For the first time in 99 years, a total solar eclipse will occur across the entire continental United States, on Monday, Aug. 21.
The total solar eclipse reaches northeast Kansas at 1:02 p.m. and exits at 1:09 p.m.
The shadow of the moon passes over the northeast corner of Kansas. The northern suburbs of Kansas City,
The rest of us will see a partial eclipse. Tim Folkers, director of the Barton Community College Planetarium, talked about what Barton County can expect:
“The moon occasionally blocks the sun and casts a shadow onto the earth. Because the moon looks about the same size in the sky as the sun, only a small part of the earth sees the sun totally blocked. If you are away from the center of the eclipse, you only see part of the sun blocked, i.e. you are only partly in the shadow of the moon.
“Great Bend is never in the area where the sun is completely blocked. We are in the ‘90 percent band,’ so at least 90 percent of the sun gets blocks. In Great Bend, we will see a maximum of about 94 percent of the sun covered at about 1:01 p.m.”