When is the next total eclipse? Treasure Coast is in the path to see one in 2045

Gianna Montesano, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·4 min read

If you're bummed the Treasure Coast is not in the path of totality for the April 8 total solar eclipse, mark your calendars for Aug. 12, 2045 — the next total solar eclipse visible in Florida.

In 21 years, the Treasure Coast will experience an eclipse path of totality that passes through Florida's east coast. Totality is when the moon completely blocks the sun, making the sky resemble dusk or dawn, according to NASA.

The upcoming April 8 total solar eclipse will only give the Treasure Coast a partial view of the darkened sky. This eclipse comes about six months after the Treasure Coast got a partial view of another solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023.

Here's what to know about the 2045 total solar eclipse and when to view the April 8 eclipse on the Treasure Coast.

When and where will the 2045 eclipse be the most visible on the Treasure Coast?

While there's no need to request a vacation day from work just yet, if you're anyplace on the Treasure Coast in 2045 you're guaranteed a primo view of the total eclipse.

"The central line of totality will run from northwest to southeast, passing most directly through Port St. Lucie and Stuart, but the entire Treasure Coast will see this one as a total eclipse," said Jon U. Bell, associate professor of astronomy and director of the Indian River State College Hallstrom Planetarium.

States along the path of totality are include Florida, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia.

When totality hits in 2045, the sun will disappear, the sky will darken, animals will go into nocturnal mode and temperatures will drop, according to Bell. When the sun disappears, people within the band of totality can safely view the sun with an unaided eye, cameras or telescopes for about six minutes, the duration of totality.

However, if you are outside the path of complete totality, protective filters are needed for safe viewing.

The 2045 eclipse is set to last about 2 hours and 42 minutes, beginning at 12:12 p.m. for Indian River and St. Lucie counties and 12:13 p.m. for Martin County.

When was the last time a total solar eclipse was visible on the Treasure Coast?

While eclipses have come and gone across our skies in the 21st century, the last time the Treasure Coast was in a total solar eclipse path of totality was 106 years ago, on June 8, 1918.

Total solar eclipses on March 7, 1970, and Aug. 21, 2017, were visible on the Treasure Coast, but did not have 100% obscuration. Instead, both left a golden sliver of the sun peeking from behind the moon, according to Time and Date AS.

Here are some things on the Treasure Coast that didn't yet exist during the 1918 total solar eclipse:

  • Port St. Lucie was 43 years away from being becoming a city in 1961

  • Indian River and Martin each were seven years away from becoming counties in 1925

  • Martin Memorial Hospital, now known as Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital, was 21 years away from opening in Stuart on March 8, 1939

Gifford and Sebastian experienced 100% totality, while Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Jensen Beach and Stuart experienced 99% totality, according to Time and Date AS. The eclipse lasted about 1 hour and 51 minutes, totality lasting only 30 seconds.

Will the 2024 total solar eclipse be visible on the Treasure Coast?

The partial eclipse will be visible on the Treasure Coast for about 2 hours and 28 minutes on April 8. It is estimated to begin at around 1:48 p.m. and end at around 4:16 p.m., according to Time and Date AS.

Here's when it will be at maximum visibility across the Treasure Coast:

  • 3:03 p.m.: Fellsmere, Fort Pierce, Hobe Sound, Jensen Beach, Jupiter Island, Port St. Lucie, Stuart

  • 3:04 p.m.: Gifford, Orchid Island, Vero Beach

More: A solar eclipse is coming April 8; Treasure Coast won't see the totality, but we will get a view

More: 'Going Home with Tyler Cameron' follows 'The Bachelorette' star as he remodels homes in Florida

The path of totality spans three countries in North America — the United States, Mexico and Canada. In the U.S., the path of totality will encompass Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @gonthescene.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: The last time a total solar eclipse reached totality on the Treasure Coast was 1918