| Total eclipse | |
 The eclipse from outsideCrowheart, Wyoming. This image usedexposure bracketing to show both the Sun's corona and surface features of the Moon itself. | |
 Map | |
| Gamma | 0.4367 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 1.0306 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 160 s (2 min 40 s) |
| Coordinates | 37°00′N87°42′W / 37°N 87.7°W /37; -87.7 |
| Max. width of band | 115 km (71 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| (P1) Partial begin | 15:46:48 |
| (U1) Total begin | 16:48:32 |
| Greatest eclipse | 18:26:40 |
| (U4) Total end | 20:01:35 |
| (P4) Partial end | 21:04:19 |
| References | |
| Saros | 145 (22 of 77) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9546 |
Thesolar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed the "Great American Eclipse" by some media,[1] was atotal solar eclipse visible within a band that spanned thecontiguous United States from thePacific to theAtlantic coasts. It was also visible as apartial solar eclipse from as far north asNunavut innorthern Canada to as far south as northernSouth America. In northwesternEurope and Africa, it was partially visible in the late evening. In northeasternAsia, it was partially visible at sunrise.
Prior to this event, no solar eclipse had been visible across the entirety of the United Statessince June 8, 1918; not since theFebruary 1979 eclipse had a total eclipse been visible from anywhere in the mainland United States.[2] The path of totality touched 14 states, and the rest of the U.S. had a partial eclipse.[2] The area of the path of totality was about 16 percent of the area of the United States,[3] with most of this area over the ocean, not land. The event's shadow began to cover land on theOregon coast as a partial eclipse at 4:05 p.m.UTC (9:05 a.m.PDT), with the total eclipse beginning there at 5:16 p.m. UTC (10:16 a.m. PDT); the total eclipse's land coverage ended along the South Carolina coast at about 6:44 p.m. UTC (2:44 p.m.EDT).[2] Visibility as a partial eclipse inHonolulu, Hawaii began with sunrise at 4:20 p.m. UTC (6:20 a.m.HST) and ended by 5:25 p.m. UTC (7:25 a.m. HST).[4]
This total solar eclipse marked the first such event in thesmartphone andsocial media era in the United States. Information, personal communication, and photography were widely available as never before, capturing popular attention and enhancing the social experience.The event was received with much enthusiasm across the nation; people gathered outside their homes to watch it, and many parties were set up in the path of the eclipse. Many people left their homes and traveled hundreds of miles just to get a glimpse of totality, which few ever get to experience. Marriage proposals were timed to coincide with the eclipse, as was at least one wedding.[5][6] Logistical problems arose with the influx of visitors, especially for smaller communities.[7] The sale of counterfeit eclipse glasses was also anticipated to be a hazard for eye injuries.[8]
The next solar eclipse that crossed the United States occurredon April 8, 2024 (12 states). Future solar eclipses that cross the United States will occuron August 23, 2044 (3 states), andon August 12, 2045 (10 states).Annular solar eclipses—wherein the Moon appears smaller than the Sun—occurredin October 2023 (9 states) and will occurin June 2048 (9 states).
The total eclipse occurred at the Moon'sascending node of orbit and had amagnitude of 1.0306. Occurring about 3.2 days afterperigee (on August 18, 2017, at 14:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger during this eclipse.[9] It was visible within a narrow corridor 70 miles (110 km) wide, crossing 14 of the contiguousUnited States:Oregon,Idaho,Montana,Wyoming,Nebraska,Kansas,Iowa,Missouri,Illinois,Kentucky,Tennessee,Georgia,North Carolina, andSouth Carolina.[10][11] It was first seen from land in the U.S. shortly after 10:15 amPDT (17:15 UTC) at Oregon's Pacific coast, and then it progressed eastward throughSalem, Oregon;Idaho Falls, Idaho;Casper, Wyoming;Lincoln, Nebraska;Kansas City, Missouri;St. Louis, Missouri;Hopkinsville, Kentucky; andNashville, Tennessee; before reachingColumbia, South Carolina about 2:41 pm;[12] and finallyCharleston, South Carolina. A partial eclipse was seen for a greater time period, beginning shortly after 9:00 am PDT along the Pacific Coast of Oregon.Weather forecasts predicted clear skies in Western U.S. and some Eastern states, but clouds in the Midwest and East Coast.[13]
The longest ground duration of totality was 2 minutes 41.6 seconds at about37°35′0″N89°7′0″W / 37.58333°N 89.11667°W /37.58333; -89.11667 inGiant City State Park, just south ofCarbondale, Illinois, and the greatest extent (width) was at36°58′0″N87°40′18″W / 36.96667°N 87.67167°W /36.96667; -87.67167 near the village ofCerulean, Kentucky, located in betweenHopkinsville andPrinceton.[14] This was the first total solar eclipse visible from theSoutheastern United States since thesolar eclipse of March 7, 1970. TwoNASA WB-57Fs flew above the clouds, prolonging the observation time spent in theumbra.[15] A partial solar eclipse was seen from the much broader path of theMoon'spenumbra, including all ofNorth America, particularly areas just south of the totality pass, where the eclipse lasted about 3–5 hours,Hawaii,Central America, theCaribbean, northernSouth America,Western Europe, and some ofWest Africa andNortheast Asia.
 |
At one location in Wyoming, a small group of astronomers used telescopic lenses to photograph the sun as it was in partial eclipse, while theInternational Space Station was also seen to brieflytransit the sun.[16] Similar images were captured byNASA from a location in Washington. (SeeGallery – partial eclipse section).
