A Total Eclipse Is A Rare Event

"A solar eclipse. The cosmic ballet goes on." Despite that somewhat memorable quote from the late Leonard Nimoy during a guest appearance in The Simpsons where a solar eclipse has a dramatic impact on Springfield's solar-powered monorail, experiencing one is actually extremely rare for Americans. Today, people across the United States are preparing themselves for a spectacular total eclipse which could last for up to two minutes and 40 seconds.

The last eclipse to touch any of the 50 states occurred in July 1991, with only Hawaii experiencing it and the experience dampened by poor weather. Some people did make the long trip to the tip of Baja California in Mexico where they had an incredible view of an eclipse lasting nearly seven minutes. The last total eclipse within the contiguous 48 United States occurred on February 26, 1979. The "cosmic ballet" today is going to be the first one since 1918 where the path of darkness will cross the Pacific and Atlantic coasts as well as the first that will make landfall exclusively in the U.S. since independence in 1776.

Today's total eclipse will not be visible from major U.S. cities, though 12 million people still live within its path of totality. Another 200 million live within a day's drive, meaning towns and national parks in the 12 states within that path of totality are bracing themselves for a massive influx of visitors. The fun and intrigue will get underway when the eclipse makes landfall near Depoe Bay, Oregon at 10:15 local time and it will eventually pass into the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina at 14:49. Anyone who misses out on this year's eclipse will have to wait seven years until the next one in April 2024.