On Monday, the continental United States–as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America–will be treated to a partial solar eclipse. Those who live within the thin path of totality will see a total solar eclipse.
While total solar eclipses occur quite frequently (every 1-3 years) they are often in uninhabited areas of the world.
Here in Nashville, we are within the path of totality and are looking forward to the celestial show. We have been warned that our city will receive an influx of tourists, so we plan to just watch from home. (Flight prices to Nashville have increased by as much as 10 times on the days surrounding the eclipse!)
For those of you planning to watch the eclipse, I would love to hear what your plans are.
Be sure that your eclipse glasses are undamaged and unscratched. They also must be stamped to meet the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard. The market is filled with counterfeit glasses that wrongly claim to have that verification, so you’ll want to read this article from NASA to make sure your glasses are manufactured by a legitimate organization.
Happy eclipsing!