Space

FILE - The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, in Cerulean, Ky. On April 8, 2024, the sun will pull another disappearing act across parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada, turning day into night for as much as 4 minutes, 28 seconds. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

April’s total solar eclipse is nearly here. Here’s why it’s worth the watch and how to stay safe

A map of April 2024’s total solar eclipse

Safety first: How to watch April’s total solar eclipse that will cut across North America

What you can expect to experience during April’s total solar eclipse

FILE - People gather near Redmond, Ore., to view the sun as it nears a total eclipse by the moon, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. The April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse in North America first hits land at Mexico’s Pacific coast, cuts diagonally across the U.S. from Texas to Maine and exits in eastern Canada. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

From watch parties to music festivals, choose your April 8 total solar eclipse adventure

How do animals react during a total solar eclipse? Scientists plan to find out in April

FILE - The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, in Cerulean, Ky. On April 8, 2024, the sun will pull another disappearing act across parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada, turning day into night for as much as 4 minutes, 28 seconds. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Solar eclipse 2024: Watch live replay of totality in Mexico, Texas, New York, more

FILE - Viewers use special glasses to watch from San Antonio, as the moon moves in front of the sun during an annular solar eclipse, or ring of fire, Oct. 14, 2023. The total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 may be weeks away but businesses are ready for the celestial event with oodles of special eclipse glasses for sale, along with T-shirts and other souvenirs. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

One Tech Tip: How to use apps to track and photograph the total solar eclipse

FILE - A Krispy Kreme Doughnuts sign is shown on Aug. 11, 2017, in Miami. More and more businesses are taking advantage of the total solar eclipse set to dim skies across North America on Monday, April 8, 2024. In the snacks department alone, Krispy Kreme is teaming up with Oreo to sell a limited doughnut-cookie creation. Sonic Drive-In is selling a “Blackout Slush Float.” (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

From Krispy Kreme to SunChips, more and more companies roll out total solar eclipse promotions

Minh Ha, assistive technology manager at the Perkins School for the Blind tries a LightSound device for the first time at the school's library in Watertown, Mass., on March 2, 2024. As eclipse watchers look to the skies in April 2024, new technology will allow people who are blind or visually impaired to hear and feel the celestial event. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)

Blind people can hear and feel April’s total solar eclipse with new technology

Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-18 mission Ye Guangfu, center, Li Guangsu, left, and Li Cong attend a meeting with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China to send three astronauts to Tiangong space station, part of its ambitious program

China’s space agency is making final preparations to send the Shenzhou-18 crew into low-Earth orbit on Thursday as part of its ambitious space program that aims to put people on the moon by 2030.
 
This image provided by SLIM official X account @SLIM_JAXA shows a part of the moon surface taken by Japan’s first moon lander called SLIM on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Japan’s first moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, Japan’s space agency said Wednesday, April 24, after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the moon. (SLIM official X account @SLIM_JAXA via AP)

Japan’s moon lander wasn’t built to survive a weekslong lunar night. It’s still going after 3

 
This illustration provided by NASA depicts Voyager 1. The most distant spacecraft from Earth stopped sending back understandable data in November 2023. Flight controllers traced the blank communication to a bad computer chip and rearranged the spacecraft’s coding to work around the trouble. In mid-April 2024, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory declared success after receiving good engineering updates. The team is still working to restore transmission of the science data. (NASA via AP)

NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet

 
From left, Rosemary Cooga of Britain, Sophie Adenot of France, Raphael Liegeois of Belgium, Pablo Alvarez Fernandez of Spain, Katherine Bennell-Pegg of Australia and Marco Sieber of Switzerland, pose for a family photo at the graduation ceremony of astronaut candidates of the Class of 2022 at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, Monday, April 22, 2024. The new ESA astronauts took up duty at the European Astronaut Centre one year ago to be trained to the highest level of standards as specified by the International Space Station partners. Also concluding a year of astronaut basic training is Australian astronaut candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg, who has trained alongside ESA's candidates. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

European Space Agency adds 5 new astronauts in only fourth class since 1978. Over 20,000 applied

 
Israeli police detain a suspected attacker in an apparent car ramming that wounded three people on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, in Jerusalem, Monday, April 22, 2024. Israeli police said they have arrested two people after a car slammed into pedestrians in Jerusalem on Monday, lightly wounding three. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The Latest | Failed rocket strike launched on US-led coalition forces base in Syria

 
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European Space Agency welcomes new astronauts to corps representing five different countries

The European Space Agency has added five new members to its astronaut corps.

