Clemson prepares for rare total solar eclipse

Associated Press

Updated April 19, 2017 11:15 AM

CLEMSON, S.C.

Clemson University is planning an event to draw thousands to witness a rare total solar eclipse in August.

The Greenville News reports that the eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the U.S. mainland since 1979 and the first with the totality of the eclipse crossing the entire mainland since 1918. Clemson College of Science Public Information Director Jim Melvin says the totality will be wider in upstate South Carolina than anywhere else in the country.

In this June 10, 2002, file photo, Lise Richardson, left, views a partial solar eclipse with her daughters Sophia Richardson, center left, and Samantha, 6, right, at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Destinations are hosting festivals, hotels are selling out and travelers are planning trips for the total solar eclipse that will be visible coast to coast on Aug. 21, 2017. A narrow path of the United States 60 to 70 miles wide from Oregon to South Carolina will experience total darkness, also known as totality. Krista Niles AP

Melvin describes the event as the “National Championship game” for astronomers. In addition to planning a campus event, the school has launched an Eclipse over Clemson blog.

The eclipse will cross upstate South Carolina between 1:07 p.m. and 4:02 p.m. on Aug. 21, with the totality occurring at 2:37 p.m.

This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Clemson prepares for rare total solar eclipse."

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