--- title: 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Path Across the U.S. description: A total solar eclipse will cross the U.S. from coast to coast on August 21, 2017. See a map of the eclipse's path canonical: https://time.com/4902132/solar-eclipse-path/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-20T14:00:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T04:42:59.000Z article:section: Science og:title: See the Path of the Total Solar Eclipse As It Moves Across the U.S. og:description: On Aug. 21, skygazers will see a total solar eclipse og:url: https://time.com/4902132/solar-eclipse-path/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9545d7e1917b020/6988da150b72e39f7b6ef100/nasa_eclipse_map-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: nasa_eclipse_map-2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See the Path of the Total Solar Eclipse As It Moves Across the U.S. twitter:description: On Aug. 21, skygazers will see a total solar eclipse twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9545d7e1917b020/6988da150b72e39f7b6ef100/nasa_eclipse_map-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See the Path of the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse As It Moves Across the U.S. by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:42 AM UTCPublished: Aug 20, 2017 2:00 PM UTC  NASA by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:42 AM UTCPublished: Aug 20, 2017 2:00 PM UTC A [total solar eclipse](http://time.com/4750899/total-solar-eclipse/) with a path that crosses the U.S. from coast to coast will be visible on Aug. 21, 2017, and you can [watch live on TIME.com](http://time.com/4900148/total-solar-eclipse-time-livestream) beginning at 12 p.m. Monday. The [historic event](http://time.com/4897581/total-solar-eclipse-years-next/) has been called “The Great American Eclipse,” and marks the first time since 1979 that a [total solar eclipse](http://time.com/4834676/total-solar-eclipse-2017-rare/) will be visible from the contiguous U.S. During the total eclipse, which begins in Oregon, the moon will completely block the sun, and travel diagonally across the country until it reaches South Carolina. ## Where can you see the total solar eclipse? Skygazers in parts of 14 states will get the chance to [view the solar eclipse in totality](http://time.com/4884482/total-solar-eclipse-2017-map/). The eclipse’s path of totality will cross through states including Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. People in those 10 states will be able to see the eclipse widely.  NASA ## When does the solar eclipse start? The [total solar eclipse will begin](http://time.com/4872430/total-solar-eclipse-2017-time/) in Lincoln Beach, Ore. at 10:16 a.m. PST. It will then move toward the East Coast, and end near Columbia, S.C. at about 2:44 p.m. EST. Space enthusiasts will have up to two minutes and 40 seconds to see the eclipse, though in many places totality will be even shorter. **_NEXT:_** [**_Watch the Whole Total Solar Eclipse in 4 Minutes_**](http://time.com/4900280/total-solar-eclipse-2017-video-watch/) ## Where’s the best place to see the total solar eclipse? Weather permitting, the 10 states where the total eclipse can be seen most widely will provide some of the best views of the total solar eclipse. Scenic spots across the country have long been booked up by people excited about the eclipse, but each state still has [spots where the public can see the eclipse at the last minute](http://time.com/4872779/total-solar-eclipse-best-places-watch/). In Oregon, try to stake out a spot in Salem, Madras and Lime, [_The Oregonian_ suggests](http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2017/04/omsi%5Fspace%5Feducator%5Fon%5Frare%5Fso.html). If you’re in Nebraska, Interstate 80 between North Platte and Lincoln will provide a great view of the eclipse. We’ve also rounded up some of the [best spots](http://time.com/4750899/total-solar-eclipse/) in Missouri, Illinois, Idaho and Wyoming. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4902132/solar-eclipse-path/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4902132/solar-eclipse-path/"},"headline":"See the Path of the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse As It Moves Across the U.S.","datePublished":"2017-08-20T14:00:39.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T04:42:59.000Z","description":"On Aug. 21, skygazers will see a total solar eclipse","url":"https://time.com/4902132/solar-eclipse-path/","keywords":["Eclipse","onetime","space 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9545d7e1917b020/6988da150b72e39f7b6ef100/nasa_eclipse_map-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9545d7e1917b020/6988da150b72e39f7b6ef100/nasa_eclipse_map-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"nasa_eclipse_map-2","caption":"","creditText":"NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/eclipse/","name":"Eclipse"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4902132/solar-eclipse-path/","name":"See the Path of the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse As It Moves Across the U.S."}}]}] ```