During the eclipse for a long span of its path of totality, several bright stars and four planets were visible. The star systemRegulus was almost in conjunction with the Sun.Mars was 8° to the right, andVenus 34° right.Mercury was 10° left, andJupiter 51° left.[17]
 |  |
This was the first total solar eclipse visible from the United States since that ofJuly 11, 1991[18]—which was seen only from part ofHawaii[19]—and the first visible from the contiguous United States since 1979.[20] An eclipse of comparable length (up to 3 minutes, 8 seconds, with the longest eclipse being 6 minutes and 54 seconds) occurred over the contiguous United States onMarch 7, 1970 along the southern portions of theEastern Seaboard, from Florida to Virginia.[21]
The path of totality of thesolar eclipse of February 26, 1979 crossed only the states ofWashington,Oregon,Idaho,Montana, andNorth Dakota. Many enthusiasts traveled to thePacific Northwest to view the eclipse, since it would be the last chance to view such an eclipse in thecontiguous United States for almost four decades.[22][23]
The August 2017 eclipse was the first with a path of totality crossing thePacific andAtlantic coasts of the U.S. since thesolar eclipse of 1918. Also, its path of totality made landfall exclusively within the United States, making it the first such eclipse since the country'sdeclaration of independence in 1776. Prior to this, the path of totality of the eclipse of June 13, 1257, was the last to make landfall exclusively on lands currently part of the United States.[24]
The path of thesolar eclipse of April 8, 2024 crossed the path of the 2017 eclipse, with the intersection insouthernIllinois inMakanda Township at Cedar Lake, just south ofCarbondale. An area of about 9,000 square miles (23,000 km2), including the cities of Makanda, Carbondale,Cape Girardeau, Missouri, andPaducah, Kentucky, thus experienced two total solar eclipses within a span of less than seven years.[25]
Thesolar eclipse of August 12, 2045, will have a very similar path of totality over the U.S. to the 2017 eclipse: about 400 km (250 mi) to the southwest, also crossing the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the country; however, totality will be more than twice as long, and it will be seen not only in the United States. It will be seen in theAmericas.[26]
| U.S.state | City or place | Start of partial eclipse | Start of total eclipse | Maximum eclipse | End of total eclipse | End of partial eclipse | Duration of totality (min:s) | Duration of eclipse (hr:min) | Maximum magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oregon | Salem | 09:05:14 | 10:17:09 | 10:18:07 | 10:19:04 | 11:37:40 | 1:55 | 2:32 | 1.0097 |
| Oregon | Ontario | 10:09:55 | 11:25:22 | 11:26:04 | 11:26:47 | 12:48:27 | 1:25 | 2:39 | 1.0037 |
 Wyoming | Jackson | 10:16:32 | 11:34:44 | 11:35:51 | 11:36:59 | 13:00:19 | 2:15 | 2:44 | 1.0109 |
 Nebraska | Harrison | 10:25:34 | 11:47:21 | 11:48:11 | 11:49:01 | 13:14:02 | 1:40 | 2:48 | 1.0042 |
| Nebraska | Scottsbluff | 10:25:37 | 11:48:00 | 11:48:50 | 11:49:40 | 13:15:16 | 1:40 | 2:50 | 1.004 |
| Nebraska | North Platte | 11:30:04 | 12:53:51 | 12:54:45 | 12:55:38 | 14:21:37 | 1:47 | 2:52 | 1.0044 |
| Nebraska | Kearney | 11:32:50 | 12:57:23 | 12:58:19 | 12:59:16 | 14:25:21 | 1:53 | 2:53 | 1.005 |
| Nebraska | Fairbury | 11:36:10 | 13:01:32 | 13:02:31 | 13:03:30 | 14:29:37 | 1:58 | 2:53 | 1.0054 |
| Nebraska | Lincoln | 11:37:04 | 13:02:20 | 13:03:05 | 13:03:50 | 14:29:40 | 1:30 | 2:53 | 1.003 |
 Missouri | St. Joseph | 11:40:27 | 13:06:14 | 13:07:34 | 13:08:54 | 14:34:25 | 2:40 | 2:54 | 1.0153 |
 Kansas | Kansas City | 11:40:59 | 13:08:28 | 13:08:35 | 13:08:42 | 14:35:45 | 0:14 | 2:55 | 1.0003 |
| Missouri | Kansas City | 11:41:05 | 13:08:31 | 13:08:41 | 13:08:51 | 14:35:51 | 0:20 | 2:55 | 1.0004 |
| Missouri | Independence | 11:41:24 | 13:08:29 | 13:09:02 | 13:09:36 | 14:36:10 | 1:07 | 2:55 | 1.0017 |
| Missouri | Columbia | 11:45:27 | 13:12:10 | 13:13:29 | 13:14:48 | 14:40:05 | 2:38 | 2:55 | 1.0131 |
| Missouri | Jefferson City | 11:45:53 | 13:12:56 | 13:14:10 | 13:15:25 | 14:40:56 | 2:29 | 2:55 | 1.0098 |
