The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

I viewed the 2017 eclipse from Carbondale, Illinois. (How that came to be is an interesting story in and of itself. Click here if you are curious.) This total solar eclipse entered the US on the northwestern coast near Salem, Oregon. It proceeded diagonally across the contiguous United States before exiting the southeast coast of South Carolina. Its path covered roughly 2,500 miles, and the width of the Path of Totality (PoT, or the umbral path) averaged approximately 65 miles. The Point of Greatest Duration was just south of Carbondale (the red dot on the following map), and the Point of Greatest Eclipse was just northwest of Hopkinsville, Kentucky (the black dot). The sun and moon were in the constellation Leo (the Lion).

If you are unfamiliar with eclipse terminology, click here for a glossary.)

Two points are frequently mentioned concerning this eclipse.

EXCLUSIVITY

The first involves the countries that the PoT contacted. To quote one source, the 2017 eclipse was “the first total solar eclipse to visit only the USA since the nation’s founding in 1776.” This statement is correct, though somewhat misleading. It is true that since the nation’s founding in 1776, this is the only total solar eclipse to have crossed the US without touching any other country. The misleading part is that one might think the writer was indicating that there was a total solar eclipse in 1776 that also touched only the US. That is not true; no solar eclipse came anywhere near America in 1776. (One hit Alaska, but that obviously had nothing to do with the colonies.) There was a total solar eclipse in 1778 that crossed the southern colonies (states), but it also hit Mexico and Northern Africa. 

This raises an important point I don't want you to miss. When I say this eclipse touched only the USA, I am referring to the Path of Totality. (See the map below.) That does not mean that no other countries witnessed the eclipse. In fact, in 2017 every area within the green border witnessed a partial eclipse (Canada, the United Kingdom, all of Central America, and the northern portion of South America).

Only those areas inside the red band (America) witnessed a total eclipse.

PEACE (The Salems)

The other widely quoted characteristic of this eclipse was that it crossed seven towns named Salem. Salem (aka, Shalom) is the Hebrew word for peace, and it is believed to have been the original name of Jerusalem. In Genesis 14, Melchizedek the priest was identified as the King of Salem, and in the New Testament book of Hebrews, he is presented as a type of Christ. We will discuss the meaning and importance of types a bit later.

A close examination of the data reveals only five Salems in the path of totality. They are located in Oregon, Nebraska, Idaho, Kentucky and South Carolina. The other 26 Salems in the US fall outside the PoT. Salem, Missouri came close with 99.4% obscuration, but the town was still 20 miles away and therefore doesn't make the cut.

So the "seven Salems" claim falls flat. Some would argue that I should include the towns in Missouri and Illinois because they are close. But that's a pretty arbitrary distinction. How are you going to define "close"? The only clear boundaries (established by God, not by man) are the edges of the paths of totality and partiality. Anything beyond that is subjective.

But let’s examine what we do have. There are right at 3,120,000 sq mi in the contiguous US, and the PoT covered approximately 160,000 sq mi, which means that on average, the eclipse should have crossed 1.6 Salems rather than five. Does that mean anything? Perhaps. It is interesting to see that all five Salems lie on or very near the center line. Additionally, two of the Salems are located in the entry and exit states. But I would need to see a lot more evidence before postulating any meaning based solely on this feature. This is especially true given that total solar eclipses have historically been regarded as bad omens. How could "peace-peace-peace-peace-peace" be a bad omen?!

There are a few more interesting things about this eclipse that will come into play later in the narrative, but first let's take a quick look at the Canadian eclipse of 2021.

This eclipse is not generally looked at as being germane to the discussion of the 7 year Great American Eclipse Cycle because it doesn't touch America.