This image, of the Sun’s inner corona and prominences on the Sun, was taken during the April 20, 2023 total solar eclipse. Exquisite views of what’s occurring just off of the Sun’s disk are best captured during a total solar eclipse. (Credit: Phil Hart)

5 total mistakes to avoid at the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse

There are only a precious few minutes of totality during even the best solar eclipses. Don’t waste yours making these avoidable mistakes.

On April 8, 2024, millions of North Americans will enjoy a spectacular total solar eclipse.

The path of totality of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse cuts from southwest Mexico up through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Canada. Everyone along the center-line of the eclipse in 2024 also experienced at least a partial eclipse on October 14, 2023, and a penumbral lunar eclipse on March 25, 2024. (Credit: Great American Eclipse, LLC)

For up to 4 minutes and 30 seconds, the Moon’s shadow will bring darkness to the daytime.

This photograph from the International Space Station shows the shadow of the Moon falling on the Earth during a total solar eclipse. Although the Moon’s shadow passes rapidly over the surface of the Earth, the International Space Station moves more than twice as rapidly. (Credit: International Space Station/Reuters)

Avoid these five common mistakes to make the most of your experience.

This photograph, taken during the 2017 total solar eclipse, shows the Sun being eclipsed by the Moon during totality. Note how, although the sky is darkened closest to the Sun, the horizon is still illuminated by direct sunlight. The closer you are to the center-line of totality and the longer the duration of the eclipse, the darker the overall sky becomes, allowing observers to see fainter, dimmer objects. You will miss details such as this if you spend all of totality’s time attempting to photograph the eclipse. (Credit: Joe Sexton/Jesse Angle)

1.) Don’t spend much time worrying about photography.

This photograph of the eclipsed Sun during totality shows the asymmetric corona and the last remnant of a tiny bit of sunlight poking through a crater on the Moon: one of Baily’s beads. (Credit: Ricardo Garza-Grande)