While this summer isn’t over yet, you might want to start vacation planning for next summer.
You now have less than a year to plan to see what some are already referring to as “the great American eclipse.” In fact, USA Today has dubbed it “the biggest and best solar eclipse in American history.”
On Aug. 21, 2017, a total eclipse will be seen as it passes over the United States, from Oregon to the Carolinas. Experts say it will be the first total eclipse since 1776 to be visible from land only in the U.S., Space.com reports. It will also be the first total eclipse to cross the entire U.S. in 99 years.
For viewers in most of North America, the moon’s shadow will produce a partial eclipse, according to NASA’s webpage devoted to the event. But viewers in the direct path of the eclipse will be treated to the total eclipse.
Specifically, the total eclipse will pass over parts of the following states:
- Oregon
- Idaho
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Nebraska
- Kansas
- Missouri
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- North Carolina
- Georgia
- South Carolina
In some states in the eclipse’s path, festivities are already in the works.
In Madras, Oregon, a four-day festival is being planned in cooperation with NASA. As the Oregon Solarfest website describes it:
Imagine four days of camping on festival grounds under a blanket of stars with no light pollution, moving to the eclectic sounds of music booming across the canyon, and meeting acquaintances while tasting savory Northwest cuisine and sipping imaginative cocktails while browsing through a marketplace of hand-crafted goods… Bring your telescope, speak with NASA scientists and enjoy this truly unique celestial experience.
The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. and the Wyoming Office of Tourism are among municipal and state tourism organizations that have already launched webpages devoted to the eclipse.
To see exactly which parts of which states lie in the direct path of the eclipse, check out the maps on the NASA webpage.
Would you travel to see a total solar eclipse? Let us know below or on Facebook.
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