 Illinois | Carbondale | 11:52:12 | 13:19:54 | 13:21:14 | 13:22:33 | 14:47:20 | 2:39 | 2:55 | 1.0135 |
 Kentucky | Paducah | 11:53:50 | 13:22:05 | 13:23:16 | 13:24:26 | 14:49:24 | 2:21 | 2:56 | 1.0081 |
 Tennessee | Clarksville | 11:56:48 | 13:25:23 | 13:26:32 | 13:27:40 | 14:52:21 | 2:17 | 2:56 | 1.0075 |
| Kentucky | Bowling Green | 11:58:27 | 13:27:18 | 13:27:48 | 13:28:17 | 14:53:00 | 0:59 | 2:55 | 1.0014 |
| Tennessee | Nashville | 11:58:18 | 13:27:16 | 13:28:13 | 13:29:10 | 14:53:54 | 1:54 | 2:56 | 1.0047 |
| Tennessee | Murfreesboro | 11:59:21 | 13:29:01 | 13:29:25 | 13:29:49 | 14:55:02 | 0:48 | 2:56 | 1.001 |
| Tennessee | Cookeville | 12:01:03 | 13:29:32 | 13:30:49 | 13:32:07 | 14:55:53 | 2:35 | 2:55 | 1.0118 |
| Tennessee | Cleveland | 13:03:13 | 14:33:01 | 14:33:30 | 14:33:59 | 15:58:35 | 0:58 | 2:55 | 1.0013 |
 North Carolina | Brevard | 13:07:53 | 14:37:05 | 14:37:41 | 14:38:18 | 16:01:37 | 1:13 | 2:54 | 1.0021 |
 South Carolina | Anderson | 13:08:45 | 14:37:40 | 14:38:57 | 14:40:14 | 16:03:02 | 2:34 | 2:54 | 1.0118 |
| South Carolina | Taylors | 13:09:09 | 14:38:07 | 14:39:00 | 14:39:54 | 16:02:47 | 1:47 | 2:54 | 1.0043 |
| South Carolina | Columbia | 13:12:53 | 14:41:39 | 14:42:54 | 14:44:10 | 16:06:12 | 2:31 | 2:53 | 1.0117 |
| South Carolina | Kingstree | 13:15:58 | 14:44:52 | 14:45:46 | 14:46:39 | 16:08:24 | 1:47 | 2:52 | 1.0046 |
| South Carolina | Summerville | 13:15:54 | 14:45:07 | 14:46:08 | 14:47:09 | 16:09:07 | 2:02 | 2:53 | 1.0059 |
| South Carolina | Charleston | 13:16:43 | 14:46:12 | 14:46:57 | 14:47:43 | 16:09:50 | 1:31 | 2:53 | 1.0032 |
| References:[27] | |||||||||
| Country or territory | City or place | Start of partial eclipse | Maximum eclipse | End of partial eclipse | Duration of eclipse (hr:min) | Maximum coverage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canada | Vancouver | 09:09:59 | 10:20:59 | 11:37:31 | 2:28 | 85.97% | |||
| Canada | Toronto | 13:10:25 | 14:31:53 | 15:49:06 | 2:39 | 70.67% | |||
| Canada | Montreal | 13:21:41 | 14:38:16 | 15:50:18 | 2:29 | 58.38% | |||
 United States | Washington, D.C. | 13:17:38 | 14:42:37 | 16:01:30 | 2:44 | 81.15% | |||
 Cuba | Havana | 13:27:07 | 14:58:12 | 16:20:24 | 2:53 | 65.75% | |||
 Bahamas | Nassau | 13:34:30 | 15:05:03 | 16:25:47 | 2:51 | 81.19% | |||
 Bermuda | Hamilton | 14:51:07 | 16:12:33 | 17:25:14 | 2:34 | 81.21% | |||
 Jamaica | Kingston | 12:51:30 | 14:18:25 | 15:34:55 | 2:43 | 59.44% | |||
 Turks and Caicos Islands | Cockburn Town | 13:55:17 | 15:22:08 | 16:38:10 | 2:43 | 80.77% | |||
 Haiti | Port-au-Prince | 13:59:12 | 15:25:10 | 16:40:18 | 2:41 | 69.30% | |||
 Dominican Republic | Santo Domingo | 14:04:09 | 15:29:02 | 16:43:00 | 2:39 | 73.31% | |||
 Puerto Rico | San Juan | 14:11:28 | 15:34:20 | 16:46:26 | 2:35 | 79.93% | |||
 United States Virgin Islands | Cruz Bay | 14:14:11 | 15:36:13 | 16:47:35 | 2:33 | 81.71% | |||
 British Virgin Islands | Road Town | 14:14:19 | 15:36:17 | 16:47:36 | 2:33 | 82.30% | |||
| British Virgin Islands | Spanish Town | 14:14:36 | 15:36:29 | 16:47:42 | 2:33 | 82.69% | |||
 Anguilla | The Valley | 14:17:30 | 15:38:27 | 16:48:53 | 2:31 | 84.19% | |||
 Saint Martin | Marigot | 14:17:47 | 15:38:40 | 16:49:03 | 2:31 | 83.67% | |||
 Sint Maarten | Philipsburg | 14:17:55 | 15:38:47 | 16:49:07 | 2:31 | 83.61% | |||
 Caribbean Netherlands | The Bottom | 14:18:22 | 15:39:10 | 16:49:27 | 2:31 | 81.98% | |||
| Saint Barthélemy | Gustavia | 14:18:32 | 15:39:12 | 16:49:24 | 2:31 | 83.50% | |||
 Saint Kitts and Nevis | Basseterre | 14:19:57 | 15:40:17 | 16:50:09 | 2:30 | 81.77% | |||
 Antigua and Barbuda | St. John's | 14:21:48 | 15:41:31 | 16:50:52 | 2:29 | 82.60% | |||
 Montserrat | Brades | 14:21:50 | 15:41:37 | 16:51:01 | 2:29 | 80.96% | |||
| Guadeloupe | Basse-Terre | 14:24:13 | 15:43:19 | 16:52:08 | 2:28 | 79.15% | |||
 Dominica | Roseau | 14:26:11 | 15:44:43 | 16:53:02 | 2:27 | 77.41% | |||
 Venezuela | Caracas | 14:28:38 | 15:45:26 | 16:52:23 | 2:24 | 52.91% | |||
 Martinique | Fort-de-France | 14:28:06 | 15:46:02 | 16:53:52 | 2:26 | 75.64% | |||
 Saint Lucia | Castries | 14:29:27 | 15:46:59 | 16:54:27 | 2:25 | 73.81% | |||