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Russia launches a heavy-lift rocket from Far East after two previous attempts cancelled

Russia launched a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far East space complex Thursday after two failed attempts earlier this week.

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Traffic snarls roads as eclipse watchers rush home

A trip that should have taken Associated Press reporter Nick Perry two hours instead took 12 as he and thousands of other eclipse watchers tried to make their way home Monday. (AP video: Nick Perry)

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Spectators watch solar eclipse in Mexico

Crowds in the Mexican resort city of Mazatlán watched the solar eclipse on Monday as darkness fell across North America.

The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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Solar eclipse awes people across US, Mexico, aids in scientific studies I AP Explains

Across North America, people were wowed by a total solar eclipse. AP Writer Marcia Dunn explains why Monday’s eclipse is particularly special.
This satellite photo taken by Planet Labs PBC shows Israel's Nevatim air base on Friday, April 19, 2024. An Iranian attack on an Israeli desert air base as part of Tehran's unprecedented assault on the country damaged a taxiway, a satellite image analyzed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Satellite image analyzed by AP shows damage after Iranian attack on Israeli desert air base

An Iranian attack on an Israeli desert air base last week as part of Tehran’s unprecedented assault on the country damaged a taxiway.
 
This undated photo provided by NASA shows a recovered chunk of space junk from equipment discarded at the International Space Station. The cylindrical object that tore through a home in Naples, Fla., March 8, 2024, was subsequently taken to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for analysis. (NASA via AP)

NASA confirms mystery object that crashed through roof of Florida home came from space station

NASA says it determined that an object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was a chunk of space junk from equipment discarded at the International Space Station.
 
This photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance Mars rover collecting a sample from a rock called "Bunsen Peak" using a coring bit on the end of its robotic arm on March 11, 2024. NASA has put the effort to bring the samples to Earth on hold until there is a faster, cheaper way. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU via AP)

NASA is seeking a faster and cheaper way to bring Mars samples to Earth

Retrieving Mars soil and rocks has been on NASA’s to-do list for decades, but the date kept moving forward, as costs ballooned.
 
FILE - The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

An AP photographer explains how he captured the moment of eclipse totality

Photographer Mat Otero works for The Associated Press in Dallas, Texas, just inside the path of totality for this week’s solar eclipse.
 
An MQ9 Predator drone is displayed at the Berlin Air Show ILA in Berlin, Germany, on May 30, 2016. China on Thursday, April 11, 2024 announced sanctions against two U.S. defense companies, one of which produces the Predator drone, over what it says is their support for arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory to be recovered by force if necessary. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

China sanctions 2 US defense companies and says they support arms sales to Taiwan

China has announced rare sanctions against two U.S. defense companies over what it calls their support for arms sales to Taiwan.
 
In this grab taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation on Thursday, April 11, 2024 an Angara-A5 rocket lifts off from Vostochny space launch facility outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia. Russia on Thursday successfully test-launched a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far Eastern space complex, a lift-off that comes after two aborted attempts earlier in the week. (Roscosmos Space Corporation via AP)

In Russia’s Far East, a new heavy-lift rocket blasts off into space after two aborted launches

Russia has successfully test-launched a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far Eastern space complex, a lift-off that comes after two aborted attempts earlier this week.
 
In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 an Angara-A5 rocket is seen prior to the launch at Vostochny space launch facility outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia. The first test launch of the new Angara-A5 rocket was aborted the second day in a row just moments before the scheduled liftoff. The Angara-A5 is a new heavy-lift rocket developed in Russia. (Roscosmos space corporation via AP)

Russia aborts second attempt to launch a heavy-lift rocket from Far East

Russia has failed for a second straight day to test-launch a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far Eastern space complex.
 
In this photo released by Roscosmos space corporation on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 an Angara-A5 rocket is seen during preparation for the launch at Vostochny space launch facility outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia. The Angara-A5 is a new heavy-lift rocket developed in Russia. (Roscosmos space corporation via AP)

Russia aborts planned test launch of new heavy-lift space rocket

Russian space officials have aborted a test launch of a new heavy-lift rocket from a far-eastern launch pad just two minutes before the planned blastoff.
 
