The
August 21, 2017 solar eclipse in the U.S. is notable for literally crossing the country. NASA visualizations let you follow the big dot of the moon's shadow—also called the umbra—from landfall on Oregon's Pacific coast to the Atlantic shores of South Carolina. That route, called the path of totality, marks where people will be able to experience a total eclipse, in which the moon fully blocks the sun. On either side of that path, huge swaths of land will see a partial eclipse.