Counting down the days to the 'American' solar eclipse

For Theo Wellington, August 21, 2017 can’t come soon enough.

The date isn’t set aside for her wedding, anniversary or birthday but it signifies something significantly rarer – a total eclipse of the sun.

Although total solar eclipses – when the moon completely blocks the sun – occur every year, the last one to happen in the United States was in 1979. Outside of the 2017 eclipse, the next one visible from the United States is scheduled for 2024.

In an effort to gin up interest in the relatively brief but what some call life changing experience, Wellington, who serves as president of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society, and Heather Gallagher, an environmental education specialist for the Warner Park Nature Center, propped up a tent and telescopes in a grassy area outside the Parthenon on Sunday.

“This is, I think, going to be one of the iconic photos because where else would you have a Greek temple that you could put in the picture and it would look really good because it’ll be right above the Parthenon,” Wellington said in between setting up her telescopes and homemade contraptions that can be used to see the sun before and after the eclipse.

Some people say the opportunity to see a total solar eclipse is the most amazing astronomical event you will ever be able to see. And like tornado chasers, there are even eclipse chasers, who trek around the world to witness a solar eclipse.

Wellington, who has seen partial eclipses – when the moon comes between the sun and the Earth but they don’t perfectly align - is not one of those chasers but she’s no less enthusiastic about the idea of being able to see the rare event in her hometown.

“People that have seen total eclipses tell you it’s nothing like a partial. It’s almost a life changing experience to see it,” she said. “It’s something so wrong. When there are audio recordings of people reacting to it a lot of times they have to bleep half of it out because you don’t say ‘Oh my gosh’ when the sun goes out. It hits your brain in a different way. It’s not supposed to happen.”

Wellington said during the eclipse, which will last just under two minutes if you’re watching from the Parthenon, you will be able to see stars and planets during the daytime, which is a very weird thing to comprehend.

“If you didn’t know what was happening and all of the sudden it went dark, I mean you would seriously think it was the end of the world,” she said, adding there are always doomsday watchers at solar eclipse gatherings but that doesn’t bother her. “People really like ends of the world. If you’re any age at all, we’ve all lived through quite a few of them already, I try hard not to worry about that.”

Next year’s eclipse will be very different than the one that last occurred in the United States, which only allowed those in Washington, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota the opportunity to view the solar eclipse.

That’s because the 2017 event – which Wellington said is being dubbed “the American eclipse” – spans across the country, ranging from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina, and touches no other land except that in the United States.

The 'Great American Eclipse' is a year from today

Although only a handful of cities throughout the country that fall within a narrow corridor will be able to view the solar eclipse, the rest of the country will have the opportunity to witness a partial eclipse.

Some estimate that as many as 100 million people will view the sun being either partially or entirely covered by the moon.

“It’s going to be a huge nationwide event,” Wellington said. “A 2,000 mile long party.”

Because St. Louis is just barely outside of the main viewing corridor, which is known as the path of totality, Nashville is actually the largest city where people can view the eclipse. The last time a total eclipse was visible in the area that is now Music City was in 1478.

An annular eclipse – when the Moon moves in front of the sun but doesn’t completely block it – was last visible in Nashville in 1628 and won’t be seen again until 2267.

The event is so intriguing it is already drawing people from around the country to come to Middle Tennessee.

Wellington said European travel companies are pitching the “American eclipse” as part of some travel packages they are offering to those interested in coming the U.S. next year.

She’s heard that a group of 300 Japanese tourists have already made arrangements to watch the eclipse in Sumner County.

There’s no shortage of great places to view the total eclipse in the Nashville area, Wellington said.

She said the best places would be Gallatin, White House and Springfield, which are closer to the central pathway.

“The path of the eclipse slices sideways across Tennessee; the closer you are to the middle the longer it lasts,” she said, pointing to a map that contains the amount of time the eclipse will be visible from different areas in the city.

For those looking for a more secluded experience, Edgar Evins State Park and Fall Creek Falls State Park are good options, Wellington said.

For Gallagher, there’s no better option than Centennial Park.

“This is really going to be the premier place to be here at the Parthenon,” she said, adding that the city is also making arrangements to have gatherings at Bells Bend, Beaman Park, Shelby Bottoms and Warner Parks.

Each location will have solar viewing glasses available so people can watch the moments leading up to and immediately after the solar eclipse without hurting their eyes, said Gallagher.

“You never, ever look at the sun with just your eyes, mostly you can’t, but you’re going to want to,” Wellington said. “It’s too bright. It’s so much energy that it will burn the back of your eye and you don’t want to do that.”

Those who want to get their eclipse gear early can check out a handful of websites, including the Astronomical League, eclipse2017.org, and greatamericaneclipse.com, where they can order their own pair of glasses.

Beyond being in the path of totality, Tennessee has another big connection to next year’s eclipse, given that American Paper Optics – a Bartlett-based company that makes 3D glasses – is one of two companies in the country making the eclipse glasses.

During the actual eclipse, people will be able to look directly at it because “you’re not looking at the sun, you’re looking at the moon,” Wellington said. But after the brief eclipse ends, you’ll want to quickly put back on your eclipse glasses.

When asked what will happen if the type of rainy days that Tennessee has seen this year continue, she said. “We’ll cry.”

Wellington said the weather reports in the days ahead of the eclipse will be critically important but for now she’s not going to worry about something that’s out of her control.

“I’m just so excited to get to see an eclipse,” she said. “I’m just going to say it’s going to be sunny next year, we’re raining it all out this year.”

Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29. 

Due to incorrect information provided to The Tennessean, this story has been updated to correct the county where the Japanese tourists will stay next year.