A total solar eclipse occurs when the New Moon (the absence of the moon) comes between the Sun and Earth and casts the darkest part of its shadow, the umbra, on Earth. A full solar eclipse, known as totality, is almost as dark as night. On August 21st 2017, the United States will witness this amazing phenomenon. For about two and a half minutes day will fall to night, Nature will hold its breath, and the continental United States will witness a feat not seen for over 38 years. It’s going to be something; don’t miss it!
The total phase of this total solar eclipse will be visible from a narrow path spanning all across the USA from the West Coast to the East Coast , weather permitting.
The so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse will darken skies all the way from Oregon to South Carolina, along a stretch of land about 70 miles (113 kilometers) wide. People who descend upon this “path of totality” for the big event are in for an unforgettable experience.
Best Places To See The Total Eclipse
9 reasons why this eclipse is noteworthy
The sun and the moon are almost exactly the same size in the sky. What a coincidence?! NASA informs us that since the sun is almost exactly 400 times larger than the moon and almost exactly 400 times farther away, it equals out almost perfectly.
This coming August 21st 2017, in just a week and a half, the moon will obstruct our view of the sun. This happens on earth about every 18 months, but it has not spanned the whole coast of the United States since 1979.
The arc-measure of both the sun and the moon is about one half a degree. Hold out your arm straight and you can measure the cosmic bodies.
This coming eclipse is being called “The Great American Eclipse”. Because of the internet this will be the most viewed total solar eclipse ever. It’s not a sight you are going to want to miss. I myself will only have to travel 3 hours to catch a glimse of the 2 and a half minutes of awesomeness. Glendo, WY is supposed to be perfect for this event.
The other states (pictures like this)
You will need to get some solar eclipse glasses
Watch this video (There are where I snagged this pictures from)
This total solar eclipse is going to happen at a time when the moon is closest to the sun (perigee), as opposed to when the moon is farther away from the sun (apogee). The reason for this is because the moon’s path around Earth is not a perfect circle but an ellipse.
About 30 Earths fit in between it and the moon. Because the moon will be closer to Earth the shadow of the moon will completely cover the sun, which is one of the 3 qualifications for a ‘total solar eclipse’.
This is what a solar eclipse looks like when it is during an apogee (when the moon is farther away from earth). This picture above is not a total solar eclipse. (It is a partial solar eclipse) On August 21, 2017 we will witness a TOTAL solar eclipse.
You’re not going to want to miss this event. It’s going to be awesome. Weather on the east coast will not behave as well as it will in Wyoming and in other states out west, but you can always travel a bit to find a good spot to witness this event. Use radar weather apps to pin-point where the clouds won’t be. The Weather Channel™ has a mobile app for this where you can see the future radar for a particular area.
The sun and moon are the same size in the sky, which is what allows this amazing phenomenon to happen. We have to ask ourselves. Is this all really a coincidence? Or is there something more to it..
When you listen to the song of the birds fall silent, and stop hearing the clicking of grasshoppers, while the temperature drops 10° degrees in the middle of the day, ask yourself: Is this all one big coincidence caused by a ‘big bang’ that serendipitously occurred so long ago, out of nothing? Or, are the nihilistic scientists wrong once again? Perhaps this is all for a reason, and not some cosmic coincidence. Perhaps our lives have meaning, and this is the Creator’s attempt to show how myopic the materialistic academic community truly is, and how important we really are.
