Solar eclipse of August 12, 2045

{{Short description|Total eclipse over North America}}

{{Infobox solar eclipse|2045Aug12

| previous = Solar eclipse of February 16, 2045

| next = Solar eclipse of February 5, 2046

}}

A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Saturday, August 12, 2045,{{cite web|title=August 12, 2045 Total Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2045-august-12|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=15 August 2024}} with a magnitude of 1.0774. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 7 minutes after perigee (on August 12, 2045, at 17:35 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be near its maximum.{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=2045&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=15 August 2024}}

It will be the fourth longest eclipse of the 21st century with a magnitude of 1.0774. It will be visible throughout much of the continental United States, with a path of totality running through northern California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, northeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. The total eclipse will be greatest over the Bahamas, before continuing over the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, northeastern Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northeastern Brazil. A partial solar eclipse will also be visible for parts of the Russian Far East, Hawaii, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, northern and central South America, and West Africa.

The path of totality of this eclipse will be seen over many major cities, including Reno, Salt Lake City, Colorado Springs, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Jackson, Montgomery, Tallahassee, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Nassau, Santo Domingo, Porlamar, Port of Spain, Georgetown, Paramaribo, Belém, São Luís, Joāo Pessoa and Recife.{{Cite web |title=Total Solar Eclipse of 2045 Aug 12 |url=https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2045Aug12Tgoogle.html |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=NASA}} It will also be the second total eclipse visible from Little Rock in 21.3 years. Totality will last for at least 6 minutes along the part of the path that starts at Camden, Alabama, crossing Florida and ending near the southernmost Bahama Islands. The longest duration of totality will be 6 minutes 5.5 seconds at {{coord|25|54.594|N|78|32.19|W}}, which is over the Atlantic Ocean east of Fort Lauderdale and south of Freeport, Bahamas.

The solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 had a very similar path of totality over the U.S., about {{convert|250|miles}} to the northeast, also crossing the Pacific coast and Atlantic coast of the country. This is because when a solar eclipse crosses the U.S. in mid-August at an ascending node (i.e. moves from south to north during odd-numbered saros), the path of the eclipse tracks from coast to coast. When a solar eclipse crosses the U.S. in mid-August at descending node (even numbered saros), the path tracks a large distance southward.[http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipsesGoogleEarthGallery.html Google Earth Gallery for Solar and Lunar Eclipses], Xavier M. Jubier, 2011