What Time Is the Eclipse?
Today’s solar eclipse will last for several hours, depending on where you are. The first suspicions begin around 9 am on the west coast and at 1 pm in the east. If you are on the path of totality, when the moon blocks 100 percent of the sun, this dark moment will only last a few minutes. You can find out the exact time of your location here .
Here’s what’s strange: the first people to see the eclipse will be on the west coast (starting in Oregon at about 9 a.m. local time), and the moon’s shadow will pass over the United States from west to east. Which seems strange, right? Because both the moon and the sun rise in the east and set in the west. (Disclaimer: I’m not an astronomer.) Here is NASA ‘s explanation of why this is happening:
Because the Moon is moving eastward in its orbit at a speed of about 3400 km / h. The Earth rotates in the east at a speed of 1670 km / h at the equator, so the lunar shadow moves east at a speed of 3400 – 1670 = 1730 km / h near the equator. You cannot keep up with the shadow of the eclipse if you are not traveling at Mach 1.5.
Basically, the moon is moving faster than the earth is spinning. Because of this, the eclipse begins in Columbia, South Carolina at 1:13 pm ET, about an hour after it started on the west coast. And the moon’s shadow will slip into the ocean a little after 4:00 pm ET.