The moon covers most of the the sun as it approaches the total solar eclipse, as seen from the summit of Saddleback Mountain, Monday, April 8, 2024, near Rangeley, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Can’t get enough of the total solar eclipse or got clouded out? Here are the next ones to watch for

If you missed North America’s total solar eclipse or if you caught the eclipse bug, there are more chances to see the sun disappear.
 
The large video screen over Progressive Field displays the total solar eclipse in Cleveland, Monday, April 8, 2024, before the Cleveland Guardians home opener baseball game against the Chicago White Sox. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Out of this World ... Series. Total solar eclipse a spectacular leadoff for Guardians’ home opener

Pregame festivities for the Guardians’ home opener were ceremonial and celestial.
 
The moon partially covers the sun behind the Statue of Liberty during the a solar eclipse on the Liberty Island, Monday, April 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Total solar eclipse sweeps across North America

DALLAS (AP) — Millions across North America witnessed the moon block out the sun during a total solar eclipse Monday.
 
FILE - A Spirit Airlines 319 Airbus approaches Manchester Boston Regional Airport for a landing, June 2, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. Spirit Airlines said it is deferring all aircraft on order from Airbus that were scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026. Spirit said Monday, April 8, 2024 that it came to an agreement with the European plane manufacturer to delay delivery of the planes until 2030 and 2031. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Spirit to defer Airbus plane deliveries, furlough 260 pilots this year

Discount carrier Spirit Airlines said it is deferring all aircraft on order from Airbus that were scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026.
 
The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

The Latest | Total solar eclipse races across North America

A total solar eclipse has raced across North America. Monday’s spectacle was watched by millions in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
 
The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Total solar eclipse wows North America. Clouds part just in time for most

A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America as a total solar eclipse raced across the continent.
 
In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, South Korea's second military spy satellite lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Sunday, April 7, 2024. South Korea has launched its second military spy satellite into space, days after North Korea reaffirmed its plan to launch multiple reconnaissance satellites this year. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)

South Korea launches its 2nd military spy satellite amid animosities with North Korea

South Korea has successfully launched its second military spy satellite into orbit, days after North Korea reaffirmed its plan to launch multiple reconnaissance satellites this year.
 
A man tests special glasses in preparation for viewing an upcoming solar total eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico, on Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Weather is the hot topic as eclipse spectators stake out their spots in US, Mexico and Canada

Eclipse enthusiasts are staking out their spots across three countries, fervently hoping for clear skies.
 
Motorists traveling toward Austin, Texas are reminded of Monday's eclipse and the possibility of traffic delays Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Austin. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Small town businesses embrace total solar eclipse crowd, come rain or shine on Monday

Small town businesses are embracing the eclipse crowds, as weekend festivities heat up before Monday’s big event.
 
NASA's Loral O'Hara, left, Russia’s Oleg Novitsky and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya, right, are seen inside the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft after they landed in a remote area near the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

A Soyuz capsule carrying 3 crew from the International Space Station lands safely in Kazakhstan

A Russian space capsule with two women and one man has safely landed in a steppe in Kazakhstan after their missions aboard the International Space Station.
 
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine sports a pair of eclipse glasses while talking to reporters at the Ohio Emergency Operations Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, April 5, 2024. DeWine activated the center on Friday to assist communities before, during and after Monday's total solar eclipse, which could draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to the state. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

Emergency operations plan ensures ‘a great day’ for Monday’s eclipse, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says

Ohio is pulling out all the stops for Monday’s total solar eclipse, as it braces for potentially hundreds of thousands of visitors.
 
FILE - In this image made available by NASA, the International Space Station is silhouetted against the sun during a solar eclipse Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, as seen from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park in Washington state. Inmates in New York are suing the state corrections department over the decision to lock down prisons during the total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP, File)

6 inmates who sued New York over its prison lockdown order will get to view solar eclipse after all

Six inmates who sued New York’s corrections department over its decision to lock down prisons during next Monday’s total solar eclipse will get to watch the celestial event after all.
 

