ATLANTA (AP) — When the sun, the moon and Earth all align during the solar eclipse later this summer, some of Georgia's best viewing spots will be in the northeast Georgia mountains.
That's what experts are saying about what's being called the Great American Eclipse on Aug. 21, based on the expected path.
New maps from NASA show how the path will strike through the northeast Georgia towns of Blairsville and Clayton for about two minutes or slightly more of totality.
It will be the first total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States from coast to coast in nearly 100 years, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
NASA data visualizer Ernie Wright recently published the most accurate map to date of the eclipse's path of totality using data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, elevation data on Earth and information on the sun's angles, the newspaper reported.
Whether or not you're inside the path of totality will determine what you see in the sky. If you're outside the path, you'll likely see a partial (not total) eclipse, experts say.
The eclipse is expected to begin in Oregon at 10:15 a.m. local time (1:15 p.m. EST). Its path of totality will cut a 60-mile-wide arc across the country and end in South Carolina about an hour and a half later.
The center-line path of totality - where the moon completely blocks the sun, the earth goes dark and the sun's corona shimmers in the blackened sky - will stretch from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina, and will last up to 2 minutes and 41.6 seconds, the newspaper reported.
Rabun County is hosting several events to commemorate the rare eclipse. Some events include bluegrass at Tallulah Falls, a golf tournament at Sky Valley Country Club, a lecture series with astronomers and a 5K run.
On Aug. 21, spectators can join Georgia State University astronomers in the OutASight Total Solar Eclipse Viewing Party, where jumbotrons linked to NASA will help guide the event.
Meanwhile, the Hall County Library System plans two programs later this month at which experts will talk about the history and science of eclipses. Both are planned at the Murrayville branch - one for adults on July 10 at 5:00 and another July 13 at 2:30 for students 12-and-older.
(AccessWDUN's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)
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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
