total solar eclipse visible coast-to-coast in US

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

In exactly 9 years. :smiley:

The hard part will be guessing where the skies will be clear.

There’s already lots of info on the Web, including Google Earth and Maps plots.

Interestingly, it’s in the same Saros cycle as the eclipse that clipped SW England in 1999. http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1999-08-11.gif

And for those of us older folks who might remember the eclipse that clipped Maine in 1963, that’s also in the same Saros. http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1963-07-20.gif

2

I know, I’m kinda pumped. Only about 50 miles away too! Wonder how much the plane rides will cost? It’d suck to be overcast that day.

3

Eight years ago I made plans to be in Carbondale Illinois for it. I talked with people about it less than a year ago and all plans are still valid. It helps that we are all currently “local”.

4

We have friends in Salem, Oregon. The ‘center’ of the eclipse path will be about 10 miles south of their house.

We’ll be visiting :slight_smile:

5

Eight-year-old totnak is already making plans for a visit to the US West Coast to see this :smiley:

6

Way cool! Looks like a road trip is in order.
Got a sister and a niece in the St Louie area who had better expect company…

7

I’m sooo glad I’m not the only astro-nerd looking forward to this. I recently informed my husband that we will be vacationing in South Carolina with the (currently non-existent) kids during that summer. He looked at me like I announced we were going to join the circus, but just smiled and agreed. He’s used to me dragging him outside for meteor showers and stuff, but THIS is going to be the best!

8

With my luck, I won’t be in the US when it happens. I missed seeing the total solar eclipse of 2006 by two weeks. (Okay, apparently it was only partial in Bulgaria, but it was total in Turkey, so it must have been pretty close to total). I was especially grumpy about missing it because years ago, manhattan and I had joked about having an Ankara EclipseDope and then I came so close to actually seeing it!

9

Oh yes, I will be traveling to see this. It looks like I won’t have to go terribly far.

10

I’m currently trying to decide whether it’s worth going to Asia for the eclipse of July 22 next year. It’ll be the longest of the 21st century; unfortunately the track looks pretty cloudy at that time of year.

Shanghai will see 5 minutes of totality, but the chances of clear skies aren’t so great. Having said that, it would be a cool place to visit anyhow.

I would urge everyone who can get to see a total eclipse to do so. Don’t think “Well it’ll be 98% here so I may as well stay put” or whatever - even a 99% eclipse is nothing at all to totality. I’ve seen three now (1999 in Hungary, 2001 in Zambia and 2002 in Australia) and I have to see more :slight_smile: If I miss next year’s, I’ll be there in 2017…

11

Well, with this old pc, my clunky old browser and a dial-up line, I can’t get those fancy maps to work for me. I’m pretty sure I’m sitting nicely for the eclipse, so I’m thinking about sacrificing a goat, to persuade the sun to return. (And if it so happens that the goat gets barbecued and eaten, so be it.) I’m at about 38° 7’ N, 90° 37’ W, if anyone wants to confirm my eclipse viewing situation.

12

And if you miss this one, the continental US will get another total solar eclipse about six years afterwards. There’s even a spot in the Midwest that will see both eclipses.