Here Comes the Eclipse

The countdown to the 2017 total eclipse of the sun is now just days away. Nevada is in a location that will support a good partial-eclipse view. However, places from which to experience the total eclipse are reachable within an easy day’s drive.

The total eclipse, which will take place on Aug. 21, can be seen along a 70-mile stretch beginning in Oregon and making its way across the United States to South Carolina. Idaho is a prime location for Nevada eclipse travelers.

It will begin at 9:06 a.m. in Madras, OR. The sky will go dark with the total eclipse at 10:19 a.m. and last about 120 seconds. It will finish in Columbia, SC, with the eclipse beginning at 1:03 p.m. and the total eclipse starting at 2:41 p.m.

A solar eclipse means that for a while the moon will block the sun’s rays or some of the sun’s rays, as in a partial eclipse.

Special glasses or viewing techniques must be used to view the eclipse safely.

Just how many people plan to drive into the path of totality is hard to predict because there is no recent precedent. It has been 40 years since the last total eclipse over the U.S.

About 200 million people live within a day’s drive of the eclipse path in the United States.

Michael Zeiler, an eclipse cartographer, has estimated up to 7.4 million people may take the time to drive into the total eclipse’s path.

“Imagine 20 Woodstock festivals occurring simultaneously across the nation,” he said.

The Federal Highway Administrations recommends that eclipse travelers be in place a minimum of 2 hours before totality.