{"id":19438,"date":"2016-03-07T23:29:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T15:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/watch-this-weeks-total-solar-eclipse-online-and-get-set-for-2017s-big-one\/"},"modified":"2016-03-07T23:29:08","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T15:29:08","slug":"watch-this-weeks-total-solar-eclipse-online-and-get-set-for-2017s-big-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/watch-this-weeks-total-solar-eclipse-online-and-get-set-for-2017s-big-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch this week\u2019s total solar eclipse online \u2013 and get set for 2017\u2019s big one"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_234976\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-234976\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-234976\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/160306-eclipse1-630x502.jpg\" alt=\"Total solar eclipse\" width=\"630\" height=\"502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/160306-eclipse1-630x502.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/160306-eclipse1-768x612.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/160306-eclipse1-1240x987.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/160306-eclipse1.jpg 1463w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-234976\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The sun\u2019s corona gleams during a total solar eclipse seen from the northern tip of Australia in November 2012. (Credit: Romeo Durscher via NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This week\u2019s total solar eclipse is a bad-news, good-news, even-better-news situation for skywatchers in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Solar eclipses are must-see astronomical events that occur when the moon is positioned just right to block the sun\u2019s disk, as seen from Earth. The eclipse that unfolds on Tuesday is the only time during 2016 that anyone can see the sun totally blotted out.<\/p>\n<p>The bad news is that the total eclipse is visible only in the Asia-Pacific region.&nbsp;The moon\u2019s shadow rolls eastward across the Indian and Pacific oceans, beginning at sunrise just west of Indonesia and ending at sunset just east of Hawaii. If you\u2019re in the United States, you\u2019ll totally miss seeing totality in person.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Get a peek at the eclipse online<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The good news is that in this age of the Internet, you can still get a peek online. The Slooh virtual observatory will be streaming live video from Indonesia and other locales along the eclipse\u2019s path starting at 3 p.m. PT Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Slooh astronomer Paul Cox will be host for the webcast, with solar expert Lucie Green and astronomer Bob Berman among the guests. Viewers can ask questions using the Twitter hashtag #SloohEclipse. Also, watch for #ShadeUp pictures on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>The Exploratorium is planning&nbsp;live eclipse coverage&nbsp;from the coral island of Woleai in Micronesia. The telescope feed will run from 4 to 7:15 p.m. PT Tuesday, and there\u2019ll be a webcast hosted by the Exploratorium\u2019s experts from 5 to 6:15 p.m. PT. If you\u2019re a Second Life user, you can watch the eclipse alongside other avatars&nbsp;on the virtual world\u2019s Exploratorium Island from 4 to 7:30 p.m. SLT \/ PT Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Movement of March 2016 Total Solar Eclipse Shadow (Animation)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UGZCgg0YKM4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>NASA TV will be simulcasting the Exploratorium\u2019s webcast (on its public and media channels) as well as the live telescope views without commentary (on its online education channel). The space agency is also providing updates via its @NASASunEarth account on Twitter. You can submit questions using the hashtag #eclipse2016.<\/p>\n<p>Even before the eclipse starts, NASA\u2019s experts are keeping busy explaining the science behind eclipses: Solar scientists from NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Agency are due to host a Facebook Q&amp;A at 11 a.m. PT today, and a Reddit \u201cAsk Me Anything\u201d chat at 10 a.m. PT Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>After the eclipse, look for the pictures on NASA\u2019s Flickr site and SpaceWeather.com\u2019s gallery.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Get ready for coming attractions<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Although this\u2019ll be the last total solar eclipse of 2016, annular solar eclipses are coming up on Sept. 1 (visible from&nbsp;the Atlantic,&nbsp;Africa and the Indian Ocean) and next Feb. 26 (visible from southern stretches of the Pacific, South America, the Atlantic and Africa). During an annular eclipse, the moon covers up everything but a thin \u201cring of fire\u201d on the sun\u2019s disk.<\/p>\n<p>All this builds up to the even better news for next year: On Aug. 21, 2017, there\u2019ll be a total solar eclipse that\u2019s visible from Oregon to the Carolina coast. It\u2019s not too early to start planning your strategy for seeing the \u201call-American eclipse,\u201d says Fred Espenak, eclipse expert extraordinaire at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also not too late. Some folks have already scrambled to reserve hotel rooms in the exact center of the eclipse\u2019s path, but during a recent visit to Seattle, Espenak said that\u2019s not necessary. For example, St. Louis and Kansas City are right on the edge of the total-eclipse zone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re big cities with lots of facilities, so logistically, they\u2019d be good jumping-off points with hotel rooms,\u201d Espenak said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"2017 Total Solar Eclipse in the U.S.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9C0SeDenPRo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Westerners needn\u2019t go as far as St. Louis. In fact, the typical weather outlook for August is slightly better in the West than in the East. The Oregon cities of Madras, Salem, Corvallis and Albany are among Espenak\u2019s&nbsp;favorite prospects for totality. You could even stay in Portland or Eugene, and hit the road for the best view.<\/p>\n<p>Other places to think about include Idaho Falls in Idaho, Grand Teton National Park&nbsp;and Casper in Wyoming, and a stretch of I-80 from North Platte to Grand Island in Nebraska.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to thinking about where to go, think about ordering the solar filter glasses and camera filters you\u2019ll need to watch the partial phase of the eclipse safely. You might want to get a few extra for your friends: There\u2019s sure to be a run on the glasses in the weeks before the eclipse.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever you do, don\u2019t miss the first total solar eclipse to hit the Lower 48 states&nbsp;since 1979. Because the total-eclipse zone cuts right through the middle of the country, \u201canybody who really wants to see this eclipse should be able to see it,\u201d Espenak said.<\/p>\n<p>And you <em>should<\/em> really want to see totality with your own eyes. \u201cIt\u2019s foolish to squander an opportunity like 2017,\u201d Espenak said. \u201cSeeing a 95 percent eclipse is nothing compared to a total eclipse. It\u2019s like the lottery. If you get four out of five numbers, you don\u2019t win the big prize. You\u2019ve got to get 100 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sun\u2019s corona gleams during a total solar eclipse seen from the northern tip of Australia in November 2012. (Credit: Romeo Durscher via NASA) This week\u2019s total solar eclipse is a bad-news, good-news, even-better-news situation for skywatchers in the United States. Solar eclipses are must-see astronomical events that occur when the moon is positioned just [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1661,1418,4465],"class_list":["post-19438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-astronomy","tag-solar-eclipse","tag-travel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19438"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19438\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}