August 21, 2017, is a day you are going to want to mark on your calendar, especially if you live in the central part of the United States on a line roughly from Newport, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. This is the date of the American eclipse that will provide a minute or more of darkness if you are close to the path.
Factors Impacting Visibility
Of course, there are several things that will come into play with regards to how much of the full total American eclipse you will be able to see. Even if you live outside of the states under the trajectory of the eclipse, you will see be able to see some variation in the sun, which will decrease with distance from the main path.
The other factor that always comes into play when planning to see the American eclipse or any other eclipse is how cooperative the weather will be. A cloudy or rainy day is certainly going to limit the effects, but there will be some change in the overall lighting unless there are extreme storm conditions.
Getting the Best View
To help to prepare for the American eclipse here are some helpful tips.
* Find a great location – often by traveling a few miles one direction you may be able to get a much better view of the total eclipse. There are several excellent websites, including the NASA site, that provides detailed information about the best locations in each state to see the eclipse for the maximum amount of time.
* Have the right viewing supplies – the best option for viewing any type of eclipse, including a total eclipse or a partial eclipse is to use specialized eclipse glasses or handheld solar filters. These are not only fun to wear and comfortable, but they are very reasonably priced. Choosing either a paper frame with the UV, infrared and visible light filters that are safe to watch the eclipse are under a dollar for each one, and the plastic glasses, which can be used again and again, are also less than twenty dollars.
* Choose an unobstructed area – large trees, big buildings or even being under umbrellas or other types of shelters can limit your ability to see the full effects of a total eclipse. Choose an open area where you have full visibility of the sky to really get the full effect of the amazing change as the eclipse happens.
Remember, the American eclipse only lasts for about 2 minutes or less depending on where you are located. Know the time of the eclipse for your area and be prepared to be in position well in advance.
