Current:Home > MyRobert Brown|Small Illinois village preps for second total eclipse in 7 years -VisionFunds
Robert Brown|Small Illinois village preps for second total eclipse in 7 years
PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-06 14:12:00
In a cosmic coincidence,Robert Brown the southern Illinois village of Makanda is preparing for yet another total solar eclipse. The town of roughly 600 people sits right at the intersection of where the path of the last total eclipse in 2017 meets the path of Monday's upcoming eclipse.
It's a phenomenon that on average occurs only once around every 375 years, according to NASA.
In 2017, the moon blocked the sun in Makanda for 2 minutes and 42 seconds — longer than anywhere else, according to NASA — and thousands of visitors flocked to the tiny village to see it. Makanda festival coordinator Debbie Dunn is expecting just as many people this year, although Makanda won't have the longest amount of totality this time around.
"I had some butterflies, out of this world for sure, and I had never experienced anything like that, ever," one spectator told CBS News in 2017. "That's why we wanted to come here."
Dunn said the last eclipse made her emotional, "and it was totally unexpected."
"Mother nature. In awe," she said.
Back then, artist Dave Dardis painted an orange line through his shop, which he said represented the center of the path of totality. Asked how he felt about being able to see another total solar eclipse, he told CBS News at the time, "If I'm still alive, I think that will be great!"
CBS News caught up with the artist, now 75, who is still very much looking forward to Monday's eclipse. He's repainted the line in his store, although this year it's just symbolic and won't actually match up with the centerline path of the moon's shadow.
He's also creating 1,000 pieces of jewelry for the celestial occasion. Last time, he said, he sold out of all his pendants three days before the big event.
"It feels great, especially if you can make some money while you're feeling great and sharing it with friends," Dardis said this year.
That sentiment echoed down the boardwalk of the self-declared "hippie town."
At Makanda Java Country Store, Genie Schropp is selling solar eclipse-themed T-shirts and trucker hats, as well as Makanda Java Eclipse coffee blend, made special just for the big day.
"Colombia dark roast," she said, "the darkest coffee you can buy here."
After Monday, the next total solar eclipse in the U.S. won't be until 2044, and that eclipse's path of totality won't cut through Makanda. But the locals don't seem to mind. They said they already can't believe their astronomically good luck.
"I don't need to see three," Dardis joked. "Just asking for one is enough. But two?"
- In:
- Eclipse
veryGood! (77877)
Related
- Average rate on 30
- Progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón advances to runoff
- 'Hotel California' trial abruptly ends after prosecutors drop case over handwritten Eagles lyrics
- Wyoming Considers Relaxing Its Carbon Capture Standards for Electric Utilities, Scrambling Political Alliances on Climate Change and Energy
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Four family members convicted in 2018 New Mexico compound case sentenced to life
- Police continue search for missing 3-year-old boy Elijah Vue in Wisconsin: Update
- Southern Baptist agency says U.S. investigation into sexual abuse has ended with ‘no further action’
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Jason Kelce's retirement tears hold an important lesson for men: It's OK to cry
Ranking
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Say cheese! Hidden Valley Ranch, Cheez-It join forces to create Cheezy Ranch
- Spectacular fields of yellow mustard draw visitors to Northern California’s wine country
- Florida sheriff apologizes for posting photo of dead body believed to be Madeline Soto: Reports
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Nevada authorities are seeking a retired wrestler and ex-congressional candidate in a hotel killing
- Shake Shack giving away free sandwiches Monday based on length of Oscars telecast: What to know
- For social platforms, the outage was short. But people’s stories vanished, and that’s no small thing
Recommendation
Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
What is the State of the Union? A look at some of the history surrounding the annual event
Oscar Mayer to launch first vegan hot dog later this year
3 sizzling hot ETFs that will keep igniting the market
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
Oversized Clothes That Won’t Make You Look Frumpy or Bulky, According to Reviewers
Iditarod musher who shot moose penalized for not properly gutting animal
Why are clocks set forward in the spring? Thank wars, confusion and a hunger for sunlight