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Mid-August 2017
People from all over the world begin to converge on the United States. Except for people returning home, visiting family, or conducting
business at what happens to be just exactly the right time in history, these will be people who make it a point to travel to wherever the
Moon's shadow is going to touch the earth, and position themselves in a spot carefully chosen - sometimes years in advance - to ensure they see the sight.
These people will make contingency travel plans in case of last-minute clouds. These people will fill hotel rooms, sometimes inadvertently
displacing locals from their homes as space gets harder to come by. These people will travel through miles of desert or forest or frozen
wasteland, braving the harshest of conditions...for a short glimpse at the eclipsed Sun.
These people are coming to America, because for the first time in 26 years, a total solar eclipse will occur in our great country, and we
will play host to the world's eclipse-chasers. For those of us who already live here, but have never seen an eclipse, this is the
opportunity of a lifetime - to see the most beautiful thing on the planet, and maybe not even have to get on an airplane to get to it!
August 18, 2017
Almost everyone who plans to see the eclipse will be in position. Foreign visitors will be be wrapping up their sightseeing tours of our
country, and getting to their selected viewing areas early to ensure that no travel glitches have an opportunity to deprive them of their
true goal. Cities along the path who have decided to create official eclipse viewing areas
will have their focus set to logistics, ensuring the comfort, enjoyment and safety of their guests. People who have converged on those sites to
view the eclipse will begin the countdown to eclipse day, as final preparations are made to ensure that photography equipment, filters,
chairs, tables, telescopes, TV monitors, webcast equipment, hats and sunscreen are all at the ready for the big day!
Last-minute weather forecasts
are checked, and anyone with the slightest fear of clouds on eclipse day will invoke their travel contingencies. Weather monitoring will
proceed around the clock, with live updates issued hourly so as to best prepare eclipse-chasers who will need to move at a moment's notice.
Nothing will stand in the way of seeing the eclipse!
The party begins....
August 19-20, 2017
Last-minute arrivals will get in place, together with those who have had to fight their own travel glitches, and make alternate arrangements
to get here. Some will have missed their pre-eclipse tours, but that's OK - as long as they're in the path by Sunday night, all is OK. The
worry can then focus on equipment, mental preparedness, and weather.
Scientists and amateur photographers who will be recording the event go over their preparations one last time. Sequences of events and actions
that have been planned years in advance, and practised countless times to ensure mastery, will be practised one last time. All batteries will
be replaced with new ones. All film, batteries and memory cards will be double- and triple-checked. Everything will be set up, taped down,
sealed against the dew, and put to bed for the last time. Tomorrow is the big day, and nothing can go wrong.
August 21, 2017
Eclipse Day!
No human action can disrupt the incessant dance of the cosmos, and the Moon's shadow will not wait on you if you're not ready. Like a mindless
juggernaut, it plows its way through space toward a collision course with Earth. As predicted by the astronomers decades in advance, the
shadow arrives with perfect accuracy, and touches down in the north Pacific Ocean at 16:48:33
UT*, at local sunrise. (At
that spot, the Sun will actually rise
while totally eclipsed. This is a sight few people - even veteran eclipse chasers - have seen, and from what we hear, it is quite uncanny.)
A minute later, the entire shadow (the "umbral cone") will have made landfall - er, ocean-fall - and will be racing across the surface of
the water at supersonic speed. Except for folks on ships at sea, and the occasional ocean-dwelling critter who dares to venture too near the
surface, nothing sentient will note the passing of the umbra - until land gets in the way.
And that land will be United States soil.
On the beach in
Oregon, at a rocky spot of ground just north of Newport
that
sticks its nose out into the Pacific, the shadow first touches land at 17:15:50.6UT (at about 10:15 in the morning). This
lucky piece of Earth experiences a full minute and fifty seconds of totality.
The actual centerline of the eclipse path hits solid ground a full
six seconds later, and plunges Lincoln Beach
and Depoe Bay into darkness for 1m58s!
It takes only about two minutes for the shadow to race eastward toward its first date with a large population of folks who will be
breathlessly awaiting its arrival. Dallas,
Albany,
Corvallis,
Lebanon,
Philomath,
McMinnville,
Woodburn, and yes,
Salem itself, experience various
durations of totality (based on their varying distances from the centerline); on the steps of the State Capitol in Salem (the first
of five state capitals the shadow will visit), lucky viewers will be treated to 1m54.5s of shadow at just after 10:17am. (Great time for a coffee break!)
