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Astronomy/21 Aug 2017 solar eclipse

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Expert: Jesse Martinez - 7/24/2010


Question
Seeing a total solar eclipse is in the top ten of my "bucket list," a list of things I'd love to do before I die.
If I can make it until the 2017 eclipse in the US, I need some good information. Where would we see the longest duration of totality? My brother is going to Wyoming on the advice of a professional astronomer, his wife's brother, but doesn't know why. Many of my friends want to go to Kentucky. Again, I don't know why. As I live near Dallas, the drive to Kentucky would be shorter, but I've never seen Wyoming, and it might be a tad cooler in Wyoming. Is there any way of getting a _rough_ idea of the odds of rainy weather for August in those areas along the path of totality? Any advice you could give me would be _tremendously_ appreciated.

Answer
This is a complicated question to answer, but I will Reg. Since we have a few years, give me a few days to research this and get back to you. I am over 50 so I have seen two totals, one annular and three partial solar eclipses without travelling. This was due to chance. I have never traveled to see one. They just happened in the area I was in at the time, the US and Mexico. They are indeed spectacular. Just remember the safety rules for observation. I am very busy right now but I will get back to you in two or three days along with some other related information. Thanks for the question.

Jesse

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Jesse Martinez

Expertise

General and specific questions about the solar system and stellar and galactic astronomy, are what I can easily answer off the top of my head. For example, what is the largest planet in the solar system? How far away is the moon? Have there been any confirmed planets in orbit around stars other than the sun? How many stars are there? The tougher ones like explaining the big bang theory and black holes I will leave to the PhD’s. Even though I could muster an answer, I would have to research it more than I would like. I would also like to answer questions that involve Astronomy with other sciences, chemistry, biology, physics, geology and mathematics as long as they are not PhD level.

Experience

I have been into astronomy since I was 8 years old. I have kept detailed journals of my observations through small telescopes. Over the years I have participated in amateur observation projects for organizations like ALPO. My personal research has involved "discovering" the moons of Jupiter with a 4½-inch Newtonian reflector without any outside information like charts and tables. In a summer long project, I determined the existence of and plotted the orbits of the four major moons of Jupiter. From these observations, my data on orbital elements was surprisingly accurate (orbital radius and orbital period).

Education/Credentials
80 hours of college credits while studying physics and geophysics. Completed correspondence photography course while in high school. Took two semesters of electronics training at a community college. Studied computers and graduated from a technical school at the turn of the millennium, gaining A+ and Microsoft Certified Professional credentials. Hablo Español. Si quieres preguntar en Español, estoy a su servicio.

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