For the first metre in nearly 100 class , the shadow of a full solar eclipse is go away to sweep across the United States .
The umbra — the darkest shadow cast by the moon blocking the Lord’s Day — will come along in the Pacific Ocean andslice through 14 US stateson Monday , August 21 .
start around 10 a.m. PDT , parts of westerly Oregon will go benighted in a conditioncalled totalityas the umbra travels east . The elliptical shadow will make its room to Idaho Falls by 11:33 MDT , hit Kansas City at 1 p.m. CDT , and get to clear over Charleston , South Carolina , by about 2:45 p.m. EDT .
An illustration of a total solar eclipse.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Although some eclipse fan spendyears preparingfor the event , entirety lasts less than three minutes — so all it takes is one isolated swarm to obliterate the magic moment .
That ’s why some citizenry devote thousands of dollars to vanish in chartered special K and pursue the lunation ’s shadow . In addition to beating the odds of bad weather condition , such hard-core " occultation chaser " can extend their length of time in the umbra , sometimesby several minutes .
I was golden enough to ride an eclipse - chasing flight on August 1 , 2008 . Here ’s what the experience was like .
A US map of the total solar eclipse’s shadow on 29 December 2024. The umbral shadow will be about 60-70 miles wide, depending on the time and location.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
Total solar eclipse are n’t rare — they materialize about once every 18 calendar month — but most locations on Earth shine in one ’s path approximately once every 375 old age .
Source : Amber Porter / Clemson University
That ’s because the umbra average less than 100 land mile wide near the equator — a fraction of a per centum of Earth ’s dayside aerofoil area .
An airplane flies in front of the crescent of a solar eclipse.Shutterstock
However , some hardcore occultation chasers pass thousands of dollars to chase the synodic month ’s shadow from the sky .
Totality ended after three minutes with the appearance of a second " diamond ring " on the opposite side of the moon . The occultation stage then moved in reversion as the umbra sped eastwards ahead of our super C .
After totality , two passengers — Joel Moskowitz and Craig Small — march a custom eclipse flag around the cabin . The two were the most devout eclipse chasers I ’d ever met . " I have no intention of ever missing an eclipse for the rest of my life . I do n’t care where it is , even in the remotest area of the Earth , " Small assure me . " I have to be there , I will be there . "
" When you see one , you require to see more . You get hooked , " Moskowitz add . " Seeing the corona during totality is well than sex . "
The misstep was n’t over , though : The aeroplane banked firmly and turned toward the North Pole . At the time , it looked like this — a bunch of fractured sea trash .
The only indication that we ’d arrived at the Pole was an annunciation over the intercommunication system .
Joel Moskowitz (left) and Craig Small (right).Dave Mosher
Back on the tarmac in Düsseldorf , the group snapped a celebratory photo , and then everyone began making their agency home .
That evening I watch the sun set on the Rhine River and reverberate on my experience . More than anything , I felt humbled .
There ’s nothing like an epic astronomical alignment to make you sense like you ’re riding a starship through an infinite emptiness .
This animation demonstrate the total solar eclipse of March 9 , 2016 , from the vantage of the NASA climate satellite DSCOVR .
Read next on Business Insider : Here ’s what the solar eclipse will look like from different cities around the US
