IT DOESN’T occur until April 8, 2024, but hotels are already booking up. If you want to witness a particularly long solar eclipse—up to about 4½ minutes—make plans now.

● FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS This small town will experience one of the longest eclipse periods in the U.S. Plus, you can count on good visibility in this International Dark Sky Community with a low level of light pollution.
Duration of totality: 4 minutes, 24 seconds

● CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS This small city bills itself as the Eclipse Crossroads of America for being on the centerline of the path in 2017 and 2024.
Duration of totality: 4 minutes, 9 seconds

● INDIANAPOLIS Celebrating its first total eclipse—one last passed over the area 819 years earlier—the city is going dark for nearly four minutes to enhance the viewing experience.
Duration of totality: 3 minutes, 50 seconds

● CLEVELAND Eclipse chasers will have unobstructed views from Lake Erie and 24,000 acres of green spaces in Cleveland Metroparks.
Duration of totality: 3 minutes, 49 seconds —Veronica Stoddart