Planning for the Solar Eclipse

August 21 is going to be an exciting day for a large portion of the United States, the day of the “Great American Eclipse” as it has been referred to. On this day the moon will pass between the sun and Earth, blocking all direct sunlight thus turning the afternoon sky dark for a few minutes. The eclipse will begin in Oregon and make its way through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina before exiting through South Carolina. Viewing events have been scheduled for many locations within these states.

NASA is predicting August 21 to be one of the worst travel days in national history. This is because an estimated 37 million people either live within the path of totality or reside within a day’s drive of it. While many sky watching enthusiasts have had their travel plans in place for months or even years, that doesn’t mean it’s too late to make plans for your family to enjoy this historic event. First, decide if this is something your family would be interested in doing. Just because your next door neighbor may be totally nerding out over it doesn’t mean your family wants to see it. Second, decide it this is something you can easily drive to from your home or do you need to make lodging reservations. If you need lodging, start looking now! I know this isn’t great timing considering the total solar eclipse is fast approaching, but I literally just started blogging today. Haha!

I highly recommend visiting either eclipse2017.nasa.gov or greatamericaneclipse.com for more details and to look at the map and path of totality. It’s possible there are still hotel rooms available. At this point you can expect them to be more expensive than they would have been a year ago. Also, anyone planning to view the eclipse (whether total or even partial) should get a pair of solar viewing glasses. It’s important to mention that your typical pair of sunglasses cannot be used in place of the solar viewing glasses. Eye protection is required! Both of the websites mentioned above have links on where to purchase. We ordered ours from Amazon. If you’re in the path of totality your glasses should be removed during the few minutes of totality in order to see the sun’s corona. Eye protection must be used at all other times.

Places that have been referred to as excellent viewing locations include:

Madras, Oregon: A little over an hour from Portland, Oregon this city is supposed to offer some of the best weather chances in the country. Plus you can say you were one of the first people in the country to see it.

Snake River Valley, Idaho: The Snake River Valley has historically clear skies that time of year, and the scenery is gorgeous.

Casper, Wyoming: Casper has good weather chances and an uncrowded highway system that allows for mobility in the case of cloudy skies. It should come as no surprise that the Astronomical League is holding their annual Astrocon Conference in Casper the day before.

Sandhills of Western Nebraska: Tryon, Nebraska is supposed to be an excellent viewing location. Because this area is flat there will be little interference by trees, terrain, or structures.

St. Joseph, Missouri: A large eclipse viewing party is being held at the Rosecrans Memorial Airport.

Carbondale, Illinois: This city has the distinction of having totality during a solar eclipse twice in just seven years, this year and again in 2024. The paths of both eclipses cross just south of Carbondale. Southern Illinois University in Carbondale is having a huge public viewing event at its football stadium, and NASA will broadcast live from it. Tickets are still available at a cost.

Hopkinsville, Kentucky: People there will enjoy the eclipse for 2 minutes and 41 seconds. A four-day festival has been planned and it is an easy drive from Mammoth Cave if you already have plans to visit.

Nashville, Tennessee: Nashville is the largest metro area in the line of totality. If you’ve needed an excuse to tour the music city, this is it! While hotels may be hard to come by in Nashville, consider looking for a place outside of the city that would be close enough for you to easily drive from.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park: Tickets are required to watch from Clingmans Dome which is the highest point in the park but events are planned for Cades Cove and Oconaluftee. Keep in mind this is the most visited National Park in the country, so expect even longer entrance lines as people make their way to the park for the event. Anywhere in the western park of the park should offer an excellent view.

Columbia, South Carolina: While some kids may already be back to school at this point, many families will still be enjoying time on the beaches of South Carolina. Myrtle Beach, a popular beach destination for families is only about a 2 1/2 hour drive to either Columbia or Charleston which is another town with good chances for a great view.

Do keep in mind that weather may play a factor in viewing and if planning to drive to a city, allow yourself extra time for travel as roads are likely to be more congested than normal as people try to get themselves into position prior to the eclipse. I’ll admit I wasn’t too sure about the whole thing initially. We were in the middle of planning our trip to Walt Disney World when Kris mentioned wanting us all to see the eclipse. While it seems to be picking up popularity due to frequent mentions in the news and social media, I’ve still had to explain to many of my friends why we’re making the 10 hour drive from our house in Virginia to Kentucky for this. Since I’m known to plan we decided to combine the event with a trip to Mammoth Cave and Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace since both are fairly close to where we’ll be in Kentucky. Expect a blog post about both places and our total solar eclipse viewing experience.