American solar eclipse 2017: What is an eclipse, how can you watch it and what will the weather be?

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American solar eclipse 2017: What is an eclipse, how can you watch it and what will the weather be?

On Monday, August 21 the sun, moon and Earth will line up in an act of cosmic serendipity that will turn day into night across the 2,680-mile width of the United States. It will be the first time that has happened in nearly a century, and never will a total solar eclipse be so heavily viewed and studied. From Oregon in the west, to South Carolina in the east, there will be festivals and flamboyant eclipse viewing parties. And of course, traffic gridlock, an social media explosion, and general chaos As one astronomer put it: "This will be the most photographed, most shared, most tweeted event in human history." How unusual an event is this? Full solar eclipses, when the moon positions itself smack between the sun and the Earth, happen every few years but often in remote areas or over the ocean. This will be the first total solar eclipse in 99 years to cross the US coast-to-coast, and the first to pass through any part of the lower 48 states in 38 years. What creates a total solar eclipse Where is it happening? The path of totality - where the light of the sun is completely blocked out by the moon - is 70 miles wide and stretches from Lincoln City, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina, passing through 14 states and 21 National Parks The total eclipse will last about 90 minutes as the lunar shadow sweeps across America at more than 1,500 mph beginning about 10.15 am west coast time. On the east coast it will end at 2.49 pm east coast time. Where and when to see the eclipse Eclipse Fests, StarFests, SolarFests, SolFests, Darkening of the SunFests, MoonshadowFests, EclipseCons, Eclipse Encounters and Star Parties are planned along the path of totality. Vineyards, breweries, museums, parks, universities, stadiums, just about everybody is getting into the act. Where to see it | The Great American solar eclipse What if you're not in the US? Don't worry, Nasa will be broadcasting the whole thing on the internet and TV. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will beam back pictures, as will ships and planes and high altitude balloons. "This is a really amazing chance to just open the public's eyes to wonder," said physicist Angela Des Jardins, who is in charge of Nasa' eclipse video ballooning project. Eclipses mean chaos Will there be chaos? Undoubtedly. An estimated 200 million people live within a day's drive of the path of totality and huge crowds are expected. The lightly populated state of Oregon is expecting up to one million eclipse chasers and is treating the event as an emergency. Police everywhere are asking people to be patient. Even stuck in a traffic jam the sight should be wonderful. An eclipse in Beijing in 2010 Credit: Getty Rain means pain... We won't know weather conditions until closer to the time - but above all, eclipse viewing is dependent on clear skies, and the best advice is to find somewhere high and dry. Experienced eclipse watchers say the best bet is to avoid both coasts, where rain is more likely. States like Wyoming and Idaho could fare better. Ideally, the best option is to be somewhere remote with access to a fast car and clear roads in case a cloud settles overhead. The  Astronomical League for amateur astronomers, who know a thing or two, are heading for Casper, Wyoming. Majestic solar eclipse lights up Southern Hemisphere 00:31 How long will totality last? It varies in different places, Darkness will last just under two minutes in Oregon, gradually expanding to a maximum two minutes and 44 seconds in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, and into Kentucky, then dwindling to two-and-a-half minutes in South Carolina.  Will there also be a partial eclipse? The partial eclipse will extend up through Canada and down through Central America and the top of South America. Minneapolis will see 86 per cent of the sun covered, Miami 82 per cent, Montreal 66 per cent, and Mexico City sees 38 per cent. NASA satellite witnesses a rare double eclipse 00:36 Are protective eclipse glasses necessary? Absolutely. The only time you can look at the eclipse is during totality. Experts say at any point when the eclipse is partial, even if only a sliver of the sun is visible, it would burn the back of your eyes to look at it. "Unfortunately, I think it is probably true that during every solar eclipse, there's bound to be somebody who does get hurt," said Ralph Chou, an optometry professor and leading authority on eye damage from eclipse viewing. Schoolchildren wearing protective glasses Credit: Reuters How about watching from a plane South West Airlines has worked out that the eclipse will be visible from a handful of its scheduled flights, taking off from dEnver, Seattle and Portland. They'll be serving "cosmic cocktails" to the lucky passengers. Is there a Trump link to the eclipse? The Boston Globe newspaper made a valiant attempt to link the eclipse to Donald Trump, noting that 92 per cent of the 240 counties in the path of totality voted for the president in last year's election. However, the internet appeared to decide that this was a Trump link too far. Leave it to the Globe to make a solar eclipse political. (BTW Globe, the sun and moon don't care who's president!)— Gary Black (@GaryBlackal) August 4, 2017 ignoring politics for a sec and focusing only on eclipse mechanics.....isn't it trump supporters who get the shadehttps://t.co/uEbdxs1RbV— Sarah Holder (@ptsarahdactyl) August 6, 2017 What do the experts say about eclipses? Nasa guru Bill Cooke says: "It is the most weird, creepy, awe-inspiring astronomical event you will experience." Rick Fienberg, spokesman for the American Astronomical Society: "Going through life without ever experiencing totality is like going through life without ever falling in love." When's the next one in the US? April 8, 2024. It might be even better with four minutes totality.

