The solar eclipse of 2017 promises to be a great show on Monday, August 21, 2017, across all of North America. In a narrow swath cutting across from West to East, observers will be treated to an awe inspiring total solar eclipse (TSE), where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun's corona. Observers outside this path will see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk.
The following map from NASA shows the path of totality and the path of various degrees of partial eclipse across the U.S.
Here is a video from NASA tracing the path of the total solar eclipse across the U.S.A. It also shows the shape of the partial eclipse visible from various locations in North America as a function of time.
The following table shows eclipse times for selected cities in the path of totality across the country. Note that totality lasts but a few minutes; however, partial eclipse will be seen for over two and a half hours across most of the country.
Animated Preview of the Eclipse from Your Location.
A preview of the eclipse from your city or any location in the U.S. can be seen in this awesome simulator by NASA. It shows graphically how much of the Sun will be covered by the moon at different times as seen from a given location.
Another excellent site with similar animation and information is www.timeanddate.com/….
The eclipsemega.movie website (by Google and UC Berkeley) also contains a simulator and will act as a repository for user-contributed images from 1,000 volunteer photographers and amateur astronomers, as well as members of the general public. You can share your photographs with the rest of the world at the site.
NASA Coverage
NASA will capture images before, during, and after the eclipse using 11 spacecraft, at least three NASA aircraft, more than 50 high-altitude balloons, and the astronauts aboard the International Space Station – each offering a unique vantage point for the celestial event.
NASA Television will air a multi-hour show “Eclipse Across America: Through the Eyes of NASA”, with live video of the celestial event, along with coverage of activities in parks, libraries, stadiums, festivals and museums across the nation, and on social media.
Some Images of Eclipses Past
For photography enthusiasts, here is a video and an article at petapixel.com/… for some tips and some inspiration — “This Photographer Shot Skiers in Front of a Total Solar Eclipse” -
Eye Safety
Surely, you will not look at a solar eclipse with the naked eye, nor should you observe it using homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones. The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers.
The NASA website recommends these four manufacturers for eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for such products: Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17. There are several other manufacturers that make ISO certified eclipse glasses. These are relatively inexpensive and available online. For example, a 10-pack of eclipse shades is priced around $10 at Amazon.
Future Total and Annular Solar Eclipses over North America.
The next big one, an annular solar eclipse over the U.S., will be on October 14, 2023.
The next total solar eclipse over the U.S., will be on April 8, 2024.
See eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/… for 50-year maps of future solar eclipses.
Other Tidbits of Information
Between 2 and 5 solar eclipses occur every year, with an average of 2.4. Since the Gregorian calendar was instituted in 1582, years that have had five solar eclipses were 1693, 1758, 1805, 1823, 1870, and 1935. The next occurrence will be 2206.
The word syzygy refers to a straight-line alignment of three celestial bodies in a gravitational system. Solar and lunar eclipses occur at times of syzygy.
Solar eclipses are expected to impact solar and wind power generation systems, with decreases of 10’s of Gigawatts compared to clear sky conditions, depending on areas affected. The temperature may decrease by 3 °C, and wind speeds can get reduced by 0.7 m/s.
The Shape of the Solar Corona on Aug 21
The National Solar Observatory released the following image as a prediction of the shape of the Solar Corona for the August Eclipse.
From nso.edu/…
The image above shows field lines of a solar coronal magnetic model based on measurements from the National Solar Observatory Integrated Synoptic Program (NSO/NISP) one solar rotation, or 27.2753 Earth days, before the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. The view offers and example of what observers of the total solar eclipse will see on August 21st. The solar disk has been occulted leaving only the off-limb magnetic structure visible. The visible field lines indicate how the corona during a total solar eclipse would appear according to the model. The solar wind flows outward from the Sun along open field lines. Closed field lines, where the lines loop back onto the Sun, trap coronal plasma. As a result, the corona in closed structures appear brighter than the open corona in eclipse images. Closed and open lines are shown white and dark grey in the plot. The largest closed structures represent the helmet streamers that we see during the total solar eclipse.
