ST. LOUIS — A lot of people are excited for the 2024 solar eclipse. But, when is it and where can you see it?
The solar eclipse will start in St. Louis, Missouri, at around 12:42 p.m. as the moon begins to move across the sun. The parts of Missouri in the path of totality (which is in the southeast portion of the state near Cape Girardeau) will see a total eclipse at around 1:58 p.m.
The duration of totality can vary greatly depending where you are. Red Bud, Illinois, will see a total eclipse for about a minute today. Perryville, Missouri, is expecting to see totality for around three minutes and 45 seconds.
The St. Louis area will not see a total eclipse. The moon will cover 99.164% of the sun starting at 2:00 p.m. This will darken the skies, not completely block out the sun. You will need protective eyewear to view the eclipse in St. Louis.
The moon will complete its path across the sun at 3:17 p.m. All told, the eclipse event should last over two and a half hours.
Eclipse times for Missouri:
- Start of partial eclipse: 12:42:59 p.m.
- Maximum eclipse in St. Louis: 2:00:51 p.m.
- End of partial eclipse: 3:17:23 p.m.
- Max eclipse in Downtown St. Louis: 99.164%
A total solar eclipse will cross North America on Monday., April 8, briefly turning day into dusk along a path through Mexico, the United States and Canada.
Totality will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds in certain spots, twice as long as the full solar eclipse that darkened U.S. skies in 2017. There won’t be another coast-to-coast eclipse in the U.S. until 2045.
The first location in continental North America that will experience totality is Mexico’s Pacific coast around 1:07 p.m. CST. The eclipse will exit continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Canada.