In less than two weeks we'll all be witness to one of the most spectacular shows the universe can put on.

A solar eclipse.

For us here in the Foothills it'll only be a partial eclipse, but for High River Astronomer James Durbano, that means a trip to Nebraska to catch a glimpse of the total solar eclipse.

He says he'll be taking part in a NASA project called the "Eclipse Mega Movie Project," where a thousand photographers stretched from one end of the U.S to the other will be taking photos during totality.

"By doing that scientists could see how the solar corona changes over the course of 90 minutes. Because normally from any one location you only get to see the solar corona for  two and a half minutes. The solar corona is the outmost layer of the sun's atmosphere, and normally it's invisible. But during a total solar eclipse it does come into view and scientists want to see how it changes over time."

Durbano says here in the Foothills, we'll get about 80 per cent of the sun blocked out by the moon.

It'll start at 10:20 a.m. (MDT) on Monday, August 21 and wind up at 12:50 p.m. (MDT).

For those of us staying close to home for the solar eclipse, it'll look remarkably similar to this one that was visible from High River back in 2014. Photo courtesy James Durbano.

Eclipse Fun Facts:

After the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse, the next solar eclipse visible from High River will be on October 14, 2023.

The next solar eclipse where the path of totality passes over High River will be on August 22, 2044. (27 years and 1 day after the upcoming eclipse)

This is the "path of totality" for the eclipse on the 21st. Here in the Foothills about 80 per cent of the sun will be covered by the moon.

 

 

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