It’s Exactly 18 Years Until The Next Total Solar Eclipse In The Contiguous U.S.

Posted on August 23, 2026 in business-finance

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Did you see the total solar eclipse from Greenland, Iceland or Spain on Aug. 12? While it was glimpsed as a partial eclipse from the U.S., the next totality — when the moon entirely blocks the sun, it goes dark and the solar corona pops into view for a view minutes — won’t happen in the contiguous U.S. until Aug. 22, 2044, a dramatic totality up to 2 minutes 4 seconds will come to Greenland, northern Canada and the U.S. Here’s everything you need to know.

The Sun's corona glows as the Moon completely blocks the Sun during the totality phase of the total solar eclipse as seen from Arenal beach in Llucmajor, on the Balearic island of Mallorca, on August 12, 2026. Millions of Europeans contemplated the sky in awe today during a rare total solar eclipse that will plunge a swathe of Spain into an eerie daytime darkness. The shadow cast when the Moon covers the Sun began in Russia's remote Arctic north at around 1700 GMT and continued in an arc through Greenland and Iceland. Spain is where most people viewed the total eclipse, which crossed the country diagonally from the northern Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean Sea, where it vanished at around 1830 GMT. (Photo by Jaime REINA / AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

The last “Great North American Eclipse” was seen on April 8’s total solar eclipse when a path of totality — the moon’s dark central shadow — surged across Mexico, the U.S, and Canada.

On Aug. 23. 2044, a path of totality will rise in northwest Greenland with a totally eclipsed sunrise, then be seen across Canada’s Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, finishing as a totally eclipsed sunset in the U.S.

Only Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota will witness totality, with the rest of the U.S. seeing a partial eclipse.

A map showing the path of totality on August 22, 2044.

Michael Zeiler/EclipseAtlas.com

Why the 2044 total solar eclipse will be very special

The view from the U.S. will be similar to what was seen in Spain on Aug. 12, when the eclipsed sun hung low above the western horizon just before setting. The two eclipses in 2026 and 2044 also come from the same repeating family of moon shadows, called Solar Saros 126, which produces a solar eclipse every 18 years, 11 days and 8 hours.

Totality will come to Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Calgary and Edmonton in Canada, as well as Glacier National Park and Medicine Rocks State Park in Montana and Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

THE ‘Great American Eclipse’ OF 2045

Every 18 years, three total solar eclipses occur in just under two years. That’s exactly what is happening right now, with total solar eclipses on Aug. 12, 2026, Aug. 2, 2027, and July 22, 2028. The same will occur in 18 years, with total solar eclipses on Aug. 23, 2044, Aug. 12, 2045, and Aug. 2, 2046. Of particular interest is the 2045 event, which will see a path of totality go coast-to-coast across the U.S. over California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, with totality lasting up to 6 minutes 6 seconds.

THE ‘ALASKA ECLIPSE’ OF 2033

Although the 2044 total solar eclipse will be the next one visible from the contiguous U.S., the next one for the continental U.S. will occur on March 30, 2033, in Alaska, when totality will last for up to 2 minutes and 37 seconds. St. Lawrence Island, Barrow (also known as Utqiagvik), Kotzebue, and Nome are all in the path of totality at peak time for viewing northern lights.