Solar Eclipse in Panama

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Contact: Beth Conway
Phone: 406-541-2677
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Solar Eclipse in Panama

A total solar eclipse occurs about once every 1.5 years, but Earth is a big place, and actually witnessing the cosmic event is a unique and rare experience. The shadow-band cast on the Earth's surface is only 167 miles wide. This shadowy path cuts right through the center of Panama, making the country the best place to view this phenomenon in the Americas! Unfortunately for us "land-dwellers," the moment of totality occurs over the Pacific Ocean, but the event is spectacular nonetheless. Combine this unforgettable experience with an unforgettable Panama vacation. We have some great Panama tours that take you right into the path of the eclipse. Check out our active Discover Panama 8-day adventure or our16-day Panama Pathways trip. Or combine your Panama travel with a Costa Rica tour on our 8-day Caribbean Adventure.

Want to WOW your friends with a little bit of solar eclipse knowledge? Try some of these on for size:

• Temperatures often drop 20 degrees or more during the moment of totality.
• Eclipses usually occur in threes: lunar-solar-lunar.
• Birds and animals within the path often prepare for sleep or behave confused during the solar eclipse.
• Eclipse shadows travel at 1,100 mph at the equator and 5,000 mph near the poles.
• The longest recorded total solar eclipse lasted just under 8 minutes.
• The sun is about 400 times larger in diameter than the moon, but the sun is also - conveniently - 400 times father away from the Earth than the moon - making a solar eclipse possible.
• Solar eclipses have been interpreted as omens of doom by practically every civilization in history.
• It takes 360 