Page 82 - All About Space 68 - 2017 UK

The Great American Eclipse
The Great American Eclipse

Eclipse at sunrise
An eclipsed Sun will rise
north of Hawaii, with the
Moon shadow then racing
towards the USA

Partial eclipse zones
All of the USA, Canada
and Mexico will see a
partial eclipse.

Where can I see
the eclipse?

While everywhere in the USA will see
a partial eclipse, only those within the
Path of Totality will fully experience it

The last glimpse of sunshine gives the
shape of a glistening diamond ring

© Rick Fienberg / TravelQuest International / Wilderness Travel It's narrow, about 112.6 kilometres (70 miles) wide,

and it takes a couple of hours to race across a
segment of Earth, plunging all locations within into
darkness for a few precious minutes. Easily viewable
eclipses are rare; mostly they happen at sea, or in
inaccessible places like Antarctica.
On August 21, that 70-mile-wide track – called
How much of the eclipse can I see? the path of totality – will move from west to east in
a curve from Oregon to South Carolina, plunging
12 million people in 14 States across the US into
darkness for a few minutes. So exactly where you
put yourself for this spectacle will decide exactly
what you see.
Those outside the path of totality, which is most
of the USA, will see a partial eclipse that will reach
70 to 99 per cent, depending on where you are. For
0% >1% 40% 90% 100% the Moon to take a bite out of the Sun and pass all
the way across will take just under three hours, and
solar eclipse glasses must be worn the whole time.

82
82