The great city of Portland is NOT in the path of totality! If you're there, or in
Eugene, you will not
get the full meal deal! Folks in Portland need to move south, and get into the shadow! That's right: IF YOU STAY IN PORTLAND, the eclipse will never be total for you! You will need to use your
eclipse glasses for the entire partial eclipse, and you will not see the beauty of totality! (In
Eugene, you need to head north!)
The eclipse then leaves our most western friends, and travels through the forests and deserts of central Oregon, hitting the mountains at
Madras and
Warm Springs at about 10:19.
Mitchell and
Prairie City are next, and the shadow leaves Oregon just north of
Ontario.
(Actually, Ontario gets 1m23s of totality at 11:25am MDT, but folks there would be better served to head north to the rest area north of
Huntington on I-84, or into Idaho on US95 between
Midvale and
Weiser,
for better than 30 seconds more totality! Soak them up; those seconds in the shadow are precious!!!)
See eclipse information for all Oregon cities and towns in the path of totality!
On to Idaho, where
Stanley and
Mackay are the first recipients
of lots of shadow. Idaho Falls is in the path, but south of the centerline - so
it only basks in the umbra for 1m49s at 11:33am.
Rexburg does much better, getting 2m17s at the same time.
The highest point in Idaho - Borah Peak - is in totality, and that might not be a bad place to be for the more adventurous types!
But that's it for Idaho - Boise and Pocatello are NOT in the path of
totality! Do not stay home, and think you're getting a good show, because you're not! Get north, and get into the shadow! IN
BOISE OR POCATELLO, the eclipse will never be total for you! You will need to use your eclipse glasses for the entire partial eclipse!
See eclipse information for all Idaho cities and towns in the path of totality!
MONTANA
The first of the two states where no populated areas see the shadow. We're not kidding here - there are no roads, no towns, no
named areas of any kind that will see totality. Only a tiny chip of a tiny fraction of a tiny part of the tiniest southwestern tip
of the beard of Montana will see totality. No, not Monida, Lima,
or Dell - we're talking much further southwest than that! Less than eight square miles of this monster state lie in the path.
Only trees - and critters - will see this eclipse from here - UNLESS you happen to be an intrepid soul who wants to take on the challenge!
We've written a blog post about the total eclipse in Montana - check it out!
Everyone should still understand that totality DOES actually touch Montana! Eclipse calculations expert Xavier Jubier has also written a great piece about this (describing Montana's and Iowa's similar plights),
and you can read it here: The eclipse "controversy" of Montana and Iowa!
Unfortunately, our first National Park lies just outside the edge of totality! Without question, this wonderful, exhilarating
landscape would have provided the perfect spot for viewing nature's most awesome
spectacle, if only the moon had been positioned a little differently. However, Yellowstone's loss is Grand Teton's gain;
the boundary separating those two great parks is just about coincident with the Northern limit of the path! This makes the
southern part of Grand Teton National Park
one of the best places in the entire country to position yourself to view this event! On the centerline, the Park will experience 2m20s of
totality at about 11:35am. Weather permitting, for folks who want to experience nature while being overwhelmed by nature, this may just be "The Place To Be"....
Moving onward, the shadow blesses
Pavillion (at 11:38), and
Shoshoni and
Riverton (at 11:39) with 2m 23s of the great show,
before landing squarely on the city of
Casper.
The centerline passes right over the intersection of highway 220 and W. 25th Street at 11:42:37am, and gives viewers there 2m27s of totality!
Douglas,
Glendo,
Thermopolis,
Lusk and
Torrington round out the list of
larger towns that experience totality. Note that if you're in
Wheatland, you're right on the southern edge of the path.
You need to get north, to get as much totality as you can!
See eclipse information for all Wyoming cities and towns in the path of totality!
The eclipse path really shines in this great midwestern state, cutting across endless miles of prairie, lots of good-sized
cities, and one more state capital! Take a long lunch hour, and see an eclipse!
Alliance (2m30s at 11:49am) and
Scottsbluff (1m43s at 11:48am)
are the first larger cities to see the shadow, and
North Platte (1m40s at 12:54pm CDT)
hugs the southern edge. Folks there should hop up US83 to
Stapleton, to get more than two and a half minutes!
