Historic solar eclipse for Arkansas in 2024

The Great North American Eclipse is set for April 8, 2024, and Arkansas will be a wonderful place to enjoy this historic event. Two-thirds of the state will be in the path of totality, which will run through the center of Arkansas from southwest to northeast. A wide range of large cities including Hot Springs, Little Rock, and Jonesboro are located within that path. 

The last total solar eclipse happened in North America in 2017; that year, Arkansas only had partial totality.

So what makes this occasion so historic? For starters, only two total eclipses have happened in Arkansas history. 

One took place way back in 1834 when Arkansas was still known as Arkansas Territory (two years later Arkansas became the 25th U.S. state). The second was in 1918.

More information about this history and more can be found on the website of the Arkansas Natural Sky Association, in collaboration with the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium, at ar-eclipse.info.

The website also has five useful tables that list the phase times and durations for Arkansas areas in the path of this total solar eclipse. The five tables are organized to include cities and towns; Arkansas State Parks; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sites; college stadiums; and the Buffalo National River.

The total eclipse will be a historic event for the state but also of note is that there will be another celestial event in Arkansas the year before when the state is set to experience a partial eclipse on October 14, 2023.