Your Guide to Oregon’s Total Solar Eclipse on August 21

Oregon’s total solar eclipse is out of this world

Total Solar Eclipse showing partial eclipses and Sun’s corona photo by Rick Fienberg, Travel Quest International, Wilderness Travel

Due to the brightness of the sun, the corona (a ring of hot gas around the sun’s perimeter) is not visible to the naked eye. However, during a total solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out bright sunlight, and we see the corona. It’s definitely a bucket-list-worthy event that doesn’t happen often.

Past and Future American Eclipses

Here’s a list of eclipses that have been (or will be) visible in the United States. It’s been 26 years since the last one, and will be seven years until the next one. This might be your chance to experience one of nature’s most fascinating events.

• March 7, 1970. Total solar eclipse along the Atlantic seaboard.
• February 26, 1979. Total solar eclipse through the northwestern and north-central states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.
• July 11, 1991. Total solar eclipse in Hawai’i and the southern tip of Baja, California. Many who flew to Hawai’i from around the world were disappointed to see only clouds. Baja had excellent views, so was the place to be. (But read my story below about a fabulous experience in Kona, Hawai’i.)
• August 21, 2017. All of North America will have a solar eclipse. The eclipse will begin on the Oregon coast and travel in a southeasterly path to South Carolina.
• April 8, 2024. The next total solar eclipse in the United States enters at Texas, crossing a northeasterly path to cross Maine.

Safe Eclipse Viewing

Girls using eclipse viewing shades photo by Mark Margolis, Rainbow Symphony

The first thing to know when planning to view a solar eclipse is eye safety. Ordinary sunglasses, even very dark

ones, as well as homemade filters are not safe for looking at the partially eclipsed (or uneclipsed) Sun.

While a total solar eclipse is safe to look at, the sun at any other time is dangerously bright. A partial eclipse blocks some of the brightness making you think it is safe, yet is still as dangerous as trying to look directly at the sun. Your eyes will be damaged before you know it.

To look at any portion of the partial eclipse before totality, you must use special-purpose “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers. To be safe, the viewer must meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for these products. Read more about eye safety at eclipse.aas.org.

During totality, it is as dark as night. The total solar eclipse is about as bright as a full moon, and just as safe to look at. But once the moon starts to uncover the sun again, it becomes dangerous to look at without the right kind of eye protection.

August 2017 Eclipse

On August 21, 2017, it will take about 90 minutes for the Moon’s dark shadow to cross the country. When you hear someone say, “the total eclipse lasts 90 minutes,” that’s what they mean. The eclipse will start around 10:15 a.m. Pacific time on the West Coast and end around 11:45 a.m. (It starts and ends about three hours later on the East Coast.)

Further, the partial eclipse starts about 1-1/4 hours earlier, 9:00 a.m. PST on the West Coast and 1:15 p.m. EST on the East Coast. And it ends 2½ to 3 hours after that, around 11:30 a.m. PST on the West Coast and 4:15 p.m. EST on the East Coast.

But, 90 minutes is misleading when you are talking about viewing the total solar eclipse (aka “totality”). At any given location within the path of the Moon’s shadow, the total solar eclipse will last at most 2 minutes 40 seconds. Outside the path of totality, you will see at most a partial solar eclipse (be sure to read about safe eclipse viewing above). And a partial eclipse doesn’t compare to a total solar eclipse. It’s like seeing a movie, then saying you have met the actors.

In order to see the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017, you must position yourself within the roughly 70-mile-wide path across the country. The eclipse will cross a total of 12 states: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Solar Eclipse America has a page of eclipse events across America, including tours, community festivals, and other travel opportunities. GreatAmericanEclipse.com suggests 10 great places to see the eclipse; but scroll down to find the page for the state nearest you. Each state page has several videos showing the path of the eclipse across the state, allowing you to explore several options in your own eclipse-viewing-plan.

Many cities and towns within or near the path of totality will take advantage of the economic opportunity to have parking, shuttles, and other services to facilitate travel to a viewing site. So check the eclipse location nearest you and see what options they offer.

The foremost criterion for selecting a site is the weather. You can watch the weather forecasts starting a week before eclipse day to judge whether you can strike for a spot close to home or travel further afield. Wherever you go, try to remain flexible. Even in the sunniest locations, you don’t want to find yourself looking at clouds during the brief time when totality occurs. So, have a relocation plan in place and keep an eye on weather reports as August 21 approaches.

Secondly, try to find a location with good roads (if possible, away from the most popular spots where everyone–and their vehicles–will be). If clouds threaten, put your relocation plan in motion (literally!) and head to a second well-chosen viewing spot.

Finally, unless you have reserved accommodations, the general recommendation is to arrive 24-hours ahead of the eclipse (12 hours minimum) and secure your viewing spot on an open road. Since August is typically good camping weather anywhere in the U.S., you can avoid hotels (and hotel prices) and pack a tent or travel in a recreational vehicle to keep your options open. The good new is, most people who live in the continental U.S. are within a 1-day drive of the August 2017 eclipse path.

Oregon Eclipse 2017

Oregon solar eclipse map 8-21-2017 copyright Michael Zeiler, www.GreatAmericanEclipse.com

Oregon is expected to be one of the best places to view the eclipse, offering some of the best weather prospects anywhere along the entire eclipse path. The eclipse touches down on the Oregon coast between Lincoln City and Newport at 10:15 a.m. PST. Read more Oregon eclipse information at greatamericaneclipse.com.

However, experts advise avoiding the Oregon coast with its summer marine layer, unless the short-term weather forecast confidently predicts the absence of morning fog or cloud cover.

Good locations to view the Oregon eclipse

For accommodations, many hotels in the Willamette Valley within the eclipse path are already sold out. But you can stay in Portland or Eugene and get an early start to reach an optimal location to view the eclipse by midmorning.

You should plan to arrive at least 12 hours in advance of the eclipse, as roads will become clogged with traffic the closer we get to eclipse time.

• Willamette Valley. The width of the eclipse path in the Willamette Valley is about 87 miles. To brainstorm a location, watch this video of the eclipse path over the Willamette Valley: https://vimeo.com/187508626
• Travel Salem has Eclipse 2017 information, including an interactive Eclipse map of Mid-Willamette Valley eclipse events and viewing locations.
• Madras in Central Oregon. The Oregon SOLARFEST is being held in Madras, Oregon. For information, visit: www.oregonsolarfest.com.
• Deschutes River Valley for campers, or travelers with a trailer or RV.
• Mount Jefferson. Mountain climbers with the necessary skills will be able to view the eclipse from the top of Mt Jefferson at 10,479′ elevation. This vantage will include a light show of the Moon’s shadow racing across the landscape.
• Salem, Oregon. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) viewing event at the state fairgrounds is SOLD OUT. Consider volunteering (volunteerservices@omsi.edu) or get on their waiting list for tickets by filling out this form, or visit their website for any other updates: www.omsi.edu/eclipse-2017.

Whatever you do to see the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse, keep your options open, pack your eclipse glasses, and stay flexible.

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