Solar Eclipse August 2017 Dates, How to View: Most Americans Can See the Next Eclipse on Aug. 21
The "Great American Eclipse" will occur next month.
Reports reveal that a shadow that might measure at least 70 miles wide will be seen across the U.S. on Monday, Aug. 21. It means that those living in Oregon up to South Carolina will have a chance to view the rare total solar eclipse event that normally occurs in every 99 years.
Astronomer Matthew Penn from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory claims that the upcoming solar eclipse could be a very privileged event.
"The U.S. only covers 2 percent of the globe, so we get very few eclipses," Penn shared in a statement. "And to have one travel across the entire country is an unprecedented sort of opportunity. It'll be a heck of day. The best thing is, it can't be cloudy everywhere!"
On the other hand, the American Astronomical Society solar eclipse manager Mike Kentrianakis reportedly told a Staten Island science teacher Carmen Irizarry that the upcoming solar eclipse could be described as a very unique phenomenon. "It's a completely different phenomenon. It shouldn't even be called an eclipse. It should be called something else," he stated.
He also claims that the upcoming astrological phenomenon could not be compared to anything that had been featured in the textbooks. "It was more than that. It was being in the shadow of the moon, and I couldn't quite comprehend the whole thing."
The eclipse will start in the town of Madras in Oregon at 9:07 a.m. local time / 12:07 p.m. EDT. Then after an hour and 12 minutes at 10:19 a.m. local time, the sun will be completely blocked out by the moon in the area. This means the city will be in complete darkness for at least two minutes and two seconds.
Onlookers all over the U.S. will be able to see the upcoming astrological event if the sky is clear during the said schedule.
