Total solar eclipse a year away; path crosses Oregon
One year and counting! On Monday, August 21 , 2017, Oregon is on the center line for a total solar eclipse , and several cities around the state will experience maximum totality.
How can you watch the eclipse ? One option: Join the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem to celebrate this fascinating experience. The Solar Eclipse Viewing Party will include science lectures, astronomy-related community groups, entertainment, and more.
On the beach in Oregon, just north of Newport, the shadow will first touch land at about 10:15 a.m. People there will experience a full minute and fifty seconds of totality. The actual centerline of the eclipse path willreach solid ground six seconds later, and plunge Lincoln Beach and Depoe Bay into darkness for one minute and 58 seconds!
In only two minutes, the shadow will race eastward toward its first date with a large population of people who will be breathlessly awaiting its arrival. Salem, Dallas, Albany, Corvallis, Lebanon, Philomath, McMinnville and Woodburn will experience various lengths of totality based on their varying distances from the centerline.
“At the Oregon State Fairgrounds, we will be treated to one minute and 53 seconds of shadow at just after 10:17 a.m.,” said Jim Todd, OMSI’s director of space science education.
The eclipse will travel through the forests of Central Oregon, arriving at the mountains and Madras and Warm Springs at about 10:19 a/m. Mitchell and Prairie City will be next, and the shadow will leave Oregon just north of Ontario.
The majority of the Pacific Northwest, including Portland and Eugene, will NOT be in the path of totality. Instead, they will witness a partial eclipse ranging from 88% to 99 percent.
The eclipse will continue across the United States, where Illinois will experience the longest eclipse duration at two minutes and 41 seconds. South Carolina will be the last state to witness the eclipse and the final shadow will be over the Atlantic Ocean near the west coast of Africa.
Only look at the sun when it is 100 percent covered. You must use special solar viewing glasses whenever the sun isn’t completely eclipse d or it may cause irreparable eye damage.
View a detailed maps of the eclipse path in Oregon here.
http://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/oregon/
Photo: http://www.eclipse-maps.com/…/GreatAmericanEclipse_2560x160 …
Where will you be on August 21 , 2017? Make your plans soon!
