
Roughly 100 days from now, a total solar eclipse will pass from coast-to-coast through the continental United States for the first time in nearly a century.

The August 21 event will be visible to millions of people as it crosses through 14 states, with the path of totality stretching from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina.

During this time, the sun will be completely blocked by the moon, leaving only the ‘pearly white rays’ of its elusive corona visible to the naked eye – but, even in areas set to experience the longest duration of totality, the sun will only be fully covered for less than three minutes.

To be sure you don’t miss out on the rare event, scientists have revealed many ways to prepare ahead, from what time the eclipse will pass through your city, to when you should put on your safety glasses.

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Roughly 100 days from now, a total solar eclipse will pass from coast-to-coast through the continental United States for the first time in nearly a century. The August 21 event will be visible to millions of people as it crosses through 14 states, with the path of totality stretching from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina

WHERE TO SEE IT The path of totality will stretch from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston South Carolina. To find out exactly when and where it will be visible, visit NASA's interactive map, and click on a city along the path. Totality will cross the US from west to east, beginning at Lincoln Beach, Oregon, where totality will occur at 10:16 a.m. (PDT). It will the US over roughly an hour and a half, passing through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. It will end near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:48 p.m. (EDT), according to NASA. Advertisement

While entirety of the event will only be seen along the 70-mile-wide path of totality, even viewers outside the range will be able to see a partial solar eclipse.

The latter will be visible all across North America, and even in parts of South America, Africa, and Europe, according to NASA.

Totality will cross the US from west to east, beginning at Lincoln Beach, Oregon.

There, the total solar eclipse will begin at 10:16 a.m. (PDT).

The phenomenon will then cross through the US over the course of roughly an hour and a half, passing through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.

It will end near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:48 p.m. (EDT), according to NASA.

While the totality itself will last just a few minutes, the eclipse – from start to finish – will span more than an hour as the moon moves in and out of the sun’s path, giving rise to a series of crescents along the way.

The August 21 event will be visible to millions of people as it crosses through 14 states, with the path of totality stretching from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina. A view of the Western and central US is shown. The best views of totality will be along the red line, though it will be visible in areas within the purple as well

During this time, the sun will be completely blocked by the moon, leaving only the ‘pearly white rays’ of its elusive corona visible to the naked eye – but, even in areas set to experience the longest duration of totality, the sun will only be fully covered for less than three minutes. A view of central and Eastern US is shown

It’s not enough just to know where to see it, though.

Viewers must also be prepared with the proper gear to protect their eyes during the event.

Otherwise, NASA warns, you could ‘severely hurt your eyes.’

The space agency says viewers should be equipped with special specs such as Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17.

These are just four that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard.

The glasses should be put on when the partial eclipse begins, meaning when the sun becomes partially covered by the moon.

Scientists have long been preparing for the August 2017 event, which will offer a rare glimpse at the sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona. This feature is invisible to the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse. To view it otherwise, scientists must use a telescope known as a coronagraph

PROTECTING YOUR EYES Viewers must also be prepared with the proper gear to protect their eyes during the event. Otherwise, NASA warns, you could ‘severely hurt your eyes’ The space agency says viewers should be equipped with special specs such as Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17. These are just four that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard. And, they warn that you should never look at the sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars. According to NASA, eclipse glasses should be put on when the partial eclipse begins, meaning when the sun becomes partially covered by the moon. And, they should remain on for the entirety of the phases leading up to totality. Once the moon has completely blocked out the sun, causing it to suddenly become dark, viewers can then remove the glasses for a short amount of time. This may last just a minute, though, and the glasses will need to be put back on for the final stages of the eclipse. Advertisement

And, they should remain on for the entirety of the phases leading up to totality.

Once the moon has completely blocked out the sun, causing it to suddenly become dark, viewers can then remove the glasses for a short amount of time.

This may last just a minute, though, and the glasses will need to be put back on for the final stages of the eclipse.

Still, no matter how much you prepare, the ability to see the eclipse will all boil down to the weather conditions that day.

In the event that clouds or storms do pass through, obscuring the phenomenon, NASA will be hosting an Eclipse Megacast for four hours.

While entirety of the event will only be seen along the 70-mile-wide path of totality, even viewers outside the range will be able to see a partial solar eclipse. The latter will be visible all across North America, and even in parts of South America, Africa, and Europe, according to NASA. This is illustrated above, with the path of totality shown in red

While the totality itself will last just a few minutes, the eclipse – from start to finish – will span more than an hour as the moon moves in and out of the sun’s path, giving rise to a series of crescents along the way

A HISTORIC ECLIPSE The total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 will cross the continental United States beginning in Oregon and ending in South Carolina. While a total solar eclipse occurred over the continental US in 1979, the last time one such event spanned the country coast to coast was in 1918. In that event, the the path of totality entered through the southwest corner of Washington and passed over Denver, Colorado, Jackson, Mississippi, and Orlando, Florida before exiting the country at the Atlantic coast of Florida. This year, the path of totality will cross through 14 states, with the path of totality stretching from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina. Advertisement

This will be live-streamed on NASA TV, along with local and national TV stations, ensuring that even viewers who cannot make it a location on the path of totality or are experiencing poor sky conditions can see the rare eclipse.

Scientists have long been preparing for the August 2017 event, which will offer a rare glimpse at the sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona.

This feature is invisible to the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse. To view it otherwise, scientists must use a telescope known as a coronagraph.

In the brief window when the sun is blocked out by the moon, scientists will take measurements from both the ground and the sky, the LA Times reports.

Some will even fly specialized planes upwards of 49,000 feet, using custom-built instruments to analyze the corona in infrared.

Previous eclipses have revealed a bizarre phenomenon in which the sun’s outer atmosphere is far hotter than the surface, at an average of 1 million degrees Kelvin, compared to about 6,000 degrees Kelvin, respectively.

‘The fundamental question we are asking is, what is causing the atmosphere to heat up like that?’ Shadia Habbal, a solar wind at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy who has led 14 eclipse expeditions, told the LA Times.

‘This is one of the scientific mysteries regarding the sun that remains unanswered.’