Moving east, the shadow engulfs
Hastings at 12:58pm (for 2m13s of totality), but
Grand Island (22 more seconds!) is an even better place to be!
Omaha
is not in the path! Get down to
Lincoln, or better yet, farther south toward
Beatrice
(2m35s at 1:02pm), for a better show! THAT'S RIGHT - IN OMAHA, the eclipse will never be total for you! You will need to use your
eclipse glasses for the entire partial eclipse!
And
speaking of
Lincoln, this second capital city in the path lies near its northern edge, so totality is shorter there - only 1m 25.5s (at
1:02pm) on the grounds of the beautiful State Capitol. The 50-yard-line at Husker stadium gets five seconds less time in the
shadow, so you can see how important it is to get as far south as you can!
To give you an even better idea of how important your location is when you're this near the edge, you need look no further than the
airport at Lincoln: Planes waiting to take off on the departure end of runway 17 (at the north end of the runway) will get only
1m7s of totality, while those at the south end of the runway (if traffic is departing on 35 that day) will get 18s more!!! Don't
laugh - when you see the beauty of the eclipse, you will wish like anything that you had eighteen more seconds to see this most glorious sight!
The shadow leaves the capital, and the centerline then passes over
Falls City at 1:04pm. The path's great trek through the Cornhusker
State, after having travelled its entire length in only nineteen minutes(!), will be over at 1:07:50pm.
See eclipse information for all Nebraska cities and towns in the path of totality!
The path travels through the very far NE corner of the Sunflower State, and the centerline passes right over
Troy at 1:05:55pm.
Folks there will enjoy 2m38s of totality!
Atchison (2m16s at 1:06pm),
Hiawatha (2m31s at 1:05pm) and
Seneca (2m14s at 1:04pm)
are other cities from which to enjoy this magnificent show!
Yes, Leavenworth
is in the path as well, but you'll only see 1m35s there, so we'd head north to
St. Joseph MO! (That is, if you can.
We realize that certain residents of Leavenworth may be somewhat limited in their travel opportunities...)
Topeka is NOT in totality! THAT'S RIGHT - IF YOU STAY IN TOPEKA, the eclipse will never be total for you! You will need to use your
eclipse glasses for the entire partial eclipse! Head north and east to get into the path!
See eclipse information for all Kansas cities and towns in the path of totality!
IOWA
We list Iowa here, but only about 450 ACRES of the far southwestern tip of the state lies in the path. Not much totality here
- Hamburg doesn't get any, and neither does any of I-29 in the state of Iowa. We wouldn't go here to see it unless you live here, and can't move south and west.
NOTE: Just because Iowa is listed here doesn't mean that if you're in Iowa, you should stay here to see the eclipse! No one actually LIVES in the small chip of the state that sees the shadow! Please don't think that if you live in Iowa, you'll see the total eclipse!
Though everyone should still understand that totality DOES actually touch Iowa! We've written a blog post about the total eclipse in Iowa, and you should read it!
And, eclipse calculations expert Xavier Jubier has written a great piece about this situation (describing Montana's and Iowa's similar plights),
and you can read it here: The eclipse "controversy" of Montana and Iowa!
The eclipse's trek through this great state is one of the more interesting, because more people will see the eclipse here by
default, than at any other point along the path. That's because Kansas City and St. Louis
are partially in the path of totality! That's right, even though these cities are both split in half by the path, and it would be much better for people to get
out of town to get a longer time in the shadow, the truth of the matter is that many people will be at home or at work, and lots of
them will see the eclipse from their homes and offices in these two great cities.
Because KC and STL
are so big, and because they are split by the path, we can't give more than a passing reference to actual
totality durations. Suffice it to say that you will only see a brief totality there, so if you can, get farther into the path!
People in KC need to head north, and in STL, head south. Out of town, if you can, in both cases! But certainly, please try to get
to the southern edge of STL, or the northern edge of KC, and see an unbelievable sight.
Recommendations for KCers: Any of the parks on the north side, like Hodge Park, would be good. Or better yet, any of the
beautiful parks around Smithville Reservoir, or maybe even on a boat! Take a long weekend, and see an eclipse!
