Luke Taylor: Closest place to see the eclipse?
Mar. 24—Where is the bestplace nearby to watch the upcoming solar eclipse?
The good news for East Central Illinois residents is that we're absolutely in the area to see a partial eclipse on April 8 — just step outside around 2 p.m. that Monday.
If that's your plan, be sure to get eclipse glasses. Our Kathy Reiser tracked down the best places to get them around Champaign-Urbana in this week's Mailbag (for free, in some places!), but you can also order them online.
If you can take the time off work, it might be worth traveling a couple of hours south to see the total eclipse. Those who witnessed the totality of the most recent solar eclipse in 2017 speak highly of the experience.
Depending on where exactly you're reading from, the closest destinations include Effingham, Greenup, Casey and Paris — my hometown!
Casey is a tiny town, but it may make a good destination because it is also home to a variety of very big things: the world's largest mailbox, pitchfork, rocking chair, pencil and more.
On the other hand, you can get to Greenup via Amtrak.
If you're close to the state line, heading west to Rockville or Crawfordsville, Ind., might be a better option.
In most of those locations, the total eclipse will last for around two minutes. Albion, McLeansboro and Carbondale are all directly in line to see the total eclipse for a full four minutes.
