Best Places To View The Total Solar Eclipse in 2017

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On August 21, 2017, some lucky viewers will witness the first total solar eclipse visible from the Continental U.S in nearly 40 years!  The “path of totality” will cover an approximately 70 mile wide area that will sweep across the country over 12 states from South Carolina to Oregon.   Nashville, TN is the largest city that is completely inside the viewing area, but I will show you all of the best places to view the total solar eclipse this year!

Total Solar Eclipse August 21, 2017
The “path of totality” is a 7 mile wide area in which the eclipse will be visible.

A solar eclipse occurs only when the moon gets between Earth and the sun and casts a shadow over Earth. Many factors determine if this produces a total solar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse or an annular solar eclipse.

Total solar eclipse viewed from Woleai Island in Micronesia in 2016
Total solar eclipse viewed from Woleai Island in Micronesia in 2016

Total eclipses are a rare event, and one that has its path of totality over such a populated area is even rarer.  The eclipse in August will be the first one whose path lies completely within the United States since 1776!  Check to see if your city is in the path of totality and if not, consider planning a trip around this rare event.

Top 10 Best Places to View The Total Solar Eclipse

Here are the places you will want to be for the best view of the eclipse, according to GreatAmericanEclipse.com.  You should be able to see it to some degree as long as you are inside the 70 mile wide “path of totality”.  Don’t expect to see much outside this band.  Click on each location for more information.

  1. Madras, Oregon

  2. Snake River Valley, Idaho

  3. Casper, Wyoming

  4. Sandhills of western Nebraska

  5. St. Joseph, Missouri

  6. Carbondale, Illinois

  7. Hopkinsville, Kentucky

  8. Nashville, Tennessee

  9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park – North Carolina

  10. Columbia, South Carolina

Protect Your Eyes

If you plan on witnessing this eclipse, remember that you should never look directly at the sun without eye protection.  You will need to get some eclipse glasses for the occasion!

Solar Eclipse Glasses

 

We had plans to view the eclipse from Nashville but unfortunately my husband has a work conference that week so we had to cancel our plans.  Do you plan on viewing the eclipse?

 

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