The Moon and the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

On April 8th, 2024, parts of the United States, Mexico and Canada will get to experience a total solar eclipse. This video tutorial takes a look at this unique event and explains what role the Moon plays in creating it. The video explains how the two parts of the Moon’s shadow, the umbra and penumbra, affect how we see a solar eclipse on Earth, and where the path of totality for the 2024 eclipse resides. In addition, this video highlights how data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter helps us more accurately depict the shape of the umbra when creating eclipse maps. Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Video Produced and Edited by: David Ladd (Abacus Technology Corp.) Visualizations by: Ernie Wright (USRA) Music Provided By Universal Production Music: “On the Up” – David Stephen Westlake This video can be freely shared and downloaded at While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit If you liked this video, subscribe to the NASA Goddard YouTube channel: Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Instagram · X · Facebook: · Flickr