A town in the state of Illinois will turn the August 21 Total Solar Eclipse into an event like the Super Bowl, Live Science reported. Hours from now, several states in the United States will witness a total solar eclipse that they have not seen since 1918.
Carbondale, Illinois is included in the path of totality of the eclipse, where people will see the magnificent effect of the skies turning dark in broad daylight. Live Science said that people are already geared up in a college town in the state, along with their cameras and telescopes.
Dubbed as the “Great American Eclipse,” the sky event will be seen in the states of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa, Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee.
The report pointed out that the eclipse will traverse along a 70-mile-wide path.
Since the last of this kind has been held several decades ago, the locals in the Illinois town are excited to see the August 21 eclipse for the first time. Brian Pietrzak told Live Science that he traveled with his two sons from Wheaton just to see the eclipse from that vantage point. Though he has seen partial eclipses before, he said that he wants to witness a total eclipse this time.
The science website revealed that Carbondale has been an area where a lot of eclipses happen, because of the strategic placement of the town along paths of totality. The town will reportedly experience between two to three minutes of darkness in the middle of the day.
Kentucky prepares
Since Sunday, a day before the scheduled movements of the moon and Sun, thousands of campers already stayed at the DeBow Park in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. News Channel 5 reported that around 25,000 people arrived in the vicinity, set up camp, and slept the night before the event.
This area in Kentucky is also a significant path along the eclipse’s journey.
Many locals who drove to the park from far-flung states told the media that they want to see the sky in the best place possible. Mobile phones signals are also expected to be jammed, and road traffic to get worse around the area, the report added.
Billboard joins the preparations
Music website Billboard has also joined the preparations for the much-awaited event.
They recently launched a playlist titled “Total Solar Eclipse ’17,” curating songs that spectators can listen to as they witness the phenomenon.
Some of the titles are Ariana Grande’s “Moonlight,” Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N Nite,” David Bowie’s “Blackstar,” and Bill Wither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine.”