eclipse spikes hard and early: during the 2017 eclipse, hotels along the path saw a 244 percent jump in revenue per available room the day before the eclipse and 95 percent occupancy, and in the small market of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, revenue per room rose 1,644 percent; ahead of the 2024 eclipse, hotel searches jumped 306 percent and some chains reported booking rates up 800 percent year over year (Hotel Dive). Book lodging as soon as a path is finalized rather than waiting, and consider camping or an RV site as a backup, since campgrounds inside a rural path (like the 2044 route through Montana and North Dakota) often stay available longer than hotel rooms.

Build in flexibility for weather. Because cloud cover on eclipse day can ruin a fixed viewing spot, dedicated eclipse-chasing sites publish cloud-cover climatology for points along each path, and experienced chasers use that data to scout two or three potential locations in different microclimates rather than committing to a single town months in advance (Eclipsophile). Pair the trip with our dark sky places directory to find a certified dark-sky park or preserve near the path for a stargazing night before or after the eclipse itself, and check the moon phase for the days around your trip so a bright Moon does not wash out that bonus night sky.

A Look Back: The April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

The most recent total solar eclipse to cross North America happened on April 8, 2024, when the Moon's shadow raced from the Pacific coast of Mexico through 15 US states from Texas to Maine, then into Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland in Canada (Wikipedia). Totality lasted up to 4 minutes 28 seconds near Nazas, Durango, Mexico, making it noticeably longer than either of the two landmark eclipses still ahead in 2033 or 2044 (NASA). If you missed it, the next chance at totality anywhere in the US or Canada is Alaska in 2033, and the next chance in the Lower 48 or southern Canada is 2044.

Lunar Eclipses Worth Watching Through 2028

Not every lunar eclipse is worth planning a night around. The penumbral eclipses of February 20, 2027 and July 6, 2028 involve only Earth's faint outer shadow and produce little to no visible dimming, so they are easy to skip (Wikipedia, Wikipedia). The shallow partial eclipse on January 12, 2028 is fully visible coast to coast across the US and Canada, though only a small bite of the Moon dips into shadow, so binoculars help more than the naked eye (Wikipedia). The one worth marking on a calendar is a rare New Year's Eve total lunar eclipse on December 31, 2028, though it favors the western half of the continent: Alaska, western Canada, and the western US will see it low in the sky as the Moon sets before dawn, while anyone east of the Rockies will miss it entirely because the Moon sets before the eclipse begins (Wikipedia). Between now and then, our meteor shower calendar and northern lights guide cover the other reasons to keep looking up on a clear night.