For the first time since 1918, the entire continental United States will be able to see at least a partial eclipse, a phenomenon that occurs when the moon crosses between the earth and sun and covers part of the later. Moreover, a 70-mile stretch across the country’s midsection will witness a total solar eclipse in which the moon will completely block the sun’s light for nearly two and a half hours.
The “Great American Eclipse’s” shadow will cross 14 states, traveling from the west coast of Oregon all the way to the east coast of South Carolina — the first time a total solar eclipse has passed from one coast to the other in 99 years.
Space.org explains the dark shadow of the moon, the umbra, will first touch the earth’s surface far out over the North Pacific Ocean nearly 1,000 miles south of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands at 9:48 a.m. local time. For 27 minutes the umbra will sweep rapidly to the east over the ocean.
Finally, the umbra will arrive along the coast of Oregon at 11:15 a.m. central time. From there, the moon’s shadow is going to race from coast to coast across the United States. That’s a distance of almost 2,500 miles, from Oregon to South Carolina,and it will take the umbra just 94 minutes to travel that distance.
That works out to nearly 27 miles per minute or about 1,600 mph, about three times faster than a commercial jetliner. That’s why, along the path of totality, the sun will appear completely covered for no more than 160 seconds.
“There are various types of eclipses, and because each one relates to three different orbits — the Moon’s, the Earth’s and the Sun’s — it all depends on where all three line up and the distance between each of them,” said Texas A&M astronomer Jennifer Marshall.
They happen twice a year, every year, but they can only be seen in a narrow swath on the Earth, so they seem very rare.
Read more about the eclipse in your weekend News. Also go to these links for additional resources on the eclipse including interactive maps and locators.

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2017-august-21

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-who-what-where-when-and-how