Over the weekend, millions of people already set off to the path of the total solar eclipse on Monday afternoon, which crosses the United States in a southwest-northeast directionabout 4,000 kilometers long and almost 200 kilometers wide.
The natural phenomenon will be observed for the first time in the state of Texas, where it will reach totality for about 4 and a half minutes on Monday at 12:30 local time.
The moon’s shadow will leave the United States over the state of Maine about an hour later.
A partial solar eclipse will be visible in most of the United States, in Los Angeles the Moon will occupy about half of the Sun, as well as in Miami. In the capital, Washington, it will be almost 90 percent.
About 44 million people live in the area that falls within the total solar eclipse band, and they expect significantly increased tourism, with substantial income. According to a recent study by Lisa W. Miller & Associates, a consumer research firm, 12 million people travel to see the astronomical phenomenon in its entirety. Most people, about 1 million, choose Texas, where the eclipse will be visible for the longest time.
Expectations from the Perryman Group, an economic and financial analysis group It’s about $1.5 billion in direct tourism revenue, but this could exceed $4.5 billion with ancillary revenues. The tourism industry in Texas can count on the most serious direct income, about 420 million, but a quarter of a billion dollars is also expected in New York state.
Many festivals are held in the localities within the range of the natural phenomenon, in Cleveland the events already started on the weekend. In Washington, the national air and space museum (National Air and Space Museum) is preparing special scientific educational lectures on Monday for residents and visitors to the capital.
The last time a total solar eclipse passed through much of the United States, with a band stretching from the West Coast to the East Coast, was in 2017. The next similar phenomenon affecting the two coasts will occur in 2045. At the same time, a total solar eclipse affecting smaller areas of the country will be visible in Alaska in 2033, then in Montana and North Dakota in 2044.
