Once upon a time you were falling in love with the idea of watching the total solar eclipse, but now you’re only falling apart because you weren’t able to obtain eclipse glasses in time.
Or maybe you were stuck at your cubicle, cursing the moron who scheduled a mandatory conference call on eclipse day.
Whatever the reason you didn’t take in the cosmic craziness, take heart. Another total solar eclipse is right around the corner (relatively speaking, as far as the whole space-time continuum thing goes), and better yet, the path of totality will be much closer to the Burgh.
Yep, that’s right, the universe has scheduled the next total solar eclipse over the United States for April 8, 2024 — and in case you aren’t the quickest at math, that’s only seven years from now. Less than that, technically.
The 2024 eclipse will run from Texas to Maine, with the path of totality crossing through Cleveland and Buffalo, among many other nearby towns. Lots of Pittsburghers drove to Nashville, or even further, to get into the best lane to see the eclipse this time around. In 2024, you can save a little on gas.
So why the heck was everyone making such a big deal about Monday’s event? Well, in a lot of ways, it was a big deal. According to Quartz (and many others) it’s been 99 years since a total solar eclipse was visible in the United States from coast-to-coast, and 38 years since the U.S. has seen one at all. So if you enjoyed it today, you should have. No raining on this parade. (And no raining at all, period.)
But now that the prices on eclipse glasses will inevitably drop, stock up for 2024.
Oh, and start looking for hotel deals in Cleveland.