You can also head up to
Liberty or
Excelsior Springs for more totality.
St. Joseph is right on centerline, and would be an excellent place to view from!
For St. Louis folks, just head south and west. Within 270, you can head to Jefferson Barracks or Clydesdale
parks; if you can get out a little farther, then Lone Elk, Castlewood, or Greensfelder parks would be good. As close as you can get to
St. Clair (SW) or
Festus (S) will be all the better for the amount of time you get to see the eclipse.
As we've indicated,
St. Joseph gets a whopping 2m38s of totality at 1:06:26pm! At 1:08, the shadow's southern edge will hit Kansas City, but as
we've said, folks there should have hightailed themselves to
Carrollton (2m37s at 1:09pm),
Marshall (2m39s at 1:10pm), or
Lathrop
(2m39s at 1:07:42pm) for more of the show. Anyone staying behind will get a beautiful sight of Baily's Beads along the
bottom of the sun's eclipsed disk. This in itself will be awe-inspiring, and will somewhat compensate for the lack of duration of totality.
Columbia gets 2m36s at 1:12pm, and the path hits its third State Capitol, on the banks of the mighty Missouri River in
Jefferson City, at 1:14:19pm.
State workers returning from lunch will see a 2m29s total eclipse on the steps of the Capitol building.
Continuing on through the Show-Me State, the path crosses
St. Clair at 1:15:40pm (2m40s of totality). The southern part of St. Louis lies in the path, but here is one of the greatest challenges
we face in getting as many people as possible to view this total eclipse: Downtown St. Louis, the Arch, Busch stadium, and
Lambert airport, are NOT in the path! People here need to get south or southwest in order to see totality, and
it will fall to the good people of
Hillsboro (2m39s at 1:16:40pm),
DeSoto (2m40s at 1:16:46pm),
Union (2m37s at 1:15:33pm),
St. Clair (2m40s at 1:15:40pm) and
Festus (2m37s at 1:17pm), to host them!
These lucky towns get lots of time in the shadow!
If you stay in those very popular central and northern parts of St. Louis that we listed above, you will not see totality. What
you see (through your eclipse glasses, of course!) may look cool to you, but trust us - it will not compare to what people only a few
miles south of you will experience! Head south, and see totality!
Farmington (2m12s at 1:17:40pm) lies farther south, and
Cape Girardeau is in the path, but only gets 1m38s of totality,
as it lies along the southern edge of the path. This occurs at 1:20:25pm.
See eclipse information for all Missouri cities and towns in the path of totality!
Chicago is not in the path - not even close! IF YOU ARE IN CHICAGO, the eclipse will never be total for you! You will need to use
eye protection for the entire partial eclipse! The
far southern portion of the state is the only part that sees totality, but it gets a lot!
Murphysboro (2m40s at 1:19:30pm),
Makanda (2m40s at 1:20:11pm),
Carbondale (2m38s at 1:20pm) and
Marion (2m28s at 1:20:40pm) are prime viewing locations, but this area is really the best place to
consider. Cairo, Springfield, Effingham and Mt. Vernon are outside the path - no totality here!
And for those of you in Evansville, IN - so sorry, but totality just barely passes you by. (You'll get your turn at
totality in 2024!) And so, in Evansville, you will need to use your
eclipse glasses for the entire eclipse!
Oh, and by the way, Illinois is also the state that has the most area of the overlap of the
paths of totality for the great eclipses of 2017 and 2024!
Illinois is also home to the point of greatest duration for this eclipse! According to the US Naval Observatory's eclipse page,
there is a point in the Shawnee Nat'l. Forest (just south of Carbondale) that will see 2m44s of totality! Definitely a
good excuse to become an SIU fan for a day! In fact, SIU is planning a great eclipse party! (Go Salukis!)
See eclipse information for all Illinois cities and towns in the path of totality!
Kentucky also boasts wonderful viewing areas, with totality at
Paducah (1:22pm) lasting 2m20s of totality. The Land Between the Lakes is a wonderful spot to view the eclipse from, and the
farther north you are here, the better!
Eddyville gets 2m39s at 1:23pm. After that,
Hopkinsville lies right on the centerline, and enjoys 2m40s of totality at 1:24:41pm. This, together with the preparations
that the folks at Hopkinsville Community College are making, makes it a great place to consider watching the eclipse from.
