Watch the solar eclipse in Farmington - or Travel to Texas to get the best view

The 2024 total solar eclipse's path of totality cuts across 13 U.S. States.

While New Mexico isn't in the direct path, the state's dark skies and public lands offer some of the best viewing locations for the partial eclipse.

When is the solar eclipse?

The total solar eclipse will occur April 8.

The total eclipse is the last time for 20 years the moon's orbit will cause it to blot out the sun. Worried about getting the best view?

Here's a little about why the Great North American Eclipse of 2024 is so special, and when and where you can try to witness it.

More watching advice:What time is the April 8 total solar eclipse in New Mexico? Find out here with your ZIP code

Best places to catch a glimpse of the eclipse in New Mexico

The following National Park sites also have eclipse and stargazing opportunities. Those with asterisks are dark skies designated.

• Chaco Culture National Historical Park*
• Capulin Volcano National Monument*
• ◾ Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• El Morro National Monument*
• Fort Union National Monument*
• Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument*
• Valles Caldera National Preserve*

Watch the solar eclipse online with NASA

You can also watch the eclipse online. NASA and other organizations will create a link for live eclipse viewing closer to the event.

Traveling to Texas for the solar eclipse?

The eclipse's path of totality will reach over neighboring, Texas. Here are some events to plan for if you're traveling to view the eclipse.

▶At Dallas’s Hôtel Swexan, guests are invited to the 20th-floor rooftop to view the solar eclipse with complimentary glasses and a telescope. The hotel is also hosting a Breathe Meditation and Wellness event on the evening of the solar eclipse, where guests can participate in New Moon rituals, meditation, and a restorative sound bath. 

▶Downtown Dallas will host free events all weekend long featuring live music, food trucks and family-friendly activities. The official watch party will take place at the Main Street Garden. 

▶ NOAA, NSF, and NASA will host the free Sun, Moon, and You Solar Eclipse Viewing Event at the historical Cotton Bowl Stadium in downtown Dallas with guest speaker Neil deGrasse Tyson. STEM organizations will be onsite throughout the stadium’s concourse with activities and handouts and telescopes will be available.

▶ Those who want to take to the skies can attend the 2024 Solar Eclipse Festival at Grapetown, a vineyard in Fredericksburg. Guests can take hot air balloon rides – weather permitting, of course – and experience a farm-to-table dinner, live music and wine tasting. 

▶ In Bandera, the Ground Zero Music Fest will be a five-day music festival from April 4-9. The event schedule includes viewing the solar eclipse, as well as a space-themed costume party.

▶ The Texas town of Waco will host the Eclipse Over Texas event with telescoepsm educational activities, food trucks and more. Astronomers from Lowell Observatory and Baylor University will also be in attendance. 

▶ San Antonio’s Six Flags Fiesta Texas offers special eclipse packages to park guests who coincide their visit with the eclipse, offering souvenir t-shirts, eclipse glasses, a commemorative lanyard and a fireworks show.

▶ The Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa will open to the public for a free all-day eclipse event, including outdoor yoga, an astrology speaker and party. 

▶ At Austin Central Library in Austin, there will be an eclipse viewing open to the public with a solar telescope and activities for kids.

The solar eclipse will also be visible at these Texas National Parks: Amistad National Recreation Area; Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park; Waco Mammoth National Monument; and El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail.

Why is this eclipse so special?

North Americans witnessed a total solar eclipse in 2017, and this time the sun will be at peak activity making its elusive corona especially visible, astronomers say.

Meanwhile, the moon will be closer to Earth than it was seven years ago, making it appear larger in the sky and increasing the length that darkness will last in many places, according to eclipse2024.org.

This year's eclipse may also coincide with the passage of a 'devil comet' as the strange, recognizable object hurtles harmlessly overhead Earth.