In case you haven’t been paying attention, there will be a RARE opportunity to view a total (or near total, depending on your exact location) solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. It will be visible in totality only within a band across the entire contiguous United States. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth’s surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of miles wide. The last time a total solar eclipse was visible across the entire contiguous United States was was 1918. 1979 had an eclipse that was visible in the Pacific Northwest and 1991 had one visible only to Hawaii. So this is a big deal!
Tip #1 – Know what a solar eclipse is.
From Wikipedia:
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse is a type of eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks (“occults”) the Sun. This can happen only at new moon when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth in an alignment referred to as syzygy. In a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses, only part of the Sun is obscured.
See more about a Solar Eclipse.
Tip #2 – Know when to look based on where you are located!
Space.com has a great guide to the solar eclipse so you can look up where the best viewing spots are, when you need to be watching and what you can expect to see (not every where in the US will be able to see the total eclipse, but a partial eclipse is great too!)
Tip #3 – Be Prepared! Safety first!
The most important thing to note about the solar eclipse is that you MUST have eclipse viewing glasses to safely view any portion of the eclipse. (Except when totality occurs if you are in the totality zone. Then you can take them off until totality is over.)
Which means you’ll have to do a little planning ahead and order glasses in time enough for them to arrive before the eclipse!
You can find plenty of eclipse viewing glasses options for sale on Amazon. Be sure to confirm all shipping times just to make sure they will arrive before the eclipse!
The safest bet would be to stick with the items that are eligible for Prime shipping. Like these:
OneAccess Solar Eclipse Glasses – CE and ISO Certified Safe Solar Total Eclipse Shades (10 pack) – $13.99 + free shipping with Amazon Prime or on orders of $25 or more.
Solar Eclipse Glasses | ISO & CE Certified Safe Solar Eclipse Shades | Viewer and Filters | Protection For All Ages (5 Pack) – $12.45 + free shipping with Amazon Prime or on orders of $25 or more.
Will you be trying to view the eclipse?
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