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Phoenix666 writes:

For the first time in almost a century the United States is preparing for a coast-to-coast solar eclipse, a rare celestial event millions of Americans, with caution, will be able to observe.

During the eclipse on August 21—the first of its kind since 1918—the moon will pass between the sun and Earth, casting a dark shadow and making visible the sun's normally obscured atmosphere, or solar corona, as well as bright stars and planets.

Observers will be able to see the moon's 70-mile (113-kilometer) wide shadow from Oregon in the west to South Carolina in the east over the course of more than two daylight hours, with two minutes of darkness engulfing 14 states.

Almost 12 million Americans live within this strip of the country, while some two-thirds of the nation's population reside within a day's car ride, said Martin Knopp of the Department of Transportation.

The US will be the only country to experience the total eclipse, and international visitors are expected to descend for the event.

Spacecraft, NASA aircraft, more than 50 high-altitude balloons and astronauts aboard the International Space Station will capture images.

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