Total Solar Eclipse 2017 Date, Time: Where and How to Watch on August 21
On Monday, Aug. 21, all of North America will be able to witness a solar eclipse. It will be visible from parts of South America, Africa as well as Europe, but only partially, wherein the moon only covers a part of the sun.
A solar eclipse is a celestial event in which the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. In the contiguous U.S., this will be the first total solar eclipse in 38 years.
Those within the path of its totality will be able to see the moon completely covering the sun. From Lincoln Beach, Oregon down to Charleston, South Carolina, areas from 14 states will be able to witness this grandeur.
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Other parts in the U.S. that do not fall under this strip will only get to see a partial eclipse of the sun.
The solar eclipse will start at 8:46 a.m. Pacific Time. Lincoln Beach, Orgeon will be the first location in the continental U.S. to witness totality. The partial phase will commence at 9:05 a.m. local time. Totality will occur at 10:16 a.m. PDT.
An hour and a half later, it will be visible through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.
In other areas along the coast of Oregon, like Lincoln City, totality will occur merely 20 seconds after the partial phase.
The best location to witness the eclipse is near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where the maximum point of the eclipse is expected to take place at 1:20 p.m. local time of 18:20 UTC. The longest duration of totality lasts for 2 minutes and 40 seconds.
The lunar shadow will leave the U.S. at 4:09 EDT.
To note, locals who want to observe this phenomenon should wear the proper eye gear. It is unsafe to stare directly at the sun without the proper eyewear except during totality. Doing so could harm one's eyes.
Those without the proper gear should opt to view the eclipse from a filtering device or by indirect viewing.