 Barbados | Bridgetown | 14:33:21 | 15:49:33 | 16:55:57 | 2:23 | 72.94% | |||
 Cape Verde | Praia | 18:00:27 | 18:51:05 | 18:53:20 (sunset) | 0:53 | 79.56% | |||
| References:[27] | |||||||||
.jpg)
.jpg)
A partial eclipse was visible across the width of Canada, ranging from 89 percent inVictoria, British Columbia to 11 percent inResolute, Nunavut.[89] In Ottawa, viewing parties were held at theCanada Aviation and Space Museum.[90] In Toronto, viewing parties were held at the CNE and the Ontario Science Centre.[91]
A partial eclipse was visible fromCentral America,Mexico, theCaribbean islands, and ships and aircraft in and above the adjacent oceans,[92] as well as the northern countries of South America such asColombia,Venezuela, and several others.[10]
On theCaribbean Sea,Bonnie Tyler performed her 1983 song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" live with the pop groupDNCE on board the cruise shipOasis of the Seas, as the ship entered the eclipse's totality path, east ofThe Bahamas.[93][94]
Innorthwestern Europe, a partial eclipse was visible in the evening or at sunset. Only those inIceland,Ireland,Scotland and the PortugueseAzores archipelago saw the eclipse from beginning to end; inWales,England,Norway, theNetherlands,Belgium,France,Spain, andPortugal, sunset occurred before the end of the eclipse. InGermany, the beginning of the eclipse was visible just at sunset only in the extreme northwest of the country. In all regions east of the orange line on the map, the eclipse was not visible.[95]
A partial eclipse was visible during sunrise or morning hours inRussian Far East (includingSevernaya Zemlya andNew Siberian Islands archipelagos).[96][97] For big cities inRussia, the maximal obscuration was inAnadyr, and it was 27.82%.[98]
In some locations inWest Africa and westernNorth Africa, a partial eclipse was seen just before and during sunset.[10] The most favorable conditions to see this eclipse gained the Cape Verde Archipelago with nearly 0.9 magnitude at thePico del Fogo volcano.
A large number of media outlets broadcast coverage of the eclipse, including television and internet outlets. NASA announced plans to offer streaming coverage through itsNASA TV andNASA Edge outlets, using cameras stationed on the ground along the path of totality, along with cameras onhigh-altitude balloons, jets, and coverage from theInternational Space Station; NASA stated that "never before will a celestial event be viewed by so many and explored from so many vantage points—from space, from the air, and from the ground."[99]ABC,CBS, andNBC announced that they would respectively broadcast livetelevision specials to cover the eclipse with correspondents stationed across the path of totality, along withCNN,Fox News Channel,Science, andThe Weather Channel. ThePBS seriesNova presented streaming coverage onFacebook hosted byMiles O'Brien, and aired a special episode chronicling the event—"Eclipse Over America"—later in the day (which marked the fastest production turnaround time inNova history).[100][101]
Other institutions and services also announced plans to stream their perspectives of the eclipse, including theExploratorium inSan Francisco, theElephant Sanctuary ofHohenwald, Tennessee, theSloohrobotic telescopeapp, andThe Virtual Telescope Project. The Eclipse Ballooning Project, a consortium of schools and colleges that sent 50 high-altitude balloons into the sky during the eclipse to conduct experiments, provided streams of footage and GPS tracking of its launches.[99][102] Contact with one balloon with $13,000 of scientific equipment, launched under the aegis of the LGF Museum of Natural History nearVale, Oregon, was lost at 20,000 feet (6,100 m). Given that the balloon was believed to have burst at 100,000 feet (30,000 m), it could have parachuted down anywhere from eastern Oregon toCaldwell, Idaho (most likely) toSun Valley, Idaho; a $1,000 reward is offered for its recovery.[103]
TheNational Solar Observatory organized Citizen CATE volunteers to man 60 identical telescopes and instrumentation packages along the totality path to study changes in the corona over the duration of the eclipse.