Franklin (2m26s at 1:26:48pm) and
Russellville (2m29s at 1:26pm)
are other good spots from which to see the shadow. Bowling Green lies in the path, but it is on
the northern edge, and folks here are advised to head to
Hopkinsville, or down I-65 into Tennessee.
Mammoth Cave and Murray are not in the path, and neither
are Louisville or Lexington. In these locations, the eclipse will never be total for you, and you will need to use your
eclipse glasses for the entire partial eclipse! This show belongs to the
far southwestern part of the Commonwealth, and you are urged to get there and be a part of it all!
See eclipse information for all Kentucky cities and towns in the path of totality!
Ah, Nashville.
Home to the Grand Ol' Opry, and mecca for country crooners worldwide. But on this day, the great
capital of Tennessee has a new claim to fame - a total eclipse! That's right - after blocking out the sun for the fine citizens of
Clarksville (2m17s at 1:25pm - and don't forget about our soldiers at Fort Campbell!),
Springfield (2m36s at 1:26pm),
Portland (2m37s at 1:27), and
Westmoreland (2m28 at 1:27), the
shadow pays a visit to the crown jewel of Country! It could be better -
Nashville
lies close to the southern edge of the path, so it doesn't get as much totality as we'd like, but all the city
limits, and most of the suburbs, will bask in the shadow! Residents of Franklin and Kingston Springs will be left out of totality, and
Brentwood lies just inside the path, so people there
should head northeast. But, on the grounds of the State Capitol in
Nashville,
people will see 1m54s of totality at 1:27pm - a very respectable eclipse! And, heading northeast to the grounds of the Grand Ol'
Opry, folks along beautiful Briley Parkway will see 2m13s (also at 1:27)!! If you're in
Lebanon, you can stay put, because you'll enjoy 2m24s of totality a minute later!
The rest areas on I-40, just west of the exit at Buffalo Valley, are right on the centerline, by the way!
Murfreesboro is yet another of those nice, big towns that lie
right on the edge of the path.
Sparta and
Baxter lie right on the
centerline, so you might want to head out there to see the show!
Crossville (2m31s at 1:31pm) is the last larger town the path hits
within the Central Time Zone, and as the shadow hops the mighty Tennessee River, residents of
Dayton will experience 2m21s at about the same time (except that there, it'll be 2:31pm!).
Residents of Cleveland, beware! Your town is right on the southern edge of the path, and
you should consider hopping north to
Athens or
Sweetwater.
(Here is our page for
Cleveland, so you can see the path in relation to your town.)
Residents of Chattanooga, ditto, except that if you stay put, there'll be no show at all for you! Got that? Chattanooga is not in the path, and neither is Knoxville! Well, the very far southern suburbs of Knoxville are, but you won't get much
totality, and who wants that? I-75 south is your best friend - take advantage of it! Here
is a little more detailed map of Knoxville. Everyone at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville should hold class a few miles farther south, and enjoy the eclipse!
IF YOU ARE IN MEMPHIS, the eclipse will never be total for you! You will need to use your
eclipse glasses for the entire partial eclipse!
We'll talk about Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains National Park down in the section on North Carolina, but for now, suffice it to say that
Clingman's Dome would be a great place to see totality from!
See eclipse information for all Tennessee cities and towns in the path of totality!
We know, the path hits North Carolina next, but we felt like talking about Georgia first. Mainly, we wanted to say that
Atlanta is not in the path of totality,
and this is a huge shame. So many people will be at work, when they should have taken a long weekend, gotten themselves up north,
and into the path! I-85 seems to be the best route here, to get people up into South Carolina where they can see the show. But
there are lots of other options: I-75 way north, or US19 or US23 up into TN or NC, will get you there. Whatever you folks in
Hot'Lanta do with yourselves on the big day, though, make the eclipse a part of it!
IF YOU STAY IN ATLANTA, the eclipse will never be total for you! You will need to use your
eclipse glasses for the entire partial eclipse!
So, where to see the eclipse from the Peach State? Well, the centerline of the path just barely ticks the Northeastern
corner of the state, and runs about 12 miles between the borders of TN and SC.
Clayton (2m34s at 2:35:45pm) is a nice county seat
close to the centerline, and would be a fine location to view the eclipse from!
