If you missed the solar eclipse, here's when your next chance to see one will be

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Today's total solar eclipse was the first seen in the US since 1979, and the first to cross the entire continental United States since 1918.

If you missed the event today, you have other chances to see the phenomenon soon. The US will see another solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, though that one will be annular — which means the edge of the sun will remain visible as a bright ring around the moon. That eclipse will be visible from Northern California to Florida, according to NASA. After that, the next total eclipse in the US will occur on April 8, 2024, and will be visible from Texas to Maine.

A total solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, and appears to cover the latter. The two other types of eclipses are annular and partial.

In Earth's history, there have been some 3 billion solar eclipses in the US alone, though some were partial rather than total. 

 

NOW WATCH: NASA's most accurate map of where Americans can witness the rare total solar eclipse this year