CNN reported that soon, we will view the first total eclipse of the sun in a long time. They wrote, "It has been nearly 100 years since a total eclipse has moved from coast to coast across the United States. This one will be unique, as it travels more than 3,000 miles over land, where tens of millions of Americans will be able to view it."
There are a number of reasons why most Americans are waiting for the astronomical event on August 21, 2017. Space.com says that this is because they are relatively rare and those people in the path are luckier than others.
"Outside the path of totality, skywatchers in the continental US and other nearby areas will see a partial solar eclipse, in which the moon appears to take a bite out of the sun's disk. Two to five solar eclipses occur each year on average, but total solar eclipses happen just once every 18 months or so."
Crunching the numbers
According to information obtained from Voyages of Discovery, this astronomical occurrence is 22nd of the 77 solar eclipses in the series called Saros 145. The Saros 145 Series is an eclipse cycle with 77 solar eclipses that takes place every after 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours.The first eclipse of the series happened in the Northern Hemisphere on January 4, 1639, which is 378 years ago.
This series will end in the southern hemisphere on April 17, 3009 which whopping 992 years from now. NASA has computed the total duration of the Saros Series 145 to be 1370.29 years.
This coming celestial phenomenon will cross the contiguous United States from West to East America as part of its Path Of Totality. The path of totality of the total solar eclipse will be crossing 14 states in the America on August 21, 2017.
Which states will see the total eclipse?
The states where the Great American Eclipse will be seen in totality include Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. The time of contact in each state will be different but it is expected to start in Oregon and end in South California.
Although other countries are not in the path of totality, the eclipse can still be witnessed in some of them, but as a partial eclipse.
NASA has provided a lot of information and they point out that the path of totality will not be only crossing 14 states but it is also remarkably wide with measurement of 70 miles or about 112 kilometers. It will be 649 miles long and 70miles wide, which is incredibly long and wide. The eclipse will stretch from the West to the East of America, and this is the reason why it has been named "The Great American Eclipse." It also has an eclipse magnitude of 1.0306. Solar eclipse magnitude is the part of sun's diameter that is concealed by the moon.
The Great American Eclipse West to East
According to NASA, the first contact of the moon and sun will be seen in Lincoln Beach, Oregon at 9:05 AM PDT and it will be last seen in Charleston, South California at 2:40 PM EDT. Its longest contact duration will be at Carbondale, Illinois with 2 minutes and 40 seconds, when the sun will be completely blocked by the moon.
Eclipse is headlining news
The most awaited Great American Eclipse has been making news and hitting headlines.It is believed that this eclipse will be the most anticipated and watched celestial event of recent times. Thousands of articles have been written about it and thousands of people are talking about it on social media.
Safety must be kept in mind as NASA warns that ordinary sun glasses are not enough to protect your eyes, and nor are homemade viewing glasses. There are glasses designed for this celestial phenomenon which can be purchased from respectable distributors, suppliers, and retail outlets.
