Are you ready for the eclipse? Here in Kentucky everybody is excited to be in the path where you will be able to see a total or near total eclipse. It’s been billed as “the most exciting 2 minutes, 40 seconds in astronomy.”
The picture here is of a total solar eclipse seen in 1999. The picture on Wikipedia didn’t give the location, but the last time a total solar eclipse was visible in the USA was 1991 and then it was seen in totality only in part of Hawaii. The last time a total solar eclipse was visible in the contiguous United Sates was February 26, 1979, and the first since 1918 with a path of totality all the way across the states from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It begins in Oregon at a few minutes past 9 a.m. PDT and ends in South Carolina at a few minutes after 4 p.m. EDT. The ideal location is in the heart of western Kentucky, the exact location on the Orchard Dale historical farm, near Hopkinsville. The total eclipse of the sun will only last two minutes and 40 seconds at this place, but that represent the longest opportunity to view the eclipse in the entire world.
So people in that area are expecting a lot of company to show up Monday. And all us Kentuckians are hoping for no clouds so we can take advantage of this once in a lifetime event. I do remember seeing a partial eclipse when I was young. I remember all the warnings about not looking at the sun and the instructions for making a peephole viewer. All those warnings are out there again with lots of eclipse viewing glasses.
I’m excited about being so near to the path of the eclipse, but if you miss this one, I hear another one will be viewable in the USA in 2024. But barring a stormy cloudy day, I hope to catch a glimpse of this one. Through the proper safety eclipse glasses, of course. I’ll let you know how dark it gets in case you’re not in the path of totality. For a few seconds more than two minutes. Reminds me of the Kentucky Derby that always takes about two minutes to run after all the buildup each year. This is two minutes of a nature show.
Thanks to all of you who threw your name in my giveaway hat for a copy of Love Comes Home. If you haven’t yet, you still can. I’m giving away ten copies. Deadline to enter is Tuesday August 22nd at midnight EST and open to those 18 and over. I’ll contact the winners next Wednesday.
Until then, happy reading and I hope you get to see one of the wonders of nature on Monday.