Americans will have another chance to see the solar eclipse... in seven years

Those who missed the stunning solar eclipse that swept North America on Monday will have another chance - in seven years' time.

On Monday millions of people gazed through telescopes, cameras and protective glasses as the rare celestial wonder unfolded.

Day turned to night for more than two minutes at each location along a narrow corridor stretching across the country.

But those Americans who were for some reason looking at something else will be able to watch the moon move between the Earth and sun when it does so again in only 2,421 days' time.

A total eclipse will travel through Mexico and southern states including Texas and up across the north-east of the US on April 8, 2024 - a relatively short wait, given the last total eclipse to hit the US was 38 years ago.

The eclipse of 2024 will hit Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, which also saw Monday's event, but also be seen in Cleveland and New York, as well as in Montreal.

Up to five solar eclipses occur each year, but each one is visible only within a limited band across the Earth's surface where the moon's shadow happens to fall.

Britain, whose hopes for seeing a partial eclipse during a 40-minute window on Monday were dampened by heavy cloud, has seen few total eclipses in recent years.

Over the past 500 years Britain has seen only eight solar eclipses.

Devon, Cornwall and parts of the Channel Islands saw the last one in 1999, but it will have to wait until September 23, 2090 to see the next.