On August 21, 2017, the United States is in for a totally American solar eclipse.
The path
of the total solar eclipse runs from the beach at Oregon to Charleston,
South Carolina. Astronomers have determined that the best place along
that path to see totality will be
Hopkinsville, Kentucky,
a small town between Paducah and Nashville. The sun will be blocked for
two minutes and 40 seconds in the middle of the day there. And that
won't be the only thing going on in Hopkinsville.
In a
strange coincidence, August 21, the day of the 2017 eclipse, carries a
lot of significance for Hopkinsville. That’s the day, in 1955, that a
local farmhouse in nearby Kelly received an alleged visit from a band of
extraterrestrials and a fierce gunfight ensued. Local police and
military police from nearby Fort Campbell investigated, and the incident
received considerable coverage from the national press.
The
community now celebrates the event annually with the “Little Green Men
Days” festival. Next year’s four-day spectacular will be capped off with
a total solar eclipse, and probably considerable UFO conspiracy
theories.
“I like to say the aliens were here to pick out their viewing site early,” Cook joked.
But forget booking a hotel room in Hopkinsville next August. They've been booked for years. Read about
Hopkinsville and the eclipse to come at Atlas Obscura.
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