First of all, if you decide to just stay home, there will be extensive television and cyber coverage:
- NASA is geared up to cover the eclipse on its TV channel and online, starting at 12 pm EDT. Viewers around the world will be provided a wealth of images captured before, during, and after the eclipse by 11 spacecraft, at least three NASA aircraft, more than 50 high-altitude balloons, and the astronauts aboard the International Space Station – each offering a unique vantage point for the celestial event.
- CNN has set up coast-to-coast coverage with 360-degree live streaming.
- The Weather Channel is airing Eclipse Day coverage starting at 3 a.m. PT, with anchors in Madras as well as Carbondale, Ill., and other locations along the path of totality.
- Science Channel will be streaming live coverage of totality on TV and Facebook Live, and is planning a prime-time recap.
- PBS will air a “Nova” special titled “Eclipse Over America” to recap the event during Monday’s prime time.
If you must be on the road, or just decide to go for a drive, here are some things to think about.
The last time a total solar eclipse crossed the United States, it was 1918, and the chances of dying in an eclipse-related auto accident were pretty low.
That isn’t the case in 2017. There are millions more cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and their drivers aren’t always paying attention to the task of driving. The eclipse is just one more distraction we have to worry about on August 21.
First of all, If you’re thinking about heading out on Monday morning and driving into the path of totality, think again. Thousands of other people will have that idea, and they will most likely all be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. If you’re traveling, make sure that you keep the gas tank filled, stock up on water and food, be prepared for on-the-road emergencies, and know where you’re going.
Helpful Hints:
- Don’t look at the eclipse while driving
There are more ways to drive distracted than ever, what with drivers sending text messages, checking email or the local news while driving down the interstate. Really don’t do it. If you really want to view the eclipse – while wearing your solar filter glasses – do it from a safe (stationary) place.
- Don’t pull over on the side of the highway to watch the eclipse
There are many highways in the eclipse viewing area, and it is expected to last for just a few minutes, which means the temptation for you to just pull over for a couple of minutes and take a peek will be strong. Don’t. If you’re standing on the side of an interstate staring up at the sky, and some other guy is leaning out his window to watch while his car has wandered onto the shoulder – you get the picture.
- There will be more pedestrians than usual — try not to run them down
Motorists may think they’ve stumbled upon a mob of zombies, staring up at the sky and not paying attention to where they are walking. You must avoid contact while driving your car if at all possible.
- Turn on your headlights
During a total solar eclipse, day suddenly becomes night. Don’t rely on your car’s automatic lights, position the sun visor to block your view of the Sun, and don’t wear eclipse-appropriate eye wear while driving. You’ll look stupid, and you really cannot see anything with them on except the Sun.
- Watch out for construction
August is construction season in most states in the path of the eclipse. That means more orange barrels, cones and sudden lane changes that pose a risk to drivers who aren’t paying attention – and to construction workers who may be in their path.
MORE ECLIPSE POSTS:
Stella's Place 
Don’t run with scissors during the solar eclipse.
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I penciled that in on Tuesday, although MWF are my regular days.
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lol.
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Thank you for the more than informittive post warning us of the dangers that the eclipse poses.
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I read yesterday that many pets will actually look at the sun and should be brought in. That will be a danged fun day, as I’m trying to get the house ready for a rehearsal dinner here Friday.
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I read that too, on FB. There was an answer from a farmer who said that all of his farm animals would be outside, and only humans are dumb enough to look directly at the sun. We aren’t in the totality area.
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Makes sense, they shall remain outside. Thanks!
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Reblogged this on The Last Refuge and commented:
More excellent advice from Stella as we get ready for the eclipse. Be prepared, be safe. Please take time to read her post for some excellent tips .
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Don’t kill your cell phone trying to get pics or a movie.
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Or your digital camera. You need a special filter. Thanks for bringing that up.
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Will travel to SC for the eclipse. Just outside of Charlestown. Visiting some friends, enjoy good food, adult refreshments………… will provide a SITREP from the shadow of totally…….
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It’s Charleston, South Carolina! Thank you..Charlestown is in Virginia.. Just don’t like seeing a city with so much history be spelled wrong,and I live in Greenville, SC..So enjoy your trip to one of the most beautiful places in the USA if not the world!
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My apologies, fingers are to big for IPhone keyboard. In the future, I’ll just say Chuck-town as the local say. In addition, have spent more time in Chuck-town than some locals….
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West Virginia. But thanks for playing.
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My first thought was that I would just stay home. And, then it dawned on me, I have a dental appt. at 2:00 Eastern. Of course, I am not in the direct path. 🙄
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Is it true you can put a pin hole in a piece of paper and look through it and as long as you just look through it will be ok.
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Yes. You’ll need to project the image onto a white sheet or paper. And hold it up higher to get a good image. You can practice before the eclipse, and project a perfect circle. Then you’ll see the difference during the eclipse.
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But you can’t use the pinhole to look directly at the sun. You use the pinhole behind your head to create a projection onto another paper in front of you.
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I saw a show where the guy put the white paper inside a shoe box,then poked a hole in the shoe box to look through..Not sure of all the steps I caught it after it started but I’m sure Google has plenty of tricks..I mean our glasses here in SC were a dollar so probably want break the bank..
