Illinois Won't Get Totality... But Here's The Good News

A solar eclipse and a Perseid meteor shower will make August a fabulous month to spend time looking up.

First, this solar eclipse is happening on August 12, but its path of totality will not cross the United States.

lunar eclipse photo — Photo by Justin Dickey on Unsplash

Catching the August 12 Partial Eclipse in Illinois

It will be in places such as Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, parts of Spain and Portugal, and the Atlantic Ocean.

For us in Illinois, we're going to experience a partial solar eclipse that is believed to start at 12:09 p.m. and end at 12:44 p.m. our time, but remember, totality will not be visible for us in the Land of Lincoln.

Ideal Dark-Sky Viewing Condition

That goes for much of the United States, as just about anywhere between Alaska and North Carolina will see a partial eclipse, with the global peak occurring around 12:35 p.m. our time.

The following night, a Perseid meteor shower will also reach its peak, creating some incredible dark-sky viewing conditions. Considering the lack of moonlight, the meteor shower could be nearly impossible to miss with the naked eye.

the night sky with stars moving across the sky — Photo by John Zhou on Unsplash

A Partial Solar Eclipse and Perseid Meteor Shower

So sure, we're not getting the dramatic darkness of a total eclipse as we experienced in 2017 or 2024, but we're making up for it later on with the chance to see one of the year's best meteor showers.

What would you rather see? An eclipse or a meteor shower?

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

Gallery Credit: Anuradha Varanasi

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Gallery Credit: KATELYN LEBOFF

Source: August Is Bringing Two Amazing Sky Shows To Illinois

Filed Under: illinois, space, Astronomy

Categories: Articles