After months of hype, Northwest braces for solar eclipse

A team of researchers from Montana State University has partnered with NASA to participate in the Space Grant Ballooning Project to send more than 50 high-altitude balloons 80,000 feet (24,384 meters) up to capture the solar eclipse as it crosses the country on August 21.

“We sold out first thing”, he said of the $2 lenses. When this happens, the Moon blocks the light of the Sun from reaching Earth.

This time in the continental USA, the eclipse’s 70-mile-wide path of totality will start in OR, cross the country and end in SC. The partial solar eclipse will take place at around 2:46 p.m. ET in Boston.

The last time a total solar eclipse swept the whole width of the USA was in 1918.

Scientists urged observers to exercise caution and use appropriate viewing devices during next week’s eclipse to avoid eye damage.

The short video clip above shows the shadow of the total eclipse of March 2016 as seen by the Himawari-8 satellite from 22,236 miles above Earth’s surface.

Live stream the eclipse: NASA will be streaming the total solar eclipse live online.

The total eclipse of the sun is considered one of the most spell-binding phenomena in nature but it rarely occurs over a wide swath of land, let alone one of the world’s most heavily populated countries at the height of summer.

Solar energy now accounts for more than 42,600 megawatts (MW), about 5 percent of the U.S.’s peak demand, up from 5 MW in 2000, according to the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), a group formed to improve the nation’s power system in the wake of a 1964 blackout. It’s a terrific way to capture the eclipse action and safe for viewing. Cloud cover prevented her seeing a total eclipse on her home island in 1992.

“Eclipse” glasses remain especially low-priced and accessible to the public, however viewers are urged to exercise caution when purchasing. In this case, the total eclipse will last up to 2 minutes and 40-plus seconds in places. You will then be able to view the solar eclipse through the rectangular hole you cut out. Kids and adults are welcome to join us as we take advantage of the wide open spaces Airport Park has to offer for ideal eclipse viewing.

A spokesman said: “Extreme care must be taken when observing the eclipse, because of the blinding brilliance of the sun”.

And while the eclipse didn’t do much to ease tension, it is believed that this could do more.

‘It just reminds us that we are these miniscule little beings on a piece of rock floating on a rock in outer space, so we better get along’. “It is important that we all work together and practice safety during moments like this and remember that even the smallest unsafe decision can ruin what could be a treasured memory”. “Now I’m in frame and you can see the bright white dot”.