When was the last total solar eclipse in York County? Hint: A very long time ago.
People often hear that total solar eclipses − when the moon fully blocks the face of the sun − are rare, but they're not.
"What's rare is to have them in your backyard," said Brian Lada, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com.
On April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible, weather-permitting, in Mexico, the United States and Canada. Thirteen states, including Pennsylvania, lie in the path of totality − where the moon moves in the path of the sun and completely blocks it.
York County lies outside of the path of totality, but observers will get to see more than 90 percent of it.
Local residents who wish to observe a total eclipse should hit the road this spring. Otherwise, they'll have to wait a few more decades to see the next one that happens in the United States, and they'll have to travel a longer distance to see it.
The next big total solar eclipse in the United States will occur on Aug. 12, 2045.
When was the last total solar eclipse in York County, Pa.?
The last time York County was in the path of totality for a solar eclipse was July 29, 1478, said Todd Ullery, planetarium director for the York County Astronomical Society and solar system ambassador for NASA.
It happened at 7:29 a.m., and observers would have witnessed 2 minutes and 29 seconds of totality, according to eclipsewise.com.
It was more than half a millennium ago: 546 years.
It happened 14 years before Christopher Columbus started his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.
It occured 271 years before York County was founded.
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When will the next total solar eclipse be visible in York County, Pa.?
It's just around the corner, Ullery joked in an email.
It will be at 1:20 p.m. on Monday, October 26, 2144, according to eclipsewise.com. It will last about 1 minute and 36 seconds.
"Those closer to the center line of totality, such as Allentown, will get 4 minutes of totality," Ullery said.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: York, Pa.: The last total solar eclipse and the next one in the future
