2017 ECLIPSE – PATH ACROSS THE UNITED STATES ON AUGUST 21
This Photo Gallery is devoted to information on upcoming Total Solar Eclipses in the United States. There are two of these eclipses coming in the next ten years; one in 2017 and the other in 2024. The dates are August 21, 2017 and April 08, 2024. This Gallery slideshow will focus on the spectacular USA total solar eclipse of 2017 (August 21).
The 2017 total solar eclipse at long last spells the return of total eclipses to North America! For those of you old enough to remember the glory days of the 1970s with a total eclipse in or near the USA every few years or so, it has been a very long drought! It will be 38 years without a total solar eclipse for the USA (the last total eclipse was in February of 1979; most observers viewed it in Manitoba), and 47 years since a good, viewable total solar eclipse in the USA (March 7, 1970 in North Carolina). The 2017 event will be a guaranteed spectacular eclipse, and will cross the entire USA from coast to coast (Oregon to South Carolina) in beautiful summer weather. Plus, the narrow path of totality will pass over many large cities. There is little doubt that this eclipse will be super-hyped, and will be viewed by millions, with it likely being the first total eclipse of the sun to be seen by 99% of those viewing it. It should be an awesome experience that anyone viewing it will never forget! Don’t miss it.
The 2024 total solar eclipse in North America will be another great eclipse for the USA, and it will come less than seven years after the 2017 eclipse. It will be covered in another separate slideshow. On April 08, 2024 the moon’s umbral shadow will enter the USA at the Texas border with Mexico, and will proceed north (and slightly east), passing directly over Dallas, Indianapolis, Dayton, Ohio, Cleveland and Rochester, New York, exiting the USA at the border between Maine and Canada. Millions of Americans could see it if the weather cooperates. Unlike the 2017 summer eclipse, this will be in early April, which is not known for its clear skies. The weather will likely be one of the most important factors determining where this should be viewed.
2017 ECLIPSE SLIDESHOW DESCRIPTION: The slideshow at the bottom of this page is 8 minutes in length, and contains more than 20 detailed maps of the eclipse path relative to the location of more than 30 U.S. cities. There is also an 8-minute voice narration by the Site Moderator that provides many important details about that eclipse and where to view it. Interspersed within the eclipse maps are images of the various phases of the eclipse that you should expect to see that day. In order to help you plan, there is also a section of text below that discusses how to choose your viewing location and what you will need to view it and photograph the eclipse.
IMPORTANT TIPS ON VIEWING AND PHOTOGRAPHING THE GREAT 2017 ECLIPSE:
Site Selection and Weather Considerations:
In regards to positioning yourself and viewing this spectacular event, the Site Moderator is here providing some practical advice that has been learned (mostly the hard way) from being at 18 total solar eclipses in the past 50 years. First; how can you deal with site selection and with the weather? I would recommend that you start by carefully studying the path of totality on the more than 20 detailed maps that are included in this gallery slideshow. If you want to try and view the eclipse from as close to your home as possible, without having it be an expensive, major trip with a number of Motel nights, then choose three local locations near the center line in advance. The first location is one that is on the path centerline and also the closest to you. The other two locations should be about 3 or 4 hours drive from you; one east and one west, but also on the path centerline. In the intervening months between now and the eclipse, take the time to drive to those three points and scout out a very specific location for each in advance. This would be an accessible spot where you can easily set up your tripod, camera and telescope, and which has a good, unobstructed view of the southern sky (reasonable access to rest-room facilities would not hurt either!). Remember those locations. About four or five days prior to the August 21 eclipse, start monitoring your local weather intently. On August 20th, evaluate the weather predictions for August 21 regarding rain and cloud cover, and make a preliminary decision as to which of the three locations looks best in terms of clear skies. Then, on the morning of the eclipse, make a final check of the cloud cover and head out to the location that has the best chance of being clear.
Viewing and Photographing the Eclipse:
In the early summer of 2017, about 6-8 weeks ahead of the eclipse, make sure that you have special eclipse glasses for observing the sun during the hour before and after totality (the partial-eclipse phases). They are called “glasses”, but they are not glass at all, just two strips of foil filter material in a thin cardboard frame. Although you don’t need these special glasses during the brief time of totality (and you should not be using them during totality), you must have them on to look at the moon’s progress over the sun during the partial phases. If you cannot find a supplier of these glasses in your hometown, order them in advance from the internet from any optical or astronomical company. Be sure to get the type that give you an orange sun, not a silver sun (ask when you buy them). While you are ordering the glasses, also order a small, separate piece of the solar filter foil to place over the two lenses of your binoculars and your camera lens (held on with rubber bands). Also, make sure that you have enough pairs of glasses for your family, as these glasses are fairly cheap. Don’t forget to take a comfortable lawn chair, your binoculars, your digital still camera, your video camera, a brimmed hat and your drink cooler with you. Also, a towel to put over your camera while it is sitting in the hot sun waiting for totality. If you want to photograph the sun during the ingoing partial-eclipse phases, make sure you have previously obtained a large enough piece of solar filter foil or a special screw-on solar filter for your still camera lens and/or your video camera lens (ND 5 or greater. Your lens should have a focal length of at least 250 mm, with 500 mm being better. Forget anything smaller than 250 mm. On a modern digital camera, a focal length of about 1500 mm will fill the frame with the sun’s disk. Smaller lens focal lengths will yield proportionately smaller images. Also, remember this as the sun is nearly completely covered … all eclipse glasses and all filters on your still camera lens, your video camera lens, your binoculars and your telescope are to be removed quickly about five seconds before totality starts. Therefore, construct them to be easily and quickly installed and removed.
Important Closing Comments on Viewing the 2017 Eclipse:
Finally, and this is important, stay mobile and be ready to move! The one-hour process of covering the sun also cools the local atmosphere 5 to 10 degrees, and many times creates more or larger cloud cover. Keep a close eye on this and be ready to move east or west. Remember, it is better to jump in your car and get to a spot where you can see the eclipse than it is to sit with your tripod and camera setup under a cloud and not see it. Don’t hesitate to move if you see an interfering cloud approaching or forming, even if it means that you will not have time to set up your tripod and camera at a new location. Now …. view the important slideshow below!
Gallery Slideshow Information on the Upcoming USA Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017:
*** NOTE: You may study these 2017 eclipse maps either individually by clicking on the photo, or you may view them all as a slideshow at 11 seconds per photo. Click on “Show as Slideshow” to Display these Photos as a Slideshow at the Bottom of this Page. When the Slideshow Begins, place the Curser at the Bottom Center of the Photo to View the Slideshow Navigation Bar. The Title of each Slide is in the Center of the Navigation Bar. To Pause the Slideshow on a Map or Photo in order to study it longer, click on the Slide Number. To Mute and Unmute the Voice Narration, click on the Speaker Icon that is Second from the Right. To Display the Slideshow in either the Full Screen Mode or in a Smaller Window, click on the Display Icon at the Far Right End of the Navigation Bar. To end the Slideshow click on “Show Picture List”.***
