When the moon passes over the sun on Monday, August 21, Denver won't get to experience the totality of the solar eclipse. But we'll get pretty darn close.
The official word is that we'll actually see a 90 percent solar eclipse here, which will look something like this: [caption id="attachment_18003" align="aligncenter" width="646"]
Image courtesy of timeanddate.com[/caption]
The August eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse in the continental United States in almost 40 years.
Fourteen states will fall in the eclipse's narrow 68-mile-wide "path of totality," meaning that they will experience a 100 percent blockage of the sun. The Denver metro area is only 200 miles away from the path, however, leaving us a pretty decent view.
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But if you're up for a day trip, you could easily travel to Casper, Wyoming (a four-hour drive), or the Scottsbluff, Nebraska, area (a three-and-a-half hour drive) to get the total eclipse experience. Casper is actually planning a whole festival in honor of the event. Scottsbluff is hosting several viewing parties, including one at the Scotts Bluff National Monument (if you go, be sure to grab some Taco Town for lunch!).
According to NASA's website:
When the moon blocks out the sun during a total eclipse, those regions of Earth that are in the direct path of totality become dark as night for almost three minutes,” said Steve Clarke, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “This will be one of the best-observed eclipses to date, and we plan to take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn as much as we can about the sun and its effects on Earth.”Here in Denver, the eclipse will begin at 10:24 a.m. on Monday, August 21, with a maximum of 90 percent coverage occurring at 11:47 a.m. Viewers will need to wear special glasses to protect their eyes. Be sure to plan ahead and purchase some here! Are you planning anything special for the solar eclipse? A road trip, perhaps? Tell us in the comments!
