A total solar eclipse will occur on Monday, August 21, 2017.

The event has been

described as the "Great American Eclipse" as it will be visible in totality only
within a band across the entire contiguous United States.[1] The last time a total
solar eclipse was visible across the entire contiguous United States was during the
June 8, 1918 eclipse.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby
totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total
solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's,
blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a
narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a
surrounding region thousands of kilometers wide.

This eclipse is the 22nd of the 77 members of Saros series 145, the one that also
produced the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999. Members of this series are
increasing in duration. The longest eclipse in this series will occur on June 25,
2522 and last for 7 minutes and 12 seconds.

Visibility

The total eclipse will have a magnitude of 1.0306 and will be visible from a narrow
corridor through the United States. It will be first seen from land in the US
shortly after 10:15 a.m. PDT at Oregon's Pacific coast, then will progress eastward
through Salem, Casper, Lincoln, Kansas City, Nashville, and finally Charleston. A
partial eclipse will be seen for a greater time period, beginning shortly after 9
a.m. PDT at Oregon's Pacific coast.

The longest duration of totality will be 2 minutes 41.6 seconds at 37°35′0″N

89°7′0″W in Giant City State Park just south of Carbondale, Illinois and the
greatest extent will be at 36°58′0″N 87°40′18″W near Cerulean, Kentucky between
Hopkinsville and Princeton, Kentucky.[2][3] It will be the first total solar
eclipse visible from the southeastern United States since the solar eclipse of
March 7, 1970.

A partial solar eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's
penumbra, including all of North America, northern South America, western Europe,
and Africa.
Related eclipses over the United States
Detailed map of the path in the United States

This eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the United States
since the solar eclipse of July 11, 1991[4] (which was seen only from part of
Hawaii),[5] and the first visible from the contiguous United States since 1979.[6]

The path of totality of the solar eclipse of February 26, 1979 passed only through
the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. Many visitors
traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the eclipse, since it was the last chance
to view a total solar eclipse in the contiguous United States for almost four
decades.[7][8]

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 July 10, 1972 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.[9]
The August 2017 eclipse will be the first with a path of totality crossing the US's
Pacific coast and Atlantic coast since 1918. Also, its path of totality makes
landfall exclusively within the United States, making it the first such eclipse
since the country's independence in 1776. (The path of totality of the eclipse of
June 13, 1257, was the last to make landfall exclusively on lands currently part of
the US.[10])

The path of this eclipse crosses the path of the upcoming total solar eclipse of
April 8, 2024, with the intersection of the two paths being in southern Illinois in
Makanda Township at Cedar Lake just south of Carbondale. A small land area,
including the cities of Makanda, Carbondale, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Paducah,
Kentucky, will thus experience two total solar eclipses within a span of fewer than
seven years.

The solar eclipse of August 12, 2045 will have a very similar path of totality over
the US, about 400 km (250 mi) to the southwest, also crossing the US's Pacific
coast and Atlantic coast; however, duration of totality will last over twice as
long.[11]

An eclipse of comparable length (up to 3 minutes 8 seconds) occurred over the

contiguous United States on March 7, 1970 along the southeast US coast, from
Florida to Virginia.[12]
Total eclipse viewing events
Oregon

Salem, Oregon – The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry will host an event at
the Oregon State Fairgrounds.[13]
Madras, Oregon – The city will sponsor a four-day Solarfest at two locations.
[14][15]
Prineville, Oregon – Symbiosis Gathering will be hosting a Global Eclipse
Gathering.[16] Dubbed Oregon Eclipse,[17] the event will feature music, workshops,
and art.

Idaho

Rexburg, Idaho – Brigham Young University Idaho will offer a series of eclipse
related educational events.[18]

Wyoming

Casper, Wyoming – The Astronomical League, an alliance of amateur astronomy

clubs, will hold its annual Astrocon conference,[19] and there will be other public
events, called Wyoming Eclipse Festival 2017.[20]

Nebraska

Alliance, Nebraska – Entertainment and educational seminars will be offered.

