SKY- WATCHERS BOOKING SUMMER ECLIPSE TRIPS TO SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Thousands of suburban astronomy fans will be among the 50,000 people expected to converge on downstate Illinois this summer to witness the rare full solar eclipse.
On Aug. 21, parts of the country will be able to see a 100 percent solar eclipse — where the moon moves directly in front of the midday sun, blocking it completely for a few minutes and making it dark enough to see stars in the sky at 1: 20 p. m.
The full eclipse, dubbed “The Great American Eclipse,” will be visible, weather permitting, in a band that stretches across the U. S. from Oregon to North Carolina. It includes the southern Illinois cities of Marion, Chester and Carbondale, home of Southern Illinois University where many events are centered.
Excited astronomy fans in the suburbs started planning for this trip months ago. The Naperville Astronomical Association already booked a block of 100 hotel rooms in three different locations. The group also rented a park district ballfield outside Carbondale for its own private viewing party, to accommodate its 150 members who plan to go.
Full eclipses happen each year, but they’re often in faraway or hard- to- reach places around the world. The last one viewable in the United States was in 1979. So to have one this close to Chicago is very exciting, astronomical association spokesman Eric Claeys said.
“For people that know about it, and appreciate what it is — which is everyone in our club — it’s a big deal,” he said. “I’ve talked to people who’ve seen them, and they said it’s almost like a lifechanging event.”
Those who stay in the Chicago area can still see a partial eclipse, of about 90 percent, but it won’t be as dark as downstate. Still, the Adler Planetarium will have a viewing party and eclipse- related activities.
Many people will drive to places along the path that offer the most “totality,” including Columbia or St. Joseph, Missouri, and areas in and around Carbondale.
Many hotels and campgrounds in southern Illinois sold out months ago, with people coming from as far away as Japan to witness it.
“There have been people waiting, literally, for decades to see this,” said Michelle Nichols, master educator at the Adler Planetarium, who is helping plan the events in Carbondale. “If you’ve got any friends or relatives in southern Illinois, this is the time to start knockin’ on their doors.”
— Jamie Sotonoff