Total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 - Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah, Kentucky, USA

What will the 2024 total solar eclipse look like?

Order Solar Eclipse Glasses, Made in USA

Click on the interactive map below!
It will show you roughly when the eclipse will be happening.
Exact details for MANY more locations are available on our 2024 eclipse cities pages.

Interactive 2024 eclipse map for Paducah

Map of the Paducah area, showing the path of totality in gray

(Please note that Eclipse2024.org does not endorse or approve any specific viewing sites related to the 2024 eclipse. Selection of a suitable viewing site, including due diligence, weather considerations, infrastructure, travel, logistics, understanding of time zones, avoidance of trespassing on private lands, and safety considerations, is solely the responsibility of the eclipse observer.)

You MUST use certified eye protection ("eclipse glasses")
whenever ANY PART of the Sun’s disk is visible.

The Total Eclipse of April 8, 2024

Another total solar eclipse is coming to North America! This time, totality will also pass over Mexico and Canada – giving people all over North America another chance to experience this great celestial event.

In order to see totality, you have to be in the path of totality. If you aren’t in that path, you’ll only see a partial eclipse. You can learn more about those details with our simple eclipse viewing instructions guide.

This blog post will tell you about the 2024 eclipse as seen from the Paducah area in Kentucky. Please check out all the links we’ve provided below to learn more about the 2024 total solar eclipse from other locations.

The Total Eclipse of April 8, 2024 in Paducah

In 2017, Paducah was really well-placed to watch totality from. This time in 2024, Paducah lies just inside the path of totality, and so once again people here will be preparing for their day in the shadow! Though not as deep into the path as we’d like, the downtown area will still get more than a minute and a half of totality.

Where can I see the total eclipse?

The path passes northwest of town, and you can see on the map where you should try to be on eclipse day. Because of Paducah’s location in the path, it’s very important to understand that the farther north and west you go, the more totality you’ll see. So for example, at the intersection of 60 and 62 on the east side, totality will last only about 45 seconds. At the I-24 bridge over the Ohio river, you’ll see about 2m 20s. That’s a big difference, just based on your location within the city!

To get more totality, you’ll want to head up I-24 to Carbondale. You can read our 2024 eclipse blog post on the Carbondale area to get a better perspective on what you’ll see from there, but this is one of the better places in the region to watch the eclipse from. You can also head west to Cairo Illinois for over three minutes of totality, or all the way to Cape Girardeau Missouri for over four minutes!

We've also written a 2024 eclipse blog post for the Cape Girardeau area to give you more information on viewing opportunites there.

Any other direction you drive will not gain you as much extra duration of totality, so this is really your best bet. You’re also perfectly fine staying within Paducah itself, if that’s what you want to do!

What will I see on eclipse day?

Though not right on the centerline, the downtown area will still get a very respectable 1m 42s of totality!

It’s true that from locations not in the path there will be sky darkening, some possibly interesting edge effects, and maybe even a bit of corona. However, if the Sun is not COMPLETELY eclipsed you MUST always use eye protection to watch the eclipse. That means that, even if these things are going on around you, if you’re not in the path you won’t be able to see most of them. It will be best for you to get as far north and west as possible, to make sure you’re in the path and will be able to see totality.

If the Sun is not COMPLETELY eclipsed you MUST always use ISO-certified eye protection ("eclipse glasses") to watch the eclipse. It will be best for you to get as far northwest as possible, to make sure you’re in the path and will be able to see totality.

When will the eclipse happen?

Eclipse day is April 8, 2024!

Whatever the eclipse brings to Paducah, it will be most interesting as the shadow passes by – to the north and west of town, remember.

This will happen just before 2:01pm CDT.

The eclipse happens at different times in different locations. Use the slider on the map above to show you when totality will happen as the eclipse passes through the Paducah area.

Use ISO-certified eye protection during the partial phases

ISO Certification Always remember the rule for using eye protection during an eclipse: If there’s ANY bright part of the Sun showing, then you have to use your eclipse glasses to watch the event.

That means if you can see anything at all of the Sun through the glasses, then the Sun is too bright and you have to leave the glasses on! If you can see absolutely NO piece of the Sun through the eclipse glasses, then it’s safe to take them off. But the second any bright part of the Sun becomes visible again, you have to put them back on – and this can be mere seconds after you took them off. It would be so much better for you to get into the path, and really enjoy seeing totality!

We also have an entire section of the site dedicated to providing much more detailed eclipse viewing instructions for you!

Wherever you decide to view from, be sure to plan your route carefully, and watch the weather to make sure you’ll have good skies on eclipse day.

Check out the Eclipse2024.org Eclipse Simulator!

Please be sure to check out Eclipse2024.org’s eclipse simulator for any location you’d like to preview. The simulator will show you exactly what the eclipse will look like for any location you choose!

It’s certainly true that any type of eclipse is an exciting event, but we’d like to encourage you to make it into the path if at all possible on eclipse day. What you’ll see there (vs. outside the path) will be literally the difference between night and day!

Eclipse2024.org Eclipse Simulator videos!

If you'd just like to preview the eclipse without using the simulator, we've made videos for the 2023 annular eclipse and the 2024 total eclipse as seen from over 2,200 locations! You can find them on our 2024 eclipse YouTube channel, but we've made it even easier for you - just visit our eclipse simulator video page to get started!