Half a Dozen Tips to Prepare for the Great American Solar Eclipse 2017

It is coming on 21st August 2017 to in America! After 99 years, a total solar eclipse is crossing the United States with a fully viewable complete eclipse for about 2 minutes. Its just three months away and it’s time to plan for it. Here are some tips.

• Plan to take an eclipse day off

It is fact that August 21, 2017 may surely turn out to be one of the most needy vacation-day request to any employer. So, ensure at the earliest that you secure your eclipse day off to witness this wonderful event and start planning.

• Try to be a part of an event

You can enjoy the eclipse at its best if you get a chance to hook up with the experts and like-minded people. Check it out with the astronomy clubs at the locality where you plan to camp, science centers, planetariums etc. There are many entertainment activities too planned clubbed with the Great American Solar Eclipse 2017.

• Watch the weather

Nobody can now tell you with absolute certainty bout the weather forecasts for a specific location during the day. Don’t get too confused with the predictions of cloud covering your sight. Learn to learn the predictions correctly as

- Few – about one-eighth of the sky gets covered.

- Scattered - three-eighth or to four-eighth getting covered.

- Broken – about five-eighth to seven-eighth of the sky is cloudy.

Keep a close watch of the weather forecast from one week prior to the solar eclipse 2017 to plan better.

• Prepare to be easily mobile on the eclipse day

Unless you get the confirmation that August 21 will be a clear day, don’t get fixed to anything specific which cannot be undone in a short time. Say for example, if you take a motor home to a city in the path of entirety on the weekend and connects to power, hook up sewage hose, set up chairs, and start the grill etc., you may be in trouble with the need for an immediate shift. Be flexible to move on to a different location if you identify it will be cloudy over the next few years on the day break.

• Get a quality filter well in advance

There are many verities of plastic / cardboard eclipse views glasses and filters available starting from $2. This is not a simple toy, but can help look at the sun safely. As it filters out the intense sun’s rays and infrared radiations, your eyes are protected.

• Keep sunscreen handy

Most of the people in the United States need to travel outstation to access the path of totality by packing their belongings for a one day drive. August falls as a summer month and you must consider it while planning to be out in the sun for a few hours to watch the eclipse end to end. So, don’t forget to apply sunscreen while you get out in the sun to avoid any tan and burn.

Apart from these, you need to take care of plenty of other things too based on your eclipse day plans. We will discuss about such expert tips for photographing the eclipse and choosing eclipse glasses and filters etc. in the forthcoming articles.

Author Bio: Mandy Bular served as a tour guide to about 10 solar eclipses and also volunteers for a space research facility. She is enthusiastically following solar eclipse 2017 and released some help articles too for the public.