.jpg)
Inorbit, theInternational Space Station and the satellitesLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,Solar Dynamics Observatory,Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer,Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, andHinode gathered data from the eclipse.[104]
A viewing party was held at the White House, during which PresidentDonald Trump appeared on theTruman Balcony with First LadyMelania Trump. With the Sun partially eclipsed, President Trump looked briefly in the general direction of the Sun before using solar viewing glasses.[105] Late-night comediansTrevor Noah andConan O’Brien joked about Trump not wearing glasses,[106][107] andThe Independent described it as "perhaps one of the most enduring images of Donald Trump's presidency".[108]
The rapperJoey Badass boasted of watching the solar eclipse without viewing glasses, considering that "our ancestors ain't have no fancy eyewear [and] they ain't all go blind". Unlike the US president, he did not wear viewing glasses during the entire eclipse. Later, he complained of vision problems and had to cancel his Cleveland, Chicago & Toronto shows on the Everybody Tour, due to "unforeseen circumstances".[109]
The eclipse generated reports of abnormal behavior in animal and plant life. Some chickens came out from beneath their coops and began grooming, usually an evening activity. Horses displayed increased whinnying, running, and jumping after the event.Cicadas were reported to grow louder before going silent during totality. Various birds were also observed flying in unusually large formations. Flowers such as theHibiscus closed their petals which typically happens at night, before opening again after the solar event.[110]
Pornhub, a pornographic video-sharing website provided an unusual sociological and statistical report: its traffic dropped precipitously along the path of totality, so much so that its researchers were themselves surprised.[111]
NASA reported over 90 million page views of the eclipse on its websites, making it the agency's biggest online event ever, beating the previous web traffic record about seven times over.[112]
.jpg)
In the months leading up to the eclipse, manycounterfeit glasses were put up for sale. Effectiveeclipse glasses must not only block most visible light, but most UV and infrared light as well. For visible light, the user should only be able to see the Sun, sunlight reflected off shiny metal, halogen bulbs, the filament in unfrosted incandescent bulbs, and similarly intense sources. Determining whether the glasses effectively block enough UV and infrared light requires the use ofspectrophotometer, which is a rather expensive piece of lab equipment.[8][113]
The eye's retina lackspain receptors, and thus damage can occur without one's awareness.[114][115]
TheAmerican Astronomical Society (AAS) said products meeting the ISO 12312-2 standard avoid risk to one's eyes and issued a list of reputable vendors of eclipse glasses. The organization warned against products claiming ISO certification or even citing the same number, but not tested by an accredited laboratory. Another problem was counterfeits of reputable vendors' products, some even claiming the company's name such as with American Paper Optics which published information detailing the differences between its glasses and counterfeits.[116][114]
Andrew Lund, the owner of a company which produces eclipse glasses, noted that not all counterfeit glasses were necessarily unsafe. He stated toQuartz that the counterfeits he tested blocked the majority of harmful light spectrum, concluding that "the IP is getting ripped off, but the good news is there are no long-term harmful effects."[113] As one example, the Springdale Library in metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, accidentally passed out dozens of pairs of counterfeit eclipse glasses, but as of August 23 had not received any reports of eye damage.[117]
On July 27, 2017, Amazon required all eclipse viewing products sold on its website have a submission of origin and safety information, and proof of an accredited ISO certification. In mid-August 2017, Amazon recalled and pulled listings for eclipse viewing glasses that "may not comply with industry standards" and gave refunds to customers who had purchased them.[118][8]
Lensrentals, a camera rental company based inTennessee, reported that many of its customers returned cameras and lenses with extensive damage. The most common problem reported was damage to the camera's sensor. This most often happens when shooting inlive view mode, where the sensor is continuously exposed to the eclipse image and becomes damaged by the Sun's light. Another problem was the heat and brightness of the eclipse destroying the lens iris, which mechanically regulates the amount of light that enters the camera. Another problem reported was one of a cinema camera'sneutral-density filter being damaged by the heat and light of the eclipse. The cost of all of this damage likely amounted to thousands of dollars.[119]
.jpg)
Officials inside and near the path of totality planned – sometimes for years – for the sudden influx of people.[120] Smaller towns struggled to arrange viewing sites and logistics for what could have been a tourism boom or a disaster.[121]
In theAmerican West, illegal camping was a major concern, including near cities likeJackson Hole, Wyoming.[7] Idaho's Office of Emergency Management said Idaho was a prime viewing state, and advised jurisdictions to prepare for service load increases; nearly every hotel and motel room, campground, and in some cases backyards for nearly 100 miles (160 km) north and south of the path of totality had been reserved several months, if not years, in advance.[122] The state anticipated up to 500,000 visitors to join its 1.6 million residents.[123]
Oregon deployed sixNational Guard aircraft and 150 soldiers because the influx of visitors coincided with the state's fire season.[124] Hospital staffing, and supplies of blood and anti–snake bite antidote, were augmented along the totality line.[125]
Also in Oregon, there were reports of hoteliers canceling existing reservations made at the regular market rate and increasing their rate, sometimes threefold or more, for guests staying to view the eclipse.[126] TheOregon Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated various complaints and reached settlements with affected customers of at least 10 hotels in the state.[127] These settlements included refunds to the customers and fines paid to the DOJ.[128]
