Solar eclipse of 2017 August 21

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The solar eclipse that takes place on August 21, 2017 will be a total eclipse of the Sun with a magnitude of 1.031 that will be visible from a narrow corridor through the United States. A partial eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including the whole of North America, northern South America and western Europe and Africa. This eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the United States since 1991 (visible in parts of Hawaii)[1], and the first visible from the contiguous United States since 1979.[2]

The path of this eclipse crosses at right-angles the path of the total eclipse of April 8, 2024, with the intersection of the paths being in western Kentucky. A small area including the city of Paducah will thus experience two total solar eclipses within a span of less than seven years.

The United States, in the 45 years before this eclipse will have experienced a rather long total eclipse dry spell. Some American scientists and interested amateurs seeking to experience a total eclipse participated in a four-day Atlantic Ocean cruise to view the Solar eclipse of 1972 July 10 as it passed near Nova Scotia. Organizers of the cruise advertised in astronomical journals and in planetarium announcements emphasizing the lack of future U.S. total eclipses until this 2017 event.[1]

The path of totality of the the Solar eclipse of 1979 February 26 went through the U.S. states of Washington and Montana. Many professionals and tourists traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the eclipse, as it would be the last chance to view a total solar eclipse in the United States for almost four decades.[2][3]

A 1991 article in Discover magazine noted that "The total solar eclipse of Jul 11, 1991", which passed over Hawaii and significant portions of Mexico, "will be the best anyone will be able to see from the continental US until 2017."[4]

Contents

[edit] Notable times and coordinates

Event Time (UTC)
Beginning of the general eclipse 15:46:48
Beginning of the total eclipse 16:48:32
Beginning of the central eclipse 16:49:33
Greatest eclipse 18:25:28
End of the central eclipse 20:01:35
End of the total eclipse 20:02:30
End of the general eclipse 21:04:19

[edit] Type of the eclipse

Nature of the eclipses Total
Gamma 0.4369
Magnitude 1.0306
Duration at greatest eclipse point 160 s (2 min 40 s) at 18:25:28 UTC, in Kentucky: 36°58′30″N, 87°39′18″W
Maximum width of band 114.7 km

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Let There Be Darkness, Please; When Mercury Is at Quadrature, the Social Director Is a Lonely Man For Two Extremely Short Minutes Everyone Gaped Into the Sky", The New York Times, July 30, 1972. p. XX1
  2. ^ "Thousands Go West for a Total Solar Eclipse Tomorrow; Data May Aid Energy Research Partial Eclipse for New York Best Types of Film Image of Sun on Screen", The New York Times February 25, 1979. p. 26.
  3. ^ "Total Eclipse of the Sun Darkens Skies in Northwest; Total Eclipse Casts Two Minutes of Darkness in West Temperature Falls Sharply Learned of Weather Peculiarities Data on Plasma Sought", The New York Times February 27, 1979. p. A1.
  4. ^ "The Great Baja Eclipse", Discover (magazine) January 1991. p. 90.

[edit] External links

Solar eclipses
Previous eclipse:
Solar eclipse of 2017 February 26
(annular)
Solar eclipse of 2017 August 21
(total)
Next eclipse:
Solar eclipse of 2018 February 15
(partial)
Previous total eclipse:
Solar eclipse of 2016 March 9
Next total eclipse:
Solar eclipse of 2019 July 2