You’re Just In Time For A Total Eclipse
Thanks to a grand but narrow path across the United States that begins in Western Oregon and completes at the edge of the Southeastern coastline, our islands, most notably Isle of Palms, will be among the last to experience this summer’s remarkable total solar eclipse. By Susan Smith.
The total eclipse will travel diagonally across South Carolina. The closer you are to the red line shown at the path's center, the longer you will experience "totality. (Map courtesy NASA)
Expect a lot of jostling for position as people consider viewing spots for August 21st’s “Great American Eclipse,” and don’t be surprised if the event draws some extra celestial attention to Isle of Palms, the final U.S. city the moon’s shadow will touch before heading into the waves of the Atlantic.
“We know it’s going to be a big deal,” Norma Jean Page, Isle of Palms Recreation Director, says. Her team is planning a last-chance viewing celebration along IOP’s Front Beach. The last time the Southeastern coast of the United States had such prime viewing for a total solar eclipse was in 1970, making this a first-time event for many, and one to remember for the ages.
Weather permitting, a partial eclipse will be visible to the entire North American continent that Monday. However, the “path of totality,” within which people will have a rare chance to experience the complete absence of sunlight during daytime hours, will be up to 168 miles wide and affect portions of 12 states.
(Photo by Romeo Durscher, NASA)
The umbra — the moon’s complete shadow — will speed across the country, starting in Oregon and ending in South Carolina, where it will run diagonally from the Upstate’s northwest corner to our eastern shores, impacting 13 counties, including most of Charleston County.
The total eclipse will give us a quick chance to stargaze. This map by College of Charleston Professor Terry Richardson indicates the position of stars and planets that should be visible to South Carolina viewers in the darkness when looking southwest from the centerline of the eclipse. It shows stars brighter than magnitude 1.6 unless they are so close to the horizon they can’t be seen. The size roughly indicates the star’s brightness. Regulus is just over one degree from the eclipsed sun and the sun’s corona may wash it out.
Even within the path of totality, the length of time viewers can experience the eclipse will vary based on location. In general, the closer you are to the center of the path, the longer you will be in darkness, with the maximum amount of possible total eclipse time in any spot being about 2 minutes and 41 seconds, according to NASA.
At SiP’s request, Terry Richardson, a College of Charleston professor of physics and astronomy, made some calculations that showed the local range and impact. Richardson determined that the total eclipse will last 1 minute, 30.6 seconds at White Point Garden on peninsular Charleston; 1 minute, 50.5 seconds at Breach Inlet; 2 minutes, 8.2 seconds at Isle of Palms’ northeastern tip; and 2 minutes, 12.4 seconds on Dewees Island’s front beach.
To get the max amount of total eclipse time in the Lowcountry, you would need to go farther north along the coast, closer to the village of McClellanville — where it will last 2 minutes, 32.9 seconds, according to Richardson’s calculations. McClellanville is also the last town or city touched by the total eclipse, with the centrality of the moon’s shadow completing its path across the country just eight seconds short of 2:49 p.m.
However, the Isle of Palms will be the last U.S. municipality in the partial shadow of the moon if you consider the time the shadow leaves the northeastern tip of the island, at 4:10 p.m. and 14 seconds. “Wild Dunes gets the last view of the moon taking a bite out of the sun before the moon’s shadow moves o shore,” Richardson says.
For those in the path of totality, it promises to be a sensory treat, with something akin to a 360-degree sunset, a noticeable temperature drops, and a possible quieting of animals tricked into thinking its night. “It’s really an emotional experience that you experience not just with your eyes, but your whole body,” he says.
Because of the eclipse’s rare viewing opportunity, Richardson has tentative plans to take a collection of astronomy experts, including some from Europe, near McClellanville, but the excitement of the event has come with challenges, too. ‑ e professor cautions others that track could be tricky and encourages folks with an easy beachfront view on Isle of Palms to take advantage of their unique position. After all, South Carolina won’t be treated to another total eclipse until 2052.