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i’m staying home, too…but I live in the totality band (near St. Louis). I have my glasses and a group of friends coming. I’m sure glad I don’t have to be on the road that day!
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I realized this morning that it is Mon., not Tues, so I can be home, too.
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I read a mildly oddball article that said this:
The August 21 eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality stays completely in the United States since 1776 according the Space.com Total Solar Eclipse 2017 guide.
…which I thought was a kinda cool fact. Some of the other 33 things were a bit more fringy.
https://countdownreport.wordpress.com/2017/08/12/august-21-eclipse-33-facts/
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Here on the Navajo reservation, we will have school (Arizona, public) off on Monday…Navajo traditional taboos about the eclipse. It is a good thing that we still have this ‘separation of church and state’ thing. Can you imagine the horror if we took off Good Friday, in order to remember what Jesus did for mankind on the cross.
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Here in Georgia, we’re extending school by an hour (of course not starting later in the morning, though) so that the kids aren’t unsupervised on the bus or walking home from school during the eclipse. I’m a teacher who will be supervising 26 children watching the eclipse, trying to make sure they keep their glasses on and don’t burn their little eyeballs, so I’m wishing I was on the Navajo reservation right about now!
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Everybody’s gonna die…..according to the local PSAs.
The evidence that the country has gone totally bonkers-blind-stupid is piling high.
My opinion.
Go ahead and run with scissors if you want to. “Of what use are forty freedoms if there is no blank place on the map……” Aldo Leopold.
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I just ran with some, Sharon. It was liberating.
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You are such a troublemaker.
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You’re just jealous (lol).
Go find your scissors. I challenge you to a cut-out.
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I bet they were the pointy kind too 😐.
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I’ll be blunt–they were.
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Did you have them in your Left Hand? ✃✃☻
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No, the right can still grasp. But good point (heh).
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“Don’t look at the eclipse while driving”
Yes, stop your car in the middle of the freeway and get out for a better view.
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That has been covered on the local news. It has been repeated several times in the last couple of days: “You should not stop your car on the freeway, either in the lane or on the shoulder, to look at the freeway.”
So if they do it anyway, they are very naughty.
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I just keep picturing how they get when 1/16″ snow sticks to the road up here. They abandon their cars in the middle of the freeway and start walking.
I can hear the screams of, ‘SOMETHING IS EATING THE SUN!!!!!’ before they drive off the road into a body of water or building.
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It really is something that boggles my mind. For weeks Oregon has been pumping out invitations to the country to come to Oregon and see the eclipse. Now they are in an absolute panic because the invitation was accepted. Traffic back ups, gas stations out of fuel, and fire departments worried about idiots starting wild fires. PSA’s flooding the internet begging people to carry fire extinguishers. Chicken Little has been replaced.
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They need a PSA so visitors will know the can’t pump their own gas.
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Did not realize that law was still in effect.
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I thought was so strange when I visited out there.
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I haven’t been there since 1987. We were driving through on our way to Washington from California. I thought the gas attendant was going to tackle my husband when he got out to pump gas!
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…….”to look at the eclipse….” [obviously]
I sheesh myself at times
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(HUGS)
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Lol
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It’ll be at 95% at my house, good enough for me.
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Why are people going bonkers about this. Oregon is a complete disaster right now. Gas stations have run out of fuel. Traffic is backed up for 30 miles. This is not the first or the last eclipse. It has been happening since the beginning of time. Idiots are screaming the world is going to end. As far as animals are concerned, we did not lose any in 1979 as far as I recall. Animals are truly smarter than humans. With everything going on in the world, I may just sleep through the eclipse! I have 6 pair of approved glasses for myself and friends.
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The lowest common denominator of the hysterically uninformed now have an unfettered highway where they can express their hysteria.
I have three pairs of approved glasses – manufactured by the right people and marked correctly with all the stuff. I have already looked at the sun through them just for fun. Why not beat the rush.
I heard the sun may burn out suddenly just before totality because it has awareness (scientists have just discovered) that is almost self-awareness. It has discovered that it has no clothes. Every time it tries to get dressed, everything gets burned up. It is frantically trying to locate a galactic seamstress with flameproof threads to sew something for the occasion and has, to this hour, not succeeded.
So, yes – if it feels too naked as the thing progresses on Monday – it may just go up in flames.
Or, not to coin a phrase, go out in a blaze of glory.
I will be watching. Staring, as it were.
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I have 6 pair of approved glasses for me and the neighbors. We will be watching from mt desk.
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!!!!!!!!
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This is prime time delivery of students to southern colleges…if traveling by car make sure you have a full tank of gas as I have heard reports of stations in eclipse pathway are having shortages.
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Soul-crushing traffic may plague the total solar eclipse — these maps reveal the worst choke points
http://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eclipse-car-traffic-travel-delay-maps-2017-8/#zeilers-drivesheds-maps-show-the-routes-that-drivers-are-most-likely-to-take-1
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Wow!!!!!
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Don’t laugh, but I wasn’t really paying attention to this and just moments ago, as I write this, discovered this is happening Monday. This Monday. The Monday I have to go do capitalist stuff in a nearby city. Well poop.
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Give yourself lots of time to get there. Or postpone.
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It will have to be lots of time. I have envelopes to stuff.
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