Although traffic to areas within the path of totality was somewhat spread out over the days prior to the eclipse,[129] there were widespread traffic problems across the United States after the event ended. Michael Zeiler, an eclipse cartographer, had estimated that between 1.85 million and 7.4 million people would travel to the path of the eclipse.[130]
In Oregon, because an estimated one million people were expected to arrive, the Oregon National Guard was called in to help manage traffic inMadras alongUS 26 andUS 97.[131]Madras Municipal Airport received more than 400 mostly personal planes that queued for hours while waiting to leave after the eclipse.[132]
Officials in Idaho, where the totality path crossed the center of the state, began planning for the eclipse a year in advance. Thestate Transportation Department suspended construction projects alongInterstate 15, which traversesEastern Idaho, from August 18–22 in order to have all lanes open;[133]their counterparts in neighboring Utah, where many were expected to travel the 220 miles (350 km) north via the highway from theSalt Lake City metropolitan area, did the same. On the morning of the eclipse, many drivers left before dawn, creating traffic volume alongI-15 normally not seen until morningrush hour; northbound traffic on the interstate inBox Elder County north ofSalt Lake City slowed to 10–15 miles per hour (16–24 km/h).[134] TheIdaho State Police (ISP) stationed a patrol car along I-15 every 15 miles (24 km) betweenShelley and the Utah border.[135]
After the eclipse, traffic more than doubled along I-15 southbound, with extensivetraffic jams continuing for eight hours as viewers who had traveled north into the totality path from Utah returned there and to points south. The ISP tweeted a picture of bumper-to-bumper traffic stalled on the interstate just south ofIdaho Falls. Motorists reported to local news outlets that it was taking them two hours to travel the 47 miles (76 km) from that city toPocatello to the south, a journey that normally takes 45 minutes.[134] Others reported that it took three hours to travel from Idaho Falls to the closer city ofBlackfoot, 30 miles (48 km) farther north of Pocatello.[136]
In the rest of the state the impact was less severe. Traffic nearly doubled onUS 93, and was up 55 percent onUS 20.[137]
For some northbound travelers onI-15, theMontana Department of Transportation had failed to make similar plans to those in Idaho, scheduling a road construction project to begin on August 21 that narrowed a section of the highway to a single northbound lane, near the exit toClark Canyon Dam south ofDillon. Though that stretch of highway generally has a traffic count of less than 1,000 vehicles per day, on the day of the eclipse there were over a thousand vehicles per hour at peak times. As a result, traffic backed up as far asLima, creating a delay of at least an hour for travelers heading northward. Further, as construction had not yet begun, drivers observed cones set up but no workers present on the road. While the state traditionally halts construction projects during high traffic periods, a state official admitted "we ... probably made a bad mistake here in this regard."[129]
In Wyoming, estimates were that the population of the state, officially 585,000, may have doubled or even tripled, with traffic counts on August 21 showing 536,000 more cars than the five-year average for the third Monday in August; a 68 percent increase. One official offered an estimate of "two people in every car" to arrive at a one-million-visitor figure, and others noted that one million was a conservative estimate based on a one-day traffic count of limited portions of major highways. There were additional arrivals by aircraft, plus travelers who arrived early or stayed for additional days.[138] Two days before the eclipse, traffic increased 18 percent over a five-year average, with an additional 131,000 vehicles on the road.[139] Sunday saw an additional 217,000-vehicle increase.[138]
Following the eclipse, more than 500,000 vehicles traveled Wyoming roads, creating large traffic jams, particularly on southbound and eastbound highways.[140] Drivers reported that it took up to 10 hours to travel 160 miles (260 km) into northern Colorado.[138] There was one traffic fatality,[141] and another fatality related to an off-highwayATV accident, but in general there were far fewer incidents and traffic citations than authorities had anticipated.[142]
InTennessee, theKnoxville News Sentinel described the traffic problems created by the eclipse as the worst ever seen inthat part of the state. One backup alongInterstate 75 reached 34 miles (55 km) in length, betweenNiota and theInterstate 40 interchange atFarragut. A spokesman for thestate's Department of Transportation allowed that the traffic jams were the worst he had seen in six and a half years on the job, noting that accidents had aggravated the already heavy traffic flows, attributed the I-75 congestion toKnoxville-area residents heading for the totality path atSweetwater and returning during what was the city's normal afternoon rush hour.[143]
Before the eclipse, state officials had described their traffic expectations as equivalent to that generated by theBonnaroo Music Festival, the twice-a-seasonNASCARCup Series races atBristol or the formerly-heldBoomsday fireworks festival. "Maybe they should have considered a tsunami of traffic combining all three of those heavily attended events", theNews Sentinel commented. TheTennessee Highway Patrol made sure that "[e]very trooper not on sick leave or military leave or pre-approved leave [wa]s working" the day of the eclipse; the state DOT made sure its full complement of emergency-aid HELP trucks were available as well. Alert signs on the highways also warned motorists not to pull over onto the shoulders to watch the eclipse as it could increase the risk of dangerous accidents and block the path of emergency vehicles.[143]
In North Carolina, theDepartment of Transportation added cameras, message boards and safety patrols in the counties where the total eclipse would take place, as well as stopping road work. The department warned that due to "unprecedented" traffic ordinary activities requiring driving might prove difficult, and advised people to act as if there were snow.[144]
In Kentucky, particularly around the Hopkinsville area, which was dubbed "Eclipseville, USA",[145] post-eclipse traffic caused extensive delays. The en masse departure of tourists viaInterstate 69 as well as theWestern Kentucky Parkway resulted in commute times double or even triple of normal.[146][147] The Hopkinsville-to-Lexington commute under normal circumstances lasts three and a half hours.
