Hello Friends,
I've been promoting the 2017 Total Eclipse of the Sun for over two years, explaining to everyone that it will be a huge story, perhaps the biggest story of the summer of 2017, and that advance planning was required. I felt like the "Eclipse Jeremiah"
since it seemed that not many were much interested in that message.
Now the eclipse story has finally broke in the media and there is a sudden surge of interest. Though it's very late in the game, I'd like to offer some last-minute encouragement for anyone wishing to see the Total Eclipse of the Sun, especially families with kids.
My Eclipse Article in The Atlantic
I had the good fortune to be invited to contribute an article to The Atlantic, the prestigious journal of the east coast literati. My
article is "The Blue Collar Eclipse," and explains in detail why it is so important that Americans of modest means travel to see this eclipse.
This especially applies to frugal homeschool families like yours and mine, who live on a tight budget and struggle to make ends meet. For maybe 50 bucks in gas and a few hours of driving, homeschool families can hope to see the same sight
which affluent world travelers pay thousands of dollars per person to witness on a lavish eclipse vacation.
Where to Stay?
In spite of reports of unavailable hotels and price-gouging, there are many
affordable eclipse accommodations if one is willing to rent an RV or endure a couple nights of primitive camping. We have a rapidly-growing list of eclipse hosts who are opening up their farms along the path of totality for eclipse campers. Some of these accommodations are as cheap as $40 per night. Visit this page at our eclipse website:
What Time is the Eclipse?
Whether you travel or stay home, whether you see a partial eclipse or totality, you'll need to know the local eclipse times for your area. This NASA interactive web page provides precise eclipse times for every selected location - beginning, maximum and ending times. Times are given by NASA in Universal Time (UT). This is the same
as Greenwich Time, and is 4 hours ahead of EDT. You can correct for your own time zone accordingly. For example, in Cleveland, Ohio, the partial phase begins at 17:06 UT, which is 1:06 PM EDT.
An easier-to-use but less precise map is available from the Time and Date website:
Eclipse Traffic
There are lots of reports in the news of "Apoc-eclipse" traffic but I'd encourage everyone to not be deterred for that reason. Consider the standard media approach, "if it bleeds, it leads." The media are in the business of reporting bad news and fomenting a crisis. After ignoring the story until the last minute, they're currently having a ball with this
eclipse.
But in reality, it's a big country and a big path of totality, about 3000 miles from coast to coast and 70 miles wide. That works out to nearly a quarter of a million square miles where totality will be visible. You can easily fit the entire American population into such an area
with room to spare. So it need not be too crowded, unless you attend one of the big festivals.
The main load of traffic, if such fears pan out, will be along the major arteries and closer to the appointed time. Do NOT travel on Eclipse Day, August 21! Any problems will result from hasty, unprepared eclipse wannabees hitting the road without a plan. Don't be among
them! Arrive at your destination on the Saturday or Sunday before. If you encounter eclipse traffic on the freeway, get off at an exit and take the back roads. There are thousands of local roads across the USA that intersect with the eclipse path.
Use paper maps instead of relying on your
phone, as local infrastructure is expected to be strained. Network cells designed for thousands will suddenly encounter tens of thousands of users. For the same reason, bring food and other necessities from home. Don't expect small town stores to have what you need in the midst of an influx. This is what our party is planning and I expect everything to be fine.
Another important detail -- make sure you spend money at your destination! While we don't want eclipse visitors to take staples from the locals, we do want to be good eclipse guests and stimulate the local economy! Visit any local area attractions, buy souvenirs and eat in the local restaurants!
Eclipse Glasses
There is a lot of concern about eclipse viewing glasses. At this point they are mostly sold out from all reputable
vendors. I had 7000 pairs that barely sold for most of 2017, which evaporated a couple weeks ago. I ordered another 3000 and those were ordered before the box even arrived. The same situation is playing out with sellers all over the country. Some vendors have sold their entire inventory of 50,000 glasses in a single week. An estimated 80 million eclipse glasses were manufactured and sold to paying customers, based on advance demand. This is compared to the
American population of 300 million, many of whom are schools.
