You’re in the middle of a cone of night surrounded by normal daylight. You can see the stars in the sky even though far off, on the horizon around you, the Sun is still shining. During the totality, the Moon turns day into night. In 2017, while over North America, the totality phase of the eclipse will last from 1 minute 43 seconds to 2 minutes 41 seconds while it’s over Shawnee National Forest just south of Carbondale, Illinois. The time the sun spends totally blocked varies. Outside it, people will still know the eclipse is happening, but they won’t experience the point when the Moon totally covers the Sun. The 2017 solar eclipse will have a band of totality about 67 miles in diameter. Because the Moon is smaller than the Sun, although much closer to Earth, the shadow it casts is a narrow band. However, when the Moon’s apparent diameter is large enough to fully block out the Sun’s light, that’s a total solar eclipse. Usually it’s only a partial shadow or eclipse. With the Sun’s source of light behind the Moon, it casts its shadow on the Earth. Because the Moon’s orbit is elliptical, every once in a great while the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun. You’ll enjoy it most if you protect your eyesight with Shade 14 solar eclipse glasses.Īs the Earth rotates once every 24 hours while revolving around the Sun once a year, the Moon revolves around the Earth at a 5 degree angle every four weeks, creating the lunar cycle.
It’s also the first total solar eclipse to sweep the entire width of the United States from West Coast (Oregon) to East Coast (South Carolina) since 1918. Next year, August 21, 2017, millions of people will experience the most spectacular astronomical event, the first total solar eclipse to hit North American since 1979. Shade 14 glasses are the safe way to view a solar eclipse. View the Eclipse With Only Shade 14 Solar Eclipse Glasses