News and Other Coverage of the Coming 2017 Solar Eclipse
The first grand solar eclipse of this century and the first one in 99 years will be taking place on Monday, August 21, 2017. Here in New York City we can expect it to take place in mid-afternoon; although unfortunately we’ll only be getting a partial eclipse and not the full deal. For that you’d have to be situated along its 70 mile ‘path of totality’ which stretches from central Oregon to South Carolina.
According to the Time and Date website we should expect to catch the beginnings of our version of the event at 1:23 pm with maximum viewing over an hour later at 2:44 pm and the ending at 4:00 pm. That’s quite a bit of time, isn’t it? It’d have been interesting to see local authorities preparing us all for a full eclipse but, as mentioned, we won’t get to enjoy it all and we’ll have to wait another seven years for the next full eclipse which would then be stretching from the southwest through to New England and encompassing all of New York State.
As for near and far-reaching pre-coverage, one can easily imagine all the hubbub that’s going on all over.
The NY Post’s latest read makes mention of how highway officials in certain states expect traffic to pick up as folks head towards those locales with better vantage points. CNBC talks about the effects this major event will have on the nation’s power grids considering the diminished levels of solar power generation on Monday. Obviously those areas relying heavily on solar generation will be the most affected. Funnily enough, we made fun of the need for mega doses of sunscreen in our Eclipse of 2017 Quiz. Little did we know that wearing it is actually advisable, as noted by the Business Insider.
Then of course there are all the warnings. Witnessing the eclipse first hand doesn’t go without its dangers.
WTHR, an NBC affiliate in Indiana, shares the story of Gard Ferguson and MyPalmBeachPost shares that of Neil Brown both of whom suffered permanent eye damage as children whilst witnessing first hand an eclipse. Relatedly speaking would be the Lincoln Journal Star’s warnings of fake eclipse glasses; and over at CNN is cautionary advice as to the dangers of looking up at the sun during this rare occurrence.
Besides the above mentioned items are the many more worthy online news references; but nothing quite beats the information provided by the experts. We’ve listed a number of important links to help you in your direct and indirect enjoyment of this historical event. We wish you safety.
- NASA’s set of Eclipse 101 pages…including a link therein concerning safety
- https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/
- National Weather Service – Eclipse Information Page
- https://observer.globe.gov/science-connections/eclipse2017
- NYC Department of Parks & Recreation’s eclipse page
- NYC.gov ::: Eclipse Tips: Mayor de Blasio Shares Safety Tips Ahead of the Solar Eclipse
- USA Today’s How can you safely view the eclipse? And 38 other questions, answered
Aside from the above list there’s as well NASA’s Eclipse Ballooning Project featuring live streams as the event is viewed from many locations along its route.