It’s often said that only one in 10,000 people ever experience a total solar eclipse, but a cohort of young Americans are about to witness their second by their mid-twenties. And that’s just the start.
The U.S. is in a golden age of total solar eclipses—and young Americans who witnessed 2017’s “Great American Eclipse” as children are poised to experience totality again. The next comes on April 8, but beyond that, there are no fewer than 10 total solar eclipses in the U.S. this century. For anyone born at the turn of the century and living to 80 years old, there will be a whopping seven total solar eclipses to experience. Welcome to “Generation Eclipse.”
Lucky Generation
Ella Ross, 22, a filmmaker and multimedia editor in Philadelphia, is part of one of the luckiest generations of Americans, eclipse-wise. Her story started in 2012 when she learned about a total solar eclipse coming to the U.S. On August 21, 2017—its first since 1979— while taking an astronomy course at the local Strasenburgh Planetarium in Rochester, New York.
“I went home and told my mom that when I’m 16, I’m going to drive us wherever we have to go to see the eclipse,” she said in an interview. “Five years later, we drove for 15 hours to Kimmswick, Missouri and watched the eclipse beside a railroad track.” She describes a feeling of peace. “All the predictions were right, what everyone said about it was right— but I was seeing it and experiencing,” she said. “It’s hard to describe that to people who haven’t experienced it.”
Profound Affect
The 2 minutes and 18 seconds of totality profoundly affected the Ross family. On the long journey home, they discovered that totality was coming to Rochester for 3 minutes 38 seconds on April 8, 2024. Fast forward to today, and Ella has just produced a 25-minute documentary, “The Path to the Path,” for the American Astronomical Society.
Her mom, Debra Ross, has spent much of the intervening time as chair of Rochester’s eclipse task force and co-chair of the national AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force. With her mom miked up and Ella filming another documentary, they’ll witness totality again on April 8 at Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, close to Rochester. “I was always going to be with my family in my hometown for this,” said Ella.
It likely won’t be the last time the duo celebrate totality together.
Eight Eclipses
In the wake of the 2017 and 2024 total solar eclipses in the U.S. another six have been calculated through 2080:
- March 30, 2033: Alaska (2 minutes 37 seconds).
- August 22–23, 2044: Montana and North Dakota (2 minutes 4 seconds).
- August 12, 2045: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida (6 minutes 6 seconds).
- March 30, 2052: Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina (4 minutes 8 seconds).
- May 11, 2078: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina (5 minutes 40 seconds).
- May 1, 2079: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine (2 minutes 55 seconds).
On The Cusp
“Generation Eclipse” is on the cusp of something remarkable. “There’s been so much hype in my life about this that it feels like the world is going to end on April 9,” said Ella. It will just be the beginning, with the next total solar eclipse in the U.S. coming to Alaska in 2033. “I might do that one—in the back of my mind, I have the idea that I’m going to follow this around and see what I can get out of it,” said Ella, who describes herself as a scientific storyteller. “I didn’t know this would become a big part of my life—it’s a beautiful thing to have the eclipse as something I’m going to follow in my life.”
European Experience
North America’s golden age of eclipses may seem unique, but Europe is way ahead. “The 1999 total solar eclipse across Europe triggered a whole generation of eclipse chasers and people interested in astronomy,” said Graham Jones at Timeanddate, who lives in Spain. “I’m one of the oldest of the ‘1999 generation’—that was my first totality.” On August 11, 1999, a path of totality crossed the U.K., central Europe, Turkey, the Middle East, Pakistan and India. At the time, it was one of the most widely viewed in history. For the U.K., it was the first total solar eclipse since 1927 and the last until 2090.
Spain’s ‘Generación Eclipse’
Since then, Jones has witnessed many total solar eclipses worldwide, but the next one after April 8 will occur in Europe—the continent’s first in 27 years. On August 12, 2026, a path of totality will surge across Greenland, Western Iceland and northern Spain, just missing Madrid and Barcelona but cloaking 15.2 million people in darkness, according to Jones’ calculations. “August 21, 2017, was a watershed event for the U.S. that inspired a generation of eclipse chasers—and 2026 could have the same impact,” he said.
Remarkably, the total solar eclipse of 2026 is followed precisely 354 days (one lunar year) later on August 2, 2027, when a path of totality will again pass across Spain, North Africa and the Middle East. An instant “generación eclipse” is inevitable, not least because an annular solar eclipse—better known as a “ring of fire”—will strike Spain in 2028. Something similar will happen in Mexico, with three total solar eclipses in 26 years (2052, 2071 and 2078).
A successful eclipse chaser typically requires knowledge, dedication, and the resources to travel worldwide. Or you could just be born at the right time.
For the very latest on the total solar eclipse—including travel and lodging options—check my main feed for new articles each day.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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