REXBURG — On Aug. 21 cities across the United States will be blacked out momentarily during the 2017 Great American Eclipse.
This is the first time since 1991 that a total solar eclipse will be visible from the United States.
During that eclipse, the only state viewers could see the blackened sun in was Hawaii. To their disappointment, however, the best views were obstructed by cloudy weather.
A total solar eclipse is when the moon’s orbit comes directly between the earth and the sun, blocking out nearly all of the sun’s light for a few minutes in areas that the moon is passing over.
According to NASA.gov, “a total solar eclipse is only visible from a small area on Earth. The people who see the total eclipse are in the center of the moon’s shadow when it hits Earth. The sky becomes very dark, as if it were night. For a total eclipse to take place, the sun, moon and Earth must be in a direct line.”
The length of a total solar eclipse varies, but in Rexburg it can be seen for a total of two minutes and seventeen seconds. The time to view it will be at 11:33 a.m.
To witness it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There will be a total solar eclipse over the east half of the United States in 2024, but it won’t be visible from anywhere past Texas. The next total solar eclipse to cross Idaho won’t be seen until the year 2169.
Another once-in-a-lifetime experience happening at the same time is the number of expected visitors to Madison and Fremont counties during that day and the previous weekend.
In a March 2 opinion piece to the Standard Journal by Donna Benfield, a Rexburg City Council member, she said there could be tens of thousands of umbraphiles, or eclipse chasers, heading to Rexburg, one of the top locations in North America to view the eclipse.
Benfield wrote there’s a lot of work to do to prepare for the influx of visitors:
“Things we need to consider with a large increase in tourism include EMS locations, hospitals and clinics, first-aid stations, public viewing locations, event maps, parks, air ambulance, off-limit areas, camping locations, parking areas, permits, policing, safety and security, etc.”
Along with the predictions of hordes of tourists, rumors are flying about of power outages, no cell reception, gasoline shortages and the worst traffic the area has ever seen.
While it’s sure to be a headache for those in charge of the logistics, the eclipse itself is set to be truly unforgettable.
