A year ago today, a total solar eclipse swept across Mexico, into Texas, up through the Great Lakes and exited North America via Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. On a global scale, solar eclipses aren't very rare, visible somewhere on Earth each year.
Just ten days ago, the Northeastern U.S. witnessed a partial eclipse at sunrise. Looking ahead, a total solar eclipse will sweep across Spain and Iceland on August 12, 2026. Unfortunately for North Carolina, it won’t be much to write home about—only the far northeastern corner of the state will catch a tiny sliver of the Sun being covered by the Moon.
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The line dividing eclipse from no eclipse cuts right through Tobacco Road. If we could strip away the atmosphere and watch the eclipse from I-40, it would look something like this. Soooooo close.
The next chance to see a solar eclipse won’t come until January 2028—and even then, it won’t be much to get excited about, with only about 5% of the Sun obscured.
On January 14, 2029, a partial eclipse will be visible across much of the U.S., with about 39% of the Sun covered here in Raleigh.
Then comes something rare: a hybrid solar eclipse. This unique event begins as a total eclipse west of Hawaii but shifts into an annular eclipse as the Moon moves just far enough from Earth that it can no longer fully cover the Sun, leaving behind a brilliant "ring of fire," or annulus. From our vantage point, we’ll see it as a partial eclipse right at sunset.
| Date | Partial Eclipse | Obscuration |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 2024 | 1:58 pm - 4:29 pm | 82% |
| Jan 26, 2028 | 8:48 am - 10:35 am | 5% |
| Jan 14, 2029 | 11:11 am - 2:02 pm | 39% |
| Nov 14, 2031 | 2:42 pm - 5:05 pm | 9% |
There won’t be another eclipse path crossing the Carolinas until the total solar eclipse of 2052. That event will hopefully give Charleston, SC another shot at experiencing totality—clouds and rain spoiled the view back in 2017.
North Carolina’s next opportunity moves in from Gulf of Mexico, via New Orleans and Alantia in 2078, when a 140-mile-wide path of totality centered on Fayetteville will sweep over Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, and nearly every major city in eastern North Carolina.
Durham and Chapel Hill will get about 2.5 minutes of totality, Raleigh will see over 4 minutes, and Fayetteville will experience an impressive 5 minutes and 23 seconds. That unusually long duration and proximity to I-95 is likely to draw visitors to the All-American City from up and down the east coast.
Another destination that is likely to draw a lot of visitors will likely be the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Just 3.5 miles north of the eclipse centerline. Kitty Hawk will offer more than 5 minutes of totality—an unforgettable view from a place steeped in the history of flight.
And if you still have your eclipse glasses from 2024—or even from the 2017 eclipse that passed through the Carolinas—don’t throw them out! As long as they’re free from scratches, holes, or creases, and were made to the ISO 12312-2 safety standard, they’re safe to use indefinitely.
Astronomers Without Borders also collects eclipse glasses for distribution to eclipse lovers around the world.