When will next solar eclipse be in Knoxville? Where you can drive to one before 2100
The total solar eclipse on April 8 will pass directly over Knoxville ... that is, Knoxville, Arkansas.
But when is the next total solar eclipse passing over Knoxville, Tennessee? Here's a hint: barring a medical miracle, we'll all be dead.
Wishing your city will fall in the path of totality, which will be about 115 miles wide in April, is a bit like wishing you'd win the lottery or create a perfect March Madness bracket (OK, maybe not that rare). Since 1900, only 13 total solar eclipses have touched any part of the United States and none have passed directly over Knoxville.
The most recent one was also the closest. On Aug. 21, 2017, Knoxville got close enough to the path of totality, where the moon completely covers the sun, that locals were only a short drive from a stunning heavenly spectacle.
On April 8, getting to the eclipse will require a drive west across the state for Knoxville residents, since the path of totality only brushes Tennessee, passing over states like Arkansas, Indiana and Ohio.
Here's when the next total eclipse will be in Knoxville and where you can drive to see other eclipses before the year 2100. If you're not planning to travel for the 2024 eclipse, consider the 2045 eclipse, or perhaps even the 2099 eclipse. Think you'll make it until then?
When is the next total solar eclipse coming to Knoxville, Tennessee?
Knoxville will not fall in the path of totality until Oct. 17, 2153, said Michael Zeiler, a geographer who publishes GreatAmericanEclipse.com, in a statement to Knox News. The site provides comprehensive information about eclipses across the world.
Only two states will have to wait longer than Tennessee for their next total solar eclipse, according to Zeiler's data. Washington and Idaho will not see the event until 2169.
Thanks to astronomical modeling, NASA scientists know each solar eclipse that has occurred or will occur in the 5,000-year span between 2,000 B.C.E and 3,000 C.E. There will be 11,898 solar eclipses during that time, including 3,173 total eclipses.
Those eclipses will traverse every corner of the globe. NASA even put together a heat map that shows where 5,000 years worth of eclipses will take place.
When will next total solar eclipse be near Knoxville?
NASA tracks the most detailed data on solar eclipses between 1900 and 2100. Between the April 8 solar eclipse crossing North America and 2100, there will be 63 total eclipses across the world.
Only five of them will be within a reasonable driving distance of Knoxville.
Click on the links to see maps of the eclipses:
August 12, 2045: This total solar eclipse will stretch from the West Coast down to Florida, passing through Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. But not Tennessee.
March 30, 2052: This total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico and into over the Gulf of Mexico into parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. But not Tennessee.
Sept. 23, 2071: If you want to book a trip to Mexico 47 years in advance, this total solar eclipse may be the one for you. The path of totality won't cross into the U.S., but it does stretch across Mexico and the Caribbean.
May 11, 2078: This total solar eclipse will pass just below Tennessee, crossing large portions of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. It will be in easier driving distance from Knoxville than the 2024 eclipse, as long as you're still able to drive in 2078.
Sept. 14, 2099: You can make it! This total solar eclipse will travel across the U.S. from Montana and North Dakota to Virginia and North Carolina. It will pass through Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.
Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Next solar eclipse in Knoxville, Tennessee won't be until 2153
