Solar Eclipse Coming Soon

The solar eclipse is coming Monday, August 21, 2017.

All of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Lucky folks  within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights - a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun's tenuous atmosphere - the corona - can be seen, will stretch from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina.

Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk.

Safety first.

Be sure to get your safety solar eclipse CE and ISO certified glasses.

Numerous style to choose from including clip-ons to add to your prescription eyeglasses.

This celestial event is a solar eclipse in which the moon passes between the sun and Earth and blocks all or part of the sun for up to about three hours, from beginning to end, as viewed from a given location.  For this eclipse, the longest period when the moon completely blocks the sun from any given location along the path will be about two minutes and 40 seconds.  The last time the contiguous U.S. saw a total eclipse was in 1979.

The solar eclipse will run from west to east.

You can see a partial eclipse, where the moon covers only a part of the sun, anywhere in North America. To see a total eclipse, where the moon fully covers the sun for a short few minutes, you must be in the path of totality, around 70 miles wide.

The first point of contact will be at Lincoln Beach, Oregon at 9:05 a.m. PDT. Totality begins there at 10:16 a.m. PDT.

Over the next hour and a half, it will cross through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.  The total eclipse will end near Charleston, South Carolina at 2:48 p.m. EDT.

From there the lunar shadow leaves the United States at 4:09 EDT.  Its longest duration will be near Carbondale, Illinois, where the sun will be completely covered for two minutes and 40 seconds.

One of my favorite Federal campgrounds is Buck Hall on the South Carolina coast which will be in the totality path. The government has decided to close the campground August 20-21-22 but the day use park will open at 8am on the 21st.

Their statement:
Attention: We are sorry, but Buck Hall Campground will be closed August 20-22, 2017 for public safety in response to the Total Solar Eclipse occurring on August 21st. The Day Use Area will open at 8:00 a.m. EST the morning of the 21st to accommodate visitors to view the eclipse. We expect an increase in traffic and visitation during this time and encourage you to plan accordingly.