Toccoa
(which sees only 2m2s of totality) is another place to consider, being a slightly bigger town. Don't think you're gonna see it from Athens,
though, or Gainesville, or Augusta - this isn't your eclipse, guys! If you want to stay within Georgia to see the eclipse,
we can also suggest Black Rock Mountain State Park! You'll see about 2m36s of totality there.
See eclipse information for all Georgia cities and towns in the path of totality!
Again, here is a state that will have only a fraction of its area hit by the shadow - but what an area! The
Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
or at least the western part of it, lies in the path of totality! If you can't get to the Tetons, here is
perhaps just as wonderful a spot to watch the eclipse from! But you have to be careful here - the whole park is not in totality,
and the park is so big, that it really depends on where you are as to how much time you'll get in the shadow! We already talked about
Knoxville not getting totality - well, Gatlinburg is outside the path completely! In fact, if you're east of that big north-south
road that cuts the park in two (is it 441 or 71?), then you won't see any totality at all. Get as far west as you can, out to the
mountains in the western part of the park. On the southern edge, Waynesville is a no-no - get farther west to
Bryson City or even
farther west to Santeetlah Lake. You get the idea.
If National Parks and eclipse-watching don't go together for you, then you can also see totality in
Murphy (2m26s at 2:34pm),
Andrews (2m38s at 2:34pm), or
Franklin (2m30s at 2:35). Other than that, all we can say is that
Charlotte is not in the path! Get into SC, down to
Greenville or
Columbia!
Oh yes, Asheville is also not in the path!
So IF YOU ARE IN CHARLOTTE OR ASHEVILLE, the eclipse will never be total for you! You will need to use your
eclipse glasses for the entire partial eclipse!
See eclipse information for all North Carolina cities and towns in the path of totality!
All good things must come to an end, and at 2:36:02pm, the shadow of the great 2017 total eclipse first touches the final state in
its path. South Carolina also brings us the fifth state capital to be immersed in shadow, and several large cities will be able to
play host to eclipse-chasers from all over.
Greenville
is a very large city, and it is fully in shadow by 2:38pm. Its sister city of Spartanburg, however, is split by the path - you'll want to
head west, and enjoy Greenville's 2m14s of totality.
Here is a map of the Greenville-Spartanburg area, to show you what's going on.
Greenwood
(2m28s at 2:39) is next on the list of bigger cities to see totality, and then Columbia is treated about two minutes
later. The Capitol Building gets just a hair under 2m30s, and would be a great place for workers to take an afternoon shadow-break!
Sumter lies in the path, as do big, beautiful lakes Marion and Moutrie - right on the centerline!! Get out on the boat and soak
it in!
The last large city to see the 2017 eclipse will be Charleston.
(Here is our detailed eclipse page for Charleston!)
It lies on the southern edge of the path, but because folks in
Mt. Pleasant will get almost two minutes of totality, Charlestonians should head northeast!
The centerline then cuts across US17, just south of the last city to see the shadow -
McClellanville, SC. From there, the shadow
will take its leave of the last piece of American soil at 2:49:07.4pm. Quite appropriately, the spot is a long, isolated beach on a barrier island at the tip of a Wildlife Preserve
- Cape Romain, just east of McClellanville.
See eclipse information for all South Carolina cities and towns in the path of totality!
POSTSCRIPT
Amazing, isn't it? The swath of the shadow will touch the United States for only 1h 33m 16.8s - less than the length of a short movie! But in
that time, many, many people in our country will have had their perceptions, and their lives, changed forever. It's that kind of a
sight. Please plan to be there, in the path, together with a few hundred thousand other converts! You'll be joining many thousands of your
fellow citizens in asking "When's the next one?"!
And that's it. From there, the Moon's shadow continues on, out over the Atlantic Ocean, not to touch any more land before deftly lifting off the
earth's surface near Africa about 75 minutes after it left the US. The shadow, that excited so many people in our great country, will continue
out over open water for another hour and a quarter, travelling farther over the great expanse of blue than it did over our land. It will
impress no more people in this part of its journey, but it will have left in its wake a new generation of eclipse-addicts, and a bevy of
newly-fixed veteran junkies - all of whom will be hugging each other, replaying the spectacular movie of totality in their minds, and
promising themselves and each other to be present for the next one - no matter where, no matter when.
