Eclipse mania! Millions of Americans sit in some of the ‘worst traffic jams in history’, flock to Burning Man-style festivals and fill camp grounds at 21 national parks ahead of once in a lifetime celestial event
The eclipse begins its cross-country trajectory over the Pacific Coast of Oregon late Monday morning and will reach South Carolina’s Atlantic shore some 90 minutes later
Officials in Oregon and other states are warning drivers the eclipse could cause the worst traffic jams
Experts advise people to wear proper protective eyewear or risk lasting blind spots during the eclipse
Monday’s event will be the first total solar eclipse spanning the entire continental United States since 1918
It is also the first total solar eclipse visible anywhere in the Lower 48 states in 38 years
By REGINA F. GRAHAM
DAILYMAIL.COM
20 August 2017
Twilight will fall at midday on Monday, stars will glimmer and birds will roost in an eerie stillness as millions of Americans and visitors witness the first total solar eclipse to traverse the United States from coast to coast in 99 years.
The sight of the moon’s shadow passing directly in front of the sun, blotting out all but the halo-like solar corona, may draw the largest live audience for a celestial event in human history. When those watching via broadcast and online media are factored into the mix, the spectacle will likely smash records.
‘It will certainly be the most observed total eclipse in history,’ astronomer Rick Fienberg of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) said last week.
The eclipse begins its cross-country trajectory over the Pacific Coast of Oregon in late morning. It will reach South Carolina’s Atlantic shore some 90 minutes later.
The total eclipse of the sun is considered one of the most spell-binding phenomena in nature but it rarely occurs over a wide swath of land, let alone one of the world’s most heavily populated countries at the height of summer.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is warning drivers that the Monday celestial event could cause some of the worst traffic jams in the state’s history.
Authorities are worried about the traffic impact that the eclipse will have on small towns that are not equip to be flooded with people.
Don Hamilton with ODOT said ‘there may be a million people who descend on the state for the eclipse, especially in the 60-mile path of totality that spans the state from west to east,’ KRON reported.
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