In less than a week, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun in the middle of the day blocking between 20 to 100% of the Sun’s light across the continental United States as it does. How can you prepare for the solar eclipse?
In less than a week, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun in the middle of the day blocking between 20 to 100% of the Sun’s light across the continental United States as it does.
How much of an eclipse will I see?
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The geographic region that will see a total solar eclipse, known as the path of totality, is 70 miles wide, hitting land westward of Salem, Oregon (just south of Portland) around 10:15am and moving out over the Atlantic Ocean around 2:50pm just after passing through Columbia, South Carolina. Other cities in the path of totality include Salem, Oregon, Nashville, Tennessee, and parts of both Kansas City and St Louis. For detailed maps of the path of totality, check out the website eclipse2017.org.
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.