Science In Photos: Did You See The‘Great American Eclipse’ Five Years Ago Today? The Next One Is In Just 597 Days Jamie Carter Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I inspire people to go stargazing, watch the Moon, enjoy the night sky New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 20, 2022, 08:00pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Total eclipse of the sun at the location of the longest duration of 2 minutes and 40 seconds in . . . [+] Hopkinsville, KY. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images) The Washington Post via Getty Images Where were you on August 21, 2017? Long-awaited by American nature-lovers, astronomers and eclipse-chasers, that day saw a coast-to-coast total solar eclipse visible across the US for the first time in 99 years. For those who had not experienced totality before it was an extra-special day . . . apart from the traffic afterwards. Here are some of the best photos from that day, from the celestial view itself to some of the fun that was had taking in the once-in-a-lifetime view . . . or was it? MENAN, ID - AUGUST 21: Locals and travelers from around the world gather on Menan Butte to watch the . . . [+] eclipse on August 21, 2017 in Menan, Idaho. Millions of people have flocked to areas of the U. S. that are in the "path of totality" in order to experience a total solar eclipse. (Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images) Getty Images Beginning mid-morning the Moon’s shadow moved through fairly lightly-populated areas of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. A composite image of the total solar eclipse seen from the Lowell Observatory Solar Eclipse . . . [+] Experience August 21, 2017 in Madras, Oregon. / AFP PHOTO / STAN HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images MORE FOR YOU New Research Finds A Connection Between Domestic Violence And These Two Personality Disorders This Scientist Helps Andean Forests And Ecuador’s Women In STEM Exceptional Fossil Preservation Suggests That Discovering Dinosaur DNA May Not Be Impossible While the entire continent saw a partial solar eclipse—a kind-of-interesting-but-not-spectacular sight—only those in a 80 miles-wide path across those select US states witnessed totality . The light levels dropping, a twilight descending and, eventually, the Sun disappearing and, after a primeval gulp as the Sun, our life-giver, is blotted-out, bystanders got a drop-dead incredible view of the Sun’s white corona shining around the Moon. The great North American total eclipse. This is the moment when the sun's corona is visible at 100% . . . [+] totality. This is a hand blended high dynamic range image from six different images with the craters on the moon visible. getty A totally eclipsed Sun does not look real and does not feel right. A close-up of a star shining in space is something that’s hard to describe, not just in what you see (and perfectly safely with your naked eyes), but in how it makes you feel on a human level. Some people feel sick with fear even though they know the Sun will return. ISLE OF PALMS, SC - AUGUST 21: Val Carney, 43, of Asheville, N. C. , builds her sand tribute to the . . . [+] solar eclipse as eclipse fans wait for the clouds to clear so they can view the total solar eclipse from the one of last vantage points where totality will be visible on August 21, 2017 in Isle of Palms, S. C. It's been 99 years since a total solar eclipse crossed the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The total solar eclipse on June 8, 1918, crossed the States from Washington to Florida. (Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images) Getty Images The events of August 21, 2017 were witnessed across the U. S. by an estimated 215 million people as a partial solar eclipse and by about 12 million as a total solar eclipse. Although a lot of events were sold out months in advance there was plenty of room for many millions more to have witnessed totality. What a shame. CARBONDALE, IL - AUGUST 21: People watch the solar eclipse at Saluki Stadium on the campus of . . . [+] Southern Illinois University on August 21, 2017 in Carbondale, Illinois. Although much of it was covered by a cloud, with approximately 2 minutes 40 seconds of totality the area in Southern Illinois experienced the longest duration of totality during the eclipse. Millions of people are expected to watch as the eclipse cuts a path of totality 70 miles wide across the United States from Oregon to South Carolina on August 21. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) 2017 Getty Images Unfortunately many millions weren’t aware of how important it was to get inside the path of totality. It’s everything. A 99% partial solar eclipse is nothing compared to a 100% total solar eclipse. You cannot compare the two. Seeing a 99% eclipse—which is visible just outside the edges of the path of totality—is like having the winning lottery ticket and throwing it in the trash. SALUDA, SOUTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 21: A small plane is silhouetted by the eclipse as it flies thru . . . [+] the path of totality on August 21, 2017 in Saluda, South Carolina. (Photo by Lou Brutus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images America can do so much better—and it’s going to get another chance in 597 days when, by lucky chance, another total solar eclipse comes its way. This time it will be visible to many millions more people even if they don’t understand the importance of getting into the narrow path of totality. COLUMBIA, SC - AUGUST 21: Minor league baseball player Jose Medina looks to the sun during a solar . . . [+] eclipse at Spirit Communications Park August 21, 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina. Getty Images The all-important date for your diary is April 8, 2024 when a “Great North American Eclipse” will do battle with seasonal cloud to show eclipse-chasers on the continent something arguably even more special. On that day the Moon will block the Sun for up to a whopping four minutes 28 seconds, depending on where you stand within a 100-120 miles-wide path of totality. The "Bailey's Beads" effect is seen during a total solar eclipse viewed from the Lowell Observatory . . . [+] Solar Eclipse Experience on August 21, 2017 in Madras, Oregon. Emotional sky-gazers on the US West Coast cheered and applauded Monday as the Sun briefly vanished behind the Moon — a rare total solar eclipse that will stretch across North America for the first time in nearly a century. / AFP PHOTO / STAN HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images That’s almost twice the totality possible during the last “Great American Eclipse” on August 21, 2017, when totality lasted a little more than two minutes 20 seconds. In 2024 a wider path of totality will cross the continent from southwest to northeast. JACKSON, WY - AUGUST 21: The sun is is in full eclipse over Grand Teton National Park on August 21, . . . [+] 2017 outside Jackson, Wyoming. Thousands of people have flocked to the Jackson and Teton National Park area for the 2017 solar eclipse which will be one of the areas that will experience a 100% eclipse on Monday August 21, 2017. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) Getty Images Totality will begin at the Pacific coast of Mexico and cross Texas, 13 other U. S. states and eastern Canada. Mexico: Sinaloa, Durango and Coahuila. US: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Canada: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Cities in the U. S. that will experience totality on April 8, 2024 during North America’s next total . . . [+] solar eclipse. GreatAmericanEclipse. com Michael Zeiler/GreatAmericanEclipse. com (used with permission) Given that it will cross far more populated areas and be more easily accessible to the big cities, eclipse mapper Michael Zeiler at GreatAmericanEclipse. com thinks 50 million people will witness totality this time, largely because a whopping 32 million live in the path in 2024. So when you remember that special day on August 21, 2017, remember that it wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime experience —and it’s now time to start planning where to go for the next one. Collage of the diamond ring stage of the solar eclipse in Salem Oregon, August 21, 2017, at the end . . . [+] of totality getty If you can’t wait that long then know that a total solar eclipse will occur in the southern hemisphere next year . On April 20, 2023 the Moon’s shadow will touch Exmouth Peninsula in Western Australia before moving across the ocean to Timor Leste then remote West Papua. Disclaimer: I am the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse. com and author of “The Complete Guide To The Great North American Eclipse of April 8, 2024. ” Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website or some of my other work here . Jamie Carter Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.