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'Cat on lead' trend is causing pets distress, RSPCA warns

Pet owners should stop walking their cats around on a leash because they become stressed and agitated when they “lose control”, the RSPCA has warned. Across Britain a growing number of pet owners are walking their cats on leads in a bid to give them more “enrichment”, the charity says - but doing so is likely to do more harm than good. With many cats cooped up indoors for prolonged periods, particularly in urban towns and cities, there has been a drive in recent years to provide them with more freedom. Capitalising on the trend, well known pet brands have released their own line of cat walking products, with specialists including PetSafe UK and PetPlanet stocking a range of cat harnesses and leads. Meanwhile, social media is also believed to be encouraging the trend, with  the hashtag #catwalking used more than 14,000 times on Instagram alongside pictures of owners taking their cats through city centres, on public transport and to country parks. They include actress Marleen Maathuis and interior designer Tim Van Cromcoirt, from south London, who recently took their Maine Coon cat, Ash, on a three day walking holiday to Snowdonia. Ash the cat surveys his surroundings in the rocky climbs of Snowdonia  Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms Maathuis said that because Ash was unable to roam freely at home, they had trained him on a leash and now regularly take him on walks across the capital. “Just because we live in a flat and haven’t got a garden, we didn’t want him to miss out on the beauty of life,” she added. ‘Cats are curious animals, they like exploring. It would be a shame if he just stayed indoors because of the busy roads.’ “Some people didn’t notice, whilst others were amazed and struggled to grasp the idea that we were walking the cat. Other people walked by with their dogs and the dogs looked more surprised than they did. “In London, we see it often, people walking ferrets, rabbits - we even saw a guinea pig on a leash in the park recently. People don’t have gardens and so they have to take their animals outside for a walk.” However, the RSPCA warns that this well-meaning trend is having the opposite of the desired effect, because forcing cats to walk with a collar or harness removes their “sense of control”. Unlike dogs, which eagerly await their daily walk, cats are more territorial and likely to become agitated when forced into new environments. Scientist builds incredible ladder for pet after landlord bans catflap 00:28 A spokeswoman added: “A sense of control is very  important to cats and being walked on a collar or harness prevents them from having control,” she added. “It may be more difficult for them to be able to move away or hide from anything which might scare or worry them. Therefore the RSPCA wouldn’t recommend that cats are walked outside in this way. “Some loving owners who have cats that live indoors-only may feel that walking cats outside on a harness or collar is beneficial for their welfare. “However, we would generally suggest that for most cats taking steps to provide an indoor environment which has plenty of opportunities to be active and mentally stimulated is likely to be more beneficial for the cat’s welfare than walking them on a lead.” However, many animal behaviourists disagree, claiming that whilst some cats may lack the right temperament, the craze is largely beneficial to animals without alternative access to the outdoors. Laura Moss, the founder of the website Adventure Cats, said: “More people are leash training their cats. Taking a cat outside can be great for a cat’s mental and physical health. “Many indoor cats simply don’t receive enough stimulation and they may suffer from obesity or boredom-related behavioral problems.”

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The Latest: US condemns killing of 7 White Helmets in Syria

BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the developments in the Syrian civil war (all times local):

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