BPE - The 2017 Central Oregon Solar Eclipse

BPE - Big Picture Event... (https://www.meetup.com/The-Bend-Big-Picture-Book-Club/pages/Three_types_of_meetings:_TotM,_MPP,_and__BPE/)

During the morning of Monday, August 21, 2017, the shadow of a Solar Eclipse will sweep across a sliver of the United States (http://www.space.com/30343-great-american-total-solar-eclipse-2017.html). Solar Eclipses occur infrequently so it's fun to get up to speed on the details about it (http://cs.astronomy.com/asy/b/astronomy/archive/2014/08/05/25-facts-you-should-know-about-the-august-21-2017-total-solar-eclipse.aspx) and tips for experiencing it (http://cs.astronomy.com/asy/b/astronomy/archive/2014/08/08/25-tips-for-the-august-21-2017-total-solar-eclipse.aspx). Lucky for us, about 10:20 am, the shadow of the moon will begin to sweep across Central Oregon. Depending on how close you are to the total eclipse center line, the eclipse will last from 105 to 165 seconds.

We'll gather earlier in the morning for a potluck breakfast brunch. Please bring $10 for Danna's expenses, a folding chair, and a brunch dish and drink to share. Don't forget to educate and equip yourself to see the eclipse.

We're co-hosting this event with the Central Oregon New Friends Connection meetup (https://www.meetup.com/CONewFriendsConnection/events/224869205/). We anticipate fun and a group of about 50 people.

https://a248.e.akamai.net/secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/a/d/9/2/600_457364434.jpeg

This NASA video depicts the dark oval created by the eclipse as it moves from West to East.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJgXaqW3md8

The Central Oregon city closest to the center line of the shadow is Madras. But it will be a madhouse with 40,000 people expected to visit. So we've decided to accept the kind offer of one of our members to watch the eclipse from her property north of Sisters, Oregon (see red dot in pic below).

https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/2/4/d/600_460512877.jpeg

Solar eclipses we can easily witness take place only rarely. How rare are they? See the graphic depiction below found here (http://cs.astronomy.com/asy/b/astronomy/archive/2014/08/05/25-facts-you-should-know-about-the-august-21-2017-total-solar-eclipse.aspx).

https://a248.e.akamai.net/secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/c/b/b/d/600_457432157.jpeg

In early August, we'll be having a TotM Book Meetup to talk about the larger meaning of this kind of event (https://www.meetup.com/The-Bend-Big-Picture-Book-Club/events/236772145/) for humans past.

Looking forward to spending time in the dark with you!