Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017

Infobox Solar eclipse
date=August 21, 2017


caption =


map_caption = Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017
type_ref =
nature = Total
gamma = 0.4369
magnitude = 1.0306
saros = 145
saros_sequence = 22
saros_total = 77
max_eclipse_ref =
duration = 160 s (2 min 40 s)
location=Christian County, Kentucky
coords = coord|36|58|30|N|87|39|18|W
max_width = 114.7 km
times_ref =
start_partial = 15:46:48
start_total = 16:48:32
start_central = 16:49:33
greatest_eclipse = 18:25:28
end_central = 20:01:35
end_total = 20:02:30
end_partial = 21:04:19

The solar eclipse that takes place on Monday, 21 August 2017 will be a total eclipse of the Sun with a magnitude of 1.031 - that will be visible from a narrow corridor through the United States. A partial solar eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including all of North America, northern South America, western Europe, and Africa. This eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the United States since 1991 (just from part of Hawaii) [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEatlas/SEatlas2/SEatlas1981.gif] , the first visible from the contiguous United States since 1979, [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEatlas/SEatlas2/SEatlas1961.gif] and the first with a path of totality crossing the USA's Pacific coast and Atlantic coast since 1918. This eclipse is a member of Saros cycle 145, the one that also produced the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999.

The longest duration of totality will be 2 minutes 40 seconds in Christian County, Kentucky just northwest of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The path of this eclipse crosses at right angles the upcoming path of the total eclipse of 8 April 2024, with the intersection of the two paths being in southern Illinois just south of Carbondale. A small land area, including the cities of Carbondale, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Paducah, Kentucky, will thus experience two total solar eclipses within a span of less than seven years.

The United States, in the 45 years before this (2017) eclipse will have experienced a rather long total eclipse dry spell. Some American scientists and interested amateurs seeking to experience a total eclipse participated in a four-day Atlantic Ocean cruise to view the Solar eclipse of July 10, 1972 as it passed near Nova Scotia. Organizers of the cruise advertised in astronomical journals and in planetarium announcements emphasizing the lack of future U.S. total eclipses until this 2017 event. ["Let There Be Darkness, Please; When Mercury Is at Quadrature, the Social Director Is a Lonely Man For Two Extremely Short Minutes Everyone Gaped Into the Sky", "The New York Times", July 30, 1972. p. XX1]

The totality of the Solar eclipse of February 26, 1979 passed only through the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. Many visitors traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the eclipse, since it would be the last chance to view a total solar eclipse in the United States for almost four decades. ["Thousands Go West for a Total Solar Eclipse Tomorrow; Data May Aid Energy Research Partial Eclipse for New York Best Types of Film Image of Sun on Screen", "The New York Times" February 25, 1979. p. 26.] ["Total Eclipse of the Sun Darkens Skies in Northwest; Total Eclipse Casts Two Minutes of Darkness in West Temperature Falls Sharply Learned of Weather Peculiarities Data on Plasma Sought", "The New York Times" February 27, 1979. p. A1.]

A 1991 article in "Discover (magazine)" noted that "The total solar eclipse of July 11, 1991", that passed over Hawaii and significant portions of Mexico, " [was] the best anyone will be able to see from the [US land] until 2017." ["The Great Baja Eclipse", "Discover (magazine)" January 1991. p. 90.]

References

*Fred Espenak and Jay Anderson. " [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2017Aug21T.gifTotal Solar Eclipse of 2017 August 21] ". NASA, July 2004.

External links

* [http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html Interactive 2017 August 21 Total Solar Eclipse map with local circumstances]
* [http://www.eclipse2017.org eclipse2017.org - A site dedicated to the observation of the 2017 solar eclipse in the U.S.]
* [http://www.markstravelnotes.com/travelogues/2017/total_eclipse/ About the 2017 eclipse]

Solar eclipse succession box
nature=total
previous=Solar eclipse of February 26, 2017
natureprevious=annular
next=Solar eclipse of February 15, 2018
naturenext=partial
previoussamenature=Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016
nextsamenature=Solar eclipse of July 2, 2019