[21]
Grand Island, Nebraska – The Stuhr Museum will host an eclipse viewing event,
including the launch of a NASA eclipse observing balloon.[22]

Missouri

Near St. Louis – Festival with camping, live music, live art.[23]

Kansas City, Missouri – A 5-mile bicycle ride from downtown KCMO (where
totality will only last about 30 seconds) to Macken Park in North Kansas City
(where totality will last 1 minute 13 seconds) has been organized by KC Pedal Party
Club, a local Meetup group.[24]
 St. Clair, Missouri – An event organized by the St. Clair City Chamber of
Commerce.
St. Joseph, Missouri – An event organized by Front Page Science will be held at
Rosecrans Memorial Airport.[25]
Lathrop, Missouri – The city will celebrate its 150th anniversary with an
eclipse festival.[26]
Boonville, Missouri – The city will sponsor an eclipse festival at the
Boonville Airport.[27]

Illinois

Carbondale, Illinois – The area is calling itself the Eclipse Crossroads of

America since it will also be in totality during the Solar eclipse of April 8,
2024, and since Giant City State Park, just south of the city, will experience the
longest period of totality during the eclipse (approximately 2 minutes and 40
seconds). Southern Illinois University will sponsor many eclipse related
educational events, including the two day Crossroads Astronomy, Science and
Technology Expo, and viewing at Saluki Stadium.[28]
Carterville, Illinois – A three-day rock festival called Moonstock will be
headlined by Ozzy Osbourne, who will perform during the eclipse.[29]
Goreville, Illinois – View the eclipse with the University of Illinois
Astronomy Department.[30]

Kentucky

Hopkinsville, Kentucky – A four-day eclipse festival will be held at Jefferson

Davis State Historic Site.[31]
Bowling Green, Kentucky — Western Kentucky University will host 15,000 K-12
students in its football stadium.[32]

Tennessee

Clarksville, Tennessee – Austin Peay State University will present several

educational events, including an appearance by astronaut Rhea Seddon.[33]
Nashville, Tennessee – The largest city in the path of totality is offering
many special events, including the Music City Eclipse Science & Technology Festival
at the Adventure Science Center.[34]
Cookeville, Tennessee – Tennessee Technological University will be hosting a
solar eclipse viewing party at Tucker Stadium, which is open to the public. The
city of Cookeville will be hosting special events Saturday-Monday.[35]

North Carolina

Bryson City, North Carolina – Planetarium shows will be offered, as well as

rides on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad to an eclipse location.[36]

South Carolina

Greenville, South Carolina – Viewing at Furman University.[37] Events include

streaming coverage from NASA, educational activities, and live music.[38]
Long Creek, South Carolina – Chattooga Belle Farm will host a festival
featuring astronomy talks.[39]
Columbia, South Carolina – The South Carolina State Museum will host four days
of educational events, including an appearance by Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke.
[40]

Impact

The eclipse will cause a reduction of solar power where the shadow reaches solar
panels. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation measures impacts of
this event,[41] and predicts minor impacts.[42] In California, solar power may
decrease by 6,000 Megawatt at 70 MW/minute, and then ramp up by 90 MW/minute as the
shadow passes. CAISO’s typical ramp rate is 29 megawatts per minute.[43] The Solar
eclipse of March 20, 2015 caused manageable solar power decreases in Europe;[44] in
Germany, solar power dropped from 14 GW to 7 GW, of a 38 GW solar power capacity.
[45]
Viewing from outside the United States
Canada

A partial eclipse will be visible across the width of Canada, ranging from 89% in
Victoria, British Columbia to 11% in Resolute, Nunavut.[46]
Central America, Mexico, Caribbean islands

A partial eclipse will be visible from Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean
islands.
Europe
The boundaries of the sunset partial eclipse in Western Europe. Calculation with
EclipseDroid with atmospheric refraction.

In northwestern Europe, the eclipse will only be visible as a partial eclipse, in

the evening or at sunset. Only Iceland, Ireland and Scotland will see the eclipse
from beginning to end; in the rest of the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium,
France, Spain and Portugal, sunset will occur before the end of the eclipse. In
Germany, only in the extreme northwest the beginning of the eclipse might be
visible just at sunset. In all regions east of the orange line in the map, the
eclipse will be invisible.[47]