15 solar eclipse maps you need to study before the astronomical event of a century

Reuters

Total solar eclipse fever is raging as millions prepare for an astronomical event that hasn't cut across the US in 99 years.

On August 21, the moon will slide in front of the sun and cast a dark, moving shadow on America. Not every location will see the solar eclipse at the same time, however, or witness the same phenomena — including totality, which is when the moon fully blocks the sun to reveal the star's ghost-like corona.

To help show what, when, and how you might experience the 2017 total solar eclipse, Business Insider spoke to Michael Zeiler, a cartographer at Esri, a mapping data and technology company. Zeiler has chased eclipses for 26 years and is a member of the American Astronomical Society's task force on the 2017 total solar eclipse.

"The first time I made a solar eclipse map was for a cruise in 2009," Zeiler told Business Insider. "I didn't have the map I wanted for that trip, so I made it. It was a huge hit on my ship, because it was full of 900 other eclipse chasers. I've been making hundreds of maps ever since."

Over the past several years, Zeiler has compiled eclipse-related roadway, population, weather, and other data — plus analyses of that information — into convenient maps at his website, GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Zeiler has created dozens of maps — including one that shows the entire path of totality as a 10-foot-long poster (if printed) — but we've included some of his favorites here.

This map shows the entire coverage area of the solar eclipse. "The partial eclipse will span five continents," Zeiler said.

Zeiler estimated that 12.2 million people live in the roughly 2,800-mile-long, 70-mile-wide path of the umbra: the moon's darkest shadow.

But many Americans are on the move to the path. Zeiler created this map to show the time it'd take to drive to totality based on where you live — at least without any traffic.