The moral of the story is, ALWAYS be prepared in advance of an eclipse. NEVER wait until the last minute. There are several USA solar eclipses coming up in the 2020s so hopefully by then America will have learned the lessons of 2017.
Thanks to everyone who ordered glasses from us and our companion site American Eclipse USA. Be advised that we only carry Eclipse Shades brand, manufactured by Rainbow Symphony, one of the most reputable sellers of eclipse glasses. All our glasses are fully compliant with the existing CE standard and the recently-implemented ISO
standard.
There have been a lot of reports of fake knock-off eclipse glasses from China, and many of those reports are emanating from Amazon.com. IMHO, I would discourage everyone from ordering eclipse glasses from Amazon. There are too many sellers and too many ways to go wrong. Some sellers are falsely purporting to be in conformance with the ISO standard and some
are even falsely representing to be one of the established manufacturers. Your best bet to is to order from one of the vendors listed on the page below, selling products made by one of the reputable manufacturers:
(Please note that American Eclipse USA is listed on this page, and Classical Astronomy sells the same product from the same
manufacturer. They are both the same company, that is, the same person, me!)
Anyone lacking eclipse glasses at this point should explore other methods of eclipse viewing, such as projection and a pinhole camera. Visit American Eclipse USA for more info. You
can also learn important information about eye safety and proper eclipse viewing from our ebook:
The 99% Urban Legend
There is a very unfortunate misconception making the rounds and gaining popularity -- that a 99% eclipse is "just as good" as seeing a 100% total eclipse. This could not be further from the truth. At any stage of partial eclipse, if even one "pixel"
of the Sun is visible, you will NOT see totality and the amazing gossamer solar corona.
It's hard to appreciate that the Sun is SO STINKING BRIGHT!!! At 99%, the Sun is still 10,000 times brighter than at totality. This means that a total solar eclipse is 0.01% as bright as a 99% eclipse. People
expecting to see "99% darkness" will be disappointed. The pupils in our eyes open to admit more light during a partial eclipse. While dimming of the sky is noticeable, the human eye still perceives daylight. When that last "pixel" of the Sun is finally covered by the Moon, it's like flipping a switch to turn off the Sun, and darkness only falls at that point.
Many people who live at 99% are hearing negative reports about crowds and traffic and deciding to stay home rather than drive 25 miles into totality. This is just tragic, to be so close yet so far, and to needlessly miss the most awesome spectacle visible from Planet Earth. People say they expect to see "something" at 99%. They will indeed see "something" in the form of a very deep partial eclipse. It will be
interesting but it won't be totality. They'll just be "standing in the sunshine" and probably wondering why people are so excited about eclipses. And they'll be puzzled when their neighbors at 100% start raving about the amazing sight they witnessed.
I'd encourage anyone close to the path but not on it
-- in places like northern Kansas City and St. Louis, Louisville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Augusta, and Spartanburg -- to make a whole day out of the eclipse. Leave early the morning of Eclipse Day and have breakfast somewhere along the path. Kill time visiting shops and local attractions until eclipse time. Clear skies permitting, you'll be glad you did. And don't be in a hurry to head home afterwards.
For more info, please check out this educational comic strip, which graphically depicts the difference between 100% totality and a 99% partial eclipse.
Also, the 99% issue is explained in greater detail in Book 1 of our ebook
series:
Please send any photos and reports of your Eclipse
Day experience! Whether you see totality, a partial eclipse or are clouded out along the path of totality. We'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.
Hope you all have a great eclipse experience!
* * * * *
On another note, if time and opportunity permit, I would like to soon write some newsletters debunking the hoaxes currently spreading like wildfire -- the so-called "Revelation 13 sign" and this "Flat Earth" nonsense. Friends, we should have
learned our lesson with the "Blood Moon" fiasco. These latest hoaxes are misleading the naive, but please trust that no one with any experience at simply observing the sky is giving any credence to either of these.
There will be some who will denounce me a heretic for exposing truth on these subjects,
but we heard this all before during the "Blood Moon" affair, and those critics have fallen silent. Those folks should be more concerned about the ancient penalty for false prophets.
