“Total solar eclipse on Tuesday, March 8, 2016,
as seen from an airplane over the North Pacific Ocean.”
Photo credit: Dan McGlaun, eclipse2017.org via AP

– “Book your hotel for next year’s total solar eclipse”
* ‘Great American Eclipse’ set for Aug. 21, 2017 – first in US in nearly 4 decades
* Tourism industry giddy over eclipse chasers, especially in states like Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and NC and SC
* Depending on the location, the eclipse will be total for less than 30 seconds to as long as 2 minutes, 41 seconds.

“Where’s the best place to watch next year’s eclipse? If you’re thinking the grand open spaces of Wyoming, you have plenty of company.”

“Solar eclipses, which happen when the moon passes directly between the Earth and sun, are not rare, but they seldom happen in such easily accessible places.

A roughly 65-mile-wide zone, called the path of totality, will offer the best viewing as the moon’s shadow races over the Earth’s surface at more than 2,000 mph. Stars and planets come out, and the sun’s corona glows in a perfect circle around the dark side of the moon as the effect of a sunset appears in all directions.

Depending on the location, the eclipse will be total for less than 30 seconds to as long as 2 minutes, 41 seconds.”

“Astrocon2017, next year’s annual convention of more than 240 U.S. amateur astronomy groups in the Astronomical League, will bring dozens of experts to Casper over the four days leading up to the eclipse. Lyon, who sells insurance in Salt Lake City by day, is organizing the event,” quoting Mead Gruver, Associated Press.
Read more


– UPDATE: August 21, 2016
“‘Great American Eclipse’ visits Northwest in one year”
By Ben Dery and Doyle Rice, USA Today, KING.
Click here