The first total solar eclipse visible across the entire contiguous United States since 1918, observed by millions during the smartphone and social media era.
Key Facts
- Date
- August 21, 2017
- Path of totality states
- 14 states
- Path of totality area
- ~16% of total U.S. area
- Previous full U.S. crossing
- June 8, 1918
- Last mainland U.S. total eclipse
- February 1979
- Next U.S. total solar eclipse
- April 8, 2024
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Moon's orbital path brought it between the Earth and the Sun along a trajectory crossing the contiguous United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast. No comparable alignment had produced a coast-to-coast totality path over the mainland United States since June 8, 1918, making this a rare astronomical convergence.
On August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse swept across 14 U.S. states, with the path of totality beginning on the Oregon coast at 5:16 p.m. UTC and ending along the South Carolina coast at approximately 6:44 p.m. UTC. Partial visibility extended to Canada, northern South America, northwestern Europe, Africa, and northeastern Asia.
The eclipse generated widespread public enthusiasm, prompting mass travel into the path of totality and straining smaller communities with visitor influxes. As the first such event in the smartphone and social media era in the United States, it produced an unprecedented volume of personal documentation and real-time sharing, and raised public awareness of eye-safety hazards from counterfeit eclipse glasses.