Total Solar Eclipse Coming In August; Where's The Best Place To See It?

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A total solar eclipse is one of the most spectacular sights in nature, and if you're up for a road trip, you can see it this summer.

A total solar eclipse will cross the length of the U.S. for the first time in 99 years.

The earth, moon, and sun line up just right for a total eclipse somewhere on earth twice a year, but there hasn't been an alignment like the one coming August 21, since 1918.

On that day, a total solar eclipse will start in Oregon, and move across 14 states, exiting the U.S. at South Carolina.

"To see that, you're going to have to drive to South Carolina or some other state that's along the path of the eclipse," said Dr. Dean Pesnell, with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

That's because only an area about 100 miles wide will see a total eclipse of the sun. The rest of the country will see only a partial eclipse.

"So Baltimore will see about 80 percent coverage of the sun," Dr. Pesnell said.

For those in the right spot, daylight will turn to dark, and scientists will go to work along the route, training instruments on the sun's bright corona.

"It's always there, it's just that you can't see it outside of a total solar eclipse," said Dr. Pesnell. "And it allows us to look at a thin layer that's just outside the sun, called the chronosphere, with new instruments we're trying to test."

It was during total eclipses that giant solar flares were first seen, and the surface of the moon stood out as sunlight backlit mountains and valleys.

Scientific discoveries aren't the only pay off from a total solar eclipse.

"It's a spectacular sight, and if you can get to a place and watch totality, you really should," Dr. Pesnell said.

On the east coast, the eclipse will start a little after 1 p.m. and reach totality just before 3 p.m.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook