Field Guide to Boston

Snapshots of past solar eclipses across New England

April 03, 2024

Amy Gorel

On Monday, April 8, parts of New England will experience a total solar eclipse. The path of totality will cross through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

The region has been in the path of totality five times in the past century, according to NASA. The celestial spectacles occurred in 1925, 1932, 1959, 1963 and 1970. There also was an annular eclipse in 1994.

Here's a look back at attempts to capture those fleeting moments through the years:

Jan. 24, 1925

In 1925, the path of totality passed through most of Connecticut, Rhode Island and a little bit of Massachusetts.

The day was cold, but the sky was clear.

Time lapse of the Jan. 24, 1925 total solar eclipse, made on a single plate in Boston. (Leonard Small/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) — Timelapse of the Jan. 24, 1925, total solar eclipse in Boston. (Leonard Small/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

A group of people gathered in zero degree weather to watch the solar eclipse, showing the corona, at Vose Field in Westerly, Rhode Island, at around 9:30 a.m., on Jan. 24, 1925. An estimated 10,000 visitors came to watch the event. (James L. Callahan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) — A group of people gathered in zero-degree weather in Westerly, Rhode Island, to watch the solar eclipse and view its corona on Jan. 24, 1925. An estimated 10,000 visitors came to watch the event. (James L. Callahan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Aug. 31, 1932

In 1932, the path of totality passed through northern Vermont and New Hampshire, southern Maine and a small portion of Massachusetts. Many areas reported cloud cover during the eclipse that year.

The Naval Observatory sent a party, under Commander C. H. J. Keppler, U.S.N., to observe the total solar eclipse in Maine in 1932. The team made photographs of the corona with cameras of sizes ranging from a 65-foot focal length to a motion-picture camera of 17 inches focal length. (United States Naval Observatory) — The Naval Observatory sent a party, under Commander C. H. J. Keppler, U.S.N., to observe the total solar eclipse in Maine in 1932. The team made photographs of the corona with cameras of sizes ranging from a 65-foot focal length to a motion-picture camera with a 17-inch focal length. (United States Naval Observatory)

Oct. 2, 1959

In 1959, the path of totality passed through Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. This was the only time in the past century that Boston was in the path of totality, but the view was obscured by rain and clouds.

July 20, 1963

In 1963, the path of totality passed through Maine.

Cars pack the parking area at Mount Cadillac in Bar Harbor, Maine, to view the total solar eclipse on July 21, 1963. (Paul J. Maguire/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The total solar eclipse on July 20, 1963, viewed from Cadillac Mountain in Maine. (Paul Maguire/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

March 7, 1970

In 1970, the path of totality passed through Massachusetts technically, but only over Nantucket.

Aug. 21, 2017

This one doesn't really count: New England only saw a partial eclipse. In 2017, the path of totality crossed the full United States from Oregon through South Carolina. But folks in Boston still had a fun day gazing up at the sky — with eclipse glasses, of course.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology student Niyati Desai, of Cambridge, looks through a telescope to view a partial solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, on the MIT campus. (Steven Senne/AP)

Christopher Griffith, 8, from Roslindale, Mass., looks up at the solar eclipse from Copley Square. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

May 10, 1994 annular

An annular eclipse passed through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon is far from the earth as it passes between the earth and the sun. Since the moon is farther away than it is during a total solar eclipse, viewers see a bright "ring of fire" around the moon.

A young boy looks at the annular solar eclipse of 1994 through a filter outside the Boston Museum of Science. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

This year's total solar eclipse is on Monday, April 8.

There won’t be another chance to view a total solar eclipse in the contiguous United States until 2044. That eclipse will only be a partial one for viewers in New England. The path of totality will not cross through New England again until 2079.

Field Guide to Boston Solar Eclipse 2024