NASA probes whether object that crashed into Florida home came from space station

NASA says it’s investigating whether an object that crashed into the roof of a home in southwest Florida last month came from the international space station.
 
FILE - A partial solar eclipse is seen behind a cross on the steeple of the St. George church, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, June 21, 2020. Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

Awe and dread: How religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries

Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world.
 
FILE - The moon rises behind the Home Place clock tower in Prattville, Ala., Saturday, June 22, 2013. NASA wants to come up with an out-of-this-world way to keep track of time, putting the moon on its own souped-up clock. The White House on Tuesday, April 2, 2204, told NASA to work with other agencies abroad to come up with a new moon-centric time reference system. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

NASA wants to come up with a new clock for the moon, where seconds tick away faster

NASA wants to come up with an out-of-this-world way to keep track of time, putting the moon on its own souped-up clock.
 
FILE - This combination of photos shows the path of the sun during a total eclipse by the moon Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, near Redmond, Ore. On April 8, 2024, spectators who aren't near the path of totality or who get cloudy weather on eclipse day can still catch the total solar eclipse, with NASA, science centers and media organizations planning to stream live coverage online from different locations along the path. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Not in the path of totality? You can still watch Monday’s total solar eclipse online

Spectators who aren’t near the path of totality or who get cloudy weather on eclipse day can still catch the total solar eclipse.
 
FILE - The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, in Cerulean, Ky. According to the Indiana Election Division, many county offices will be closed on the deadline for registration for the state's primary election in anticipation of the celestial event on April 8, 2024, that will shadow much of the state. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

The solar eclipse may change some voting registration deadlines in Indiana. Here’s what to know

Monday, April 8 is the day of the highly anticipated North American total solar eclipse. It’s also the deadline to register to vote in Indiana’s upcoming primary election.
 
FILE - The moon passes in front of the setting sun during a total solar eclipse in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, July 2, 2019. Small towns and rural enclaves along the path of April’s 2024 total solar eclipse are steeling for huge crowds of sun chasers who plan to catch a glimpse of day turning into dusk in North America. (AP Photo/Marcos Brindicci, File)

What to know about Monday’s total solar eclipse

North America is on the verge of another masking of the sun during a total solar eclipse. This one will last almost twice as long, with an even wider audience, than the eclipse that stretched coast-to-coast in 2017.
 
Tourists on the American side of Niagara Falls take photos in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Friday, March 29, 2024. Ontario's Niagara Region has declared a state of emergency as it readies to welcome up to a million visitors for the solar eclipse on April 8. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada’s Niagara region declares a state of emergency to prepare for an influx of eclipse viewers

Ontario’s Niagara Region has declared a state of emergency as it prepares to welcome up to a million visitors for the solar eclipse in early April.
 
Alex Impion, 12, shines a flashlight on a model moon held by Necmeddin Aljabri, 8, at Riverside Elementary School in Cleveland on March 14, 2024. The two were learning about the upcoming total solar eclipse, a topic that has challenged and inspired teachers in and near the eclipse's path. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson)

Schools in the path of April’s total solar eclipse prepare for a natural teaching moment

The total solar eclipse expected on April 8 already is inspiring school lessons in science, literacy and culture.
 
FILE - This image provided by NOAA/NASA In This May 31, 2018 satellite image shows the Earth's western hemisphere at 12:00 p.m. EDT on May 20, 2018, made by the new GOES-17 satellite, using the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument. For the first time in history, world timekeepers may have to consider subtracting a second from our clocks in a few years because the planet is rotating a tad faster. (NOAA/NASA via AP, File)

A faster spinning Earth may cause timekeepers to subtract a second from world clocks

For the first time in history, world timekeepers may have to consider subtracting a second from our clocks in a few years because the planet is rotating a tad faster.
 
FILE - Justin Coleman, of Birmingham, Ala., holds his glasses up to his eyes as he watches the solar eclipse atop a parking structure, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, in Birmingham. Safe solar eclipse glasses block out the sun’s ultraviolet rays and nearly all visible light. When worn indoors, only very bright lights should be faintly visible – not household furniture or wallpaper. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Looking at a solar eclipse can be dangerous without eclipse glasses. Here’s what to know

Looking directly at the sun during a solar eclipse can lead to permanent eye damage. Eye experts say it’s easy to take safety precautions.