An eclipse causes a reduction ofsolar power generation where the Moon shadow covers any solar panel, as do clouds.
TheNorth American Electric Reliability Corporation predicted minor impacts,[148] and attempted to measure the impact of the 2017 eclipse.[149] In California, solar power was projected to decrease by 4–6,000 megawatts[150] at 70 MW/minute, and thenramp up by 90 MW/minute as the shadow passes.CAISO's typical ramp rate is 29 megawatts per minute.[151] Around 4 GW mainly in North Carolina and Georgia were expected to be 90 percent obscured.[150]
After the 2017 eclipse, grid operators in California reported having lost 3,000–3,500 megawatts of utility-scale solar power, which was made up for by hydropower and gas reliably and as expected,[152][153] mimicking the usualduck curve.Energy demand management was also used to mitigate the solar drop,[154] and NEST customers reduced their demand by 700 MW.[155]
NV Energy prepared for the solar eclipse months in advance and collaborated with 17 western states. When the eclipse began covering California with partial darkness, which reduced its usual amount of solar-generated electricity, NV Energy sent power there. Likewise, when Nevada received less sunlight, other west coast states supplied electricity to it. During the solar eclipse, the state of Nevada lost about 450 megawatts of electricity, the amount used by about a quarter million typical residences.[citation needed]
On June 20, 2017, theUSPS released the first application ofthermochromic ink to postage stamps in itsTotal Eclipse of the Sun Forever stamp to commemorate the eclipse.[156][157] When pressed with a finger, body heat turns the dark image into an image of thefull moon. The stamp was released prior to August 21, so uses an image from theeclipse of March 29, 2006 seen inJalu,Libya.[157]
.jpg)
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
(Images of the eclipse created by naturalpinholes formed by tree leaves)
.jpg)
Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[158]
| Event | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2017 August 21 at 15:47:59.9 UTC |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2017 August 21 at 16:49:44.5 UTC |
| First Central Line | 2017 August 21 at 16:50:14.5 UTC |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2017 August 21 at 16:50:44.6 UTC |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 2017 August 21 at 18:13:05.6 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2017 August 21 at 18:14:22.8 UTC |
| Greatest Duration | 2017 August 21 at 18:22:57.5 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2017 August 21 at 18:26:40.3 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2017 August 21 at 18:31:19.6 UTC |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 2017 August 21 at 18:40:33.4 UTC |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2017 August 21 at 20:02:48.0 UTC |
| Last Central Line | 2017 August 21 at 20:03:15.4 UTC |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2017 August 21 at 20:03:42.8 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2017 August 21 at 21:05:31.9 UTC |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.03059 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.06211 |
| Gamma | 0.43671 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 10h04m03.9s |
| Sun Declination | +11°51'43.0" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'48.7" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 10h04m30.6s |
| Moon Declination | +12°16'32.8" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'03.4" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°58'55.7" |
| ΔT | 68.8 s |
This eclipse is part of aneclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by afortnight.
| August 7 Descending node (full moon) | August 21 Ascending node (new moon) |
|---|---|
 | |
| Partial lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 119 | Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 145 |
This eclipse is a member of asemester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternatingnodes of the Moon's orbit.[159]
The partial solar eclipse onJuly 13, 2018 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Solar eclipse series sets from 2015 to 2018 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
120._(32844461616).jpg) Totality inLongyearbyen,Svalbard | March 20, 2015 Total | 0.94536 | 125.jpg) Solar Dynamics Observatory | September 13, 2015  Partial | −1.10039 | |
130 Balikpapan,Indonesia | March 9, 2016 Total | 0.26092 | 135 Annularity inL'Étang-Salé,Réunion | September 1, 2016 Annular | −0.33301 | |
140 Partial fromBuenos Aires,Argentina | February 26, 2017 Annular | −0.45780 | 145_-_square_crop.jpg) Totality inMadras, OR, USA | August 21, 2017 Total | 0.43671 | |
150.jpg) Partial inOlivos, Buenos Aires,Argentina | February 15, 2018 Partial | −1.21163 | 155.jpg) Partial inHuittinen,Finland | August 11, 2018 Partial | 1.14758 | |
This eclipse is a part ofSaros series 145, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 77 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse onJanuary 4, 1639. It contains an annular eclipse on June 6, 1891; a hybrid eclipse onJune 17, 1909; and total eclipses fromJune 29, 1927 through September 9, 2648. The series ends at member 77 as a partial eclipse on April 17, 3009. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is oneexeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 15 at 6 seconds (by default) on June 6, 1891, and the longest duration of totality will be produced by member 50 at 7 minutes, 12 seconds on June 25, 2522. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’sascending node of orbit.[160]
| Series members 10–32 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 11 | 12 |
 April 13, 1801 |  April 24, 1819 |  May 4, 1837 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 |
 May 16, 1855 |  May 26, 1873 |  June 6, 1891 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 |
 June 17, 1909 |  June 29, 1927 |  July 9, 1945 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 |
 July 20, 1963 |  July 31, 1981 |  August 11, 1999 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 |
August 21, 2017 |  September 2, 2035 |  September 12, 2053 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 |
 September 23, 2071 |  October 4, 2089 |  October 16, 2107 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
 October 26, 2125 |  November 7, 2143 |  November 17, 2161 |
| 31 | 32 | |
 November 28, 2179 |  December 9, 2197 | |
Themetonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.
