The program was Matt Cass, Physics program coordinator and instructor at Southwestern Community College, who spoke to the club today about the solar eclipse that will occur on August 21, 2017. Our area in WNC will have a total eclipse during this time for a few minutes.

1. A SMOKY MOUNTAIN ECLIPSE
August 21, 2017
The material contained in this document is based upon work supported by
NASA under grant award No. NNH15ZDA004C. Any opinions, findings, and
conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.

3. WHAT HAPPENS DURING AN ECLIPSE?
• Total eclipses happen approximately every 18 months.
• Partial eclipses happen about two times a year.
• Distance to the sun: 152 million km.
• Distance to the moon: 384 thousand km.
• Radius of the sun: 695,700 km.
• Radius of the moon: 1,737 km.
• New Moon and perfect alignment are needed!

4. WNC ECLIPSE EVENTS 1851 - 2100
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmap/SEmapNA.html

5. STILL NOT CONVINCED?
• “I don’t know how to put this, but, I’m
kind of a big deal.”
• The last total eclipse for North America
was 1979, before that, 1970.
• This eclipse will cross the entirety of the
United States. All of the US will see at
least a partial eclipse.
• http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JSEX/JSEX-
NA.html

6. 2017 SOLAR ECLIPSE
http://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/north-carolina/

7. 2017 SOLAR ECLIPSE
• August 21st, 2017 – approximately 2:30 PM.
• 1 – 2.5 minutes of totality depending on location.
• Areas included in path of totality include:
• Andrews 2m 38s
• Bryson City 1m 57s
• Cashiers 2m 24s
• Cherokee 1m 24s
• Cullowhee 1m 55s
• Dillsboro 1m 49s
• Franklin 2m 30s
• Highlands 2m 33s
• Murphy 2m 28s
• Robbinsville 2m 35s
• Sylva 1m 44s
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park 1m 24s
• “Once in a lifetime opportunity” for many people.

8. WHAT TO EXPECT…
• Total darkness, “night time” during the day.
• Strange shadows.
• A drop in temperature.
• Bright planets and other objects will be visible!
• A “diamond ring” effect.
• Curious behavior in animals.
• You will NEED eclipse glasses leading up to totality and after.
• Totality is safe to look at without eye protection.
• A truly “awesome” experience.

9. SAVE THE DATE!
• Monday, August 21, 2017 ~ 2:35 PM
• Get your solar eclipse viewing glasses early!
• Remember, it is best to be in place for your viewing at least two hours BEFORE
totality, and be prepared to remain at least an hour and a half AFTER totality.
• Questions?