Solar Eclipse Stamp
On Tuesday June 20, the U.S. Postal Service released the Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp. It is the first U.S. stamp to use thermochromic ink, which reacts to the heat of touch. Placing a finger over the black disc on the stamp causes the ink to change from black to clear to reveal an underlying image of the moon. The image reverts back to the black disc once it cools.
The stamp uses a photograph taken by astrophysicist Fred Espenak of a total solar eclipse that was seen over Jalu, Libya, on March 29, 2006. Mr. Espenak also took the photograph of the full moon that is revealed by pressing upon the stamp image.
The reverse side of the stamp pane shows the path across the United States of the August total solar eclipse and gives the times that it will appear in some locations.
The Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp, which is always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.
The June 20, 1:30 p.m. MT First-Day-of-Issue ceremony took place at the Art Museum of the University of Wyoming (UW) in Laramie.
store.usps.com/...
Solar Eclipse “chasers”
While we watch the total solar eclipse from our favorite vantage point on Earth, a team of NASA-funded scientists will “chase” the eclipse in two retrofitted WB-57F research aircraft. Taking observations from twin telescopes mounted on the noses of the planes, scientists will capture the clearest images of the Sun's outer atmosphere -- the corona -- to date and the first-ever thermal images of Mercury, revealing how temperature varies across the planet's surface. www.nasa.gov/…
The two planes, taking off from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will observe the total eclipse for about three and a half minutes each as they fly over Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee at an altitude of 50,000 feet. At that height, the sky is 20-30 times darker than as seen from the ground, and there is much less atmospheric turbulence, allowing fine structures and motions in the Sun’s corona to be visible.
Note that the WB-57Fs cannot chase the eclipse for long. The ground speed of the lunar shadow is quite high — from eclipse2017.org/… -
- 2,410 mph in Western Oregon
- 1,747 mph in central Nebraska
- 1,462 mph in Western Kentucky
- 1,502 mph near Charleston SC
Speed of sound = Mach 1 = 767 mph.
The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas is the home of the NASA WB-57 High Altitude Research Program. The three fully operational WB-57 aircraft have been flying since the early 1960's, conducting missions in atmospheric and earth sciences, cosmic dust collection, and rocket launch support..
Here is a cool video of the WB-57s flying in formation over Houston on November 19, 2015.
Online Resources for the August Solar Eclipse
- eclipse2017.nasa.gov - NASA’s website includes a wealth of educational information on solar eclipses, maps, safety tips and list of events and activities around the country.
- Total Solar Eclipse 2017: When, Where and How to See It (Safely) — www.space.com/…
- 2017 Total Solar Eclipse: A Guide to Totality on August 21, 2017 — www.skyandtelescope.com/…
- How to See the Best Total Solar Eclipse in a Century — news.nationalgeographic.com/…
- Cities that lie in the Path of Totality — www.eclipse2017.org/… — Contains large list of cities and towns state-by-state.
- Interactive, zoomable map at xjubier.free.fr/… Helpful in finding towns and roads that lie in the total eclipse path near an area of interest. May crash in Chrome, try IE or some other browser.
- www.eclipse2017.org/… — commercial site with lots of info.
- www.greatamericaneclipse.com — another commercial site with tons of info.
- Solar Eclipse wiki — en.wikipedia.org/...
Eclipse Photography Resources
- How to Film or Photograph the 2017 Solar Eclipse Like a Pro — www.space.com/…
- Solar Eclipse Photography — eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/… — Tips and photograph archives
- Eclipse Photography — eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/… — Tips and photograph archives
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How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse — www.nikonusa.com/...
P.S.
Where will you be on August 21?
Let’s plan on publishing a few diaries after August 21 with our best photographs.
In option #1 in the poll below, I should have said — “I live or work or will be working inside or near ...”.