| 20 eclipse events between June 10, 1964 and August 21, 2036 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 10–11 | March 28–29 | January 14–16 | November 3 | August 21–22 |
| 117 | 119 | 121 | 123 | 125 |
 June 10, 1964 |  March 28, 1968 |  January 16, 1972 |  November 3, 1975 |  August 22, 1979 |
| 127 | 129 | 131 | 133 | 135 |
 June 11, 1983 |  March 29, 1987 |  January 15, 1991 |  November 3, 1994 |  August 22, 1998 |
| 137 | 139 | 141 | 143 | 145 |
 June 10, 2002 |  March 29, 2006 |  January 15, 2010 |  November 3, 2013 | August 21, 2017 |
| 147 | 149 | 151 | 153 | 155 |
 June 10, 2021 |  March 29, 2025 |  January 14, 2029 |  November 3, 2032 |  August 21, 2036 |
This eclipse is a part of atritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with theanomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 April 4, 1810 (Saros 126) |  March 4, 1821 (Saros 127) |  February 1, 1832 (Saros 128) |  December 31, 1842 (Saros 129) |  November 30, 1853 (Saros 130) |
 October 30, 1864 (Saros 131) |  September 29, 1875 (Saros 132) |  August 29, 1886 (Saros 133) |  July 29, 1897 (Saros 134) |  June 28, 1908 (Saros 135) |
 May 29, 1919 (Saros 136) |  April 28, 1930 (Saros 137) |  March 27, 1941 (Saros 138) |  February 25, 1952 (Saros 139) |  January 25, 1963 (Saros 140) |
 December 24, 1973 (Saros 141) |  November 22, 1984 (Saros 142) |  October 24, 1995 (Saros 143) |  September 22, 2006 (Saros 144) | August 21, 2017 (Saros 145) |
 July 22, 2028 (Saros 146) |  June 21, 2039 (Saros 147) |  May 20, 2050 (Saros 148) |  April 20, 2061 (Saros 149) |  March 19, 2072 (Saros 150) |
 February 16, 2083 (Saros 151) |  January 16, 2094 (Saros 152) |  December 17, 2104 (Saros 153) |  November 16, 2115 (Saros 154) |  October 16, 2126 (Saros 155) |
 September 15, 2137 (Saros 156) |  August 14, 2148 (Saros 157) |  July 15, 2159 (Saros 158) |  June 14, 2170 (Saros 159) |  May 13, 2181 (Saros 160) |
 April 12, 2192 (Saros 161) | ||||
This eclipse is a part of the long periodinex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with theanomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||
|---|---|---|
 January 10, 1815 (Saros 138) |  December 21, 1843 (Saros 139) |  November 30, 1872 (Saros 140) |
 November 11, 1901 (Saros 141) |  October 21, 1930 (Saros 142) |  October 2, 1959 (Saros 143) |
 September 11, 1988 (Saros 144) | August 21, 2017 (Saros 145) |  August 2, 2046 (Saros 146) |
 July 13, 2075 (Saros 147) |  June 22, 2104 (Saros 148) |  June 3, 2133 (Saros 149) |
 May 14, 2162 (Saros 150) |  April 23, 2191 (Saros 151) | |
a unique opportunity for professional astronomers to intermingle with knowledgeable amateurs; gathering together to learn from each other and exchange ideas.
Once we left Hopkinsville ... It took us 10 hours to go 210 miles, and we didn't return to our home in Lexington until just after midnight.
As of 10 p.m., drivers were still on the roads trying to get back to Louisville more than seven hours after leaving Hopkinsville.
The analysis performed in this study showed no reliability impacts to bulk power system (BPS) operations.
causes substantial effects to wide-scale solar generation within a very short amount of time. The output generated by PV/solar systems will be either diminished or drastically reduced within the window of this event. Sudden widespread diminishing of solar irradiance may heavily affect areas with large amounts of utility scale PV energy installations or behind-the-meter DERs.
Today's eclipse is a test run for the electricity community. So we have exactly the same challenge on a regular basis within the grid because of solar.
.jpg)
