Solar Eclipse, Aug 21, 2017

A total solar eclipse will be visible in portions of 14 States in the United States on August 21, 2017: Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, George, North Carolina, and South Carolina.   The maximum eclipse will occur at about 10:16 am Pacific Time (1:16 pm ET) in Oregon moving across the country and exiting out over South Carolina into the Atlantic Ocean at about 2:48 pm ET.

NASA will  provide 4 hours of programming beginning at 9:00 am Pacific Time (12:00 pm Eastern) tracking the eclipse as it moves across the United States.  The main event begins at 10:00 am Pacific (1:00 pm Eastern).  The program will feature views from NASA research aircraft, balloons, satellites, and specially modified telescopes.  There are many ways to see the NASA coverage including the NASA app on smartphones, the  Toshiba screen in Times Square in New York City, Facebook Live, or at https://www.nasa.gov/eclipselive.   For details, see NASA’s press release.

timeanddate.com has a useful interactive map allowing users to click on a location and see when the eclipse begins and ends.

This is first total solar eclipse to cross the United States coast-to-coast in 99 years, although some parts of the United States have experienced total solar eclipses since then, most notably in 1979.

In a solar eclipse, the Earth’s moon passes between the Earth and Sun, covering the Sun and blotting out its light.   Those not in an area where the total eclipse is visible may see a partial eclipse.  NASA says that everyone in North America and parts of South America, Africa and Europe will see either a total or partial eclipse.

NASA also has a website with an interactive map showing where it will be visible and another site with additional information and links to other types of eclipse maps and tables.  It will livestream across multiple platforms for four hours during the eclipse.

NEVER look directly at the Sun.  You must obtain “eclipse glasses” —  not sunglasses, but specialized eclipse glasses — available from many retailers (a number of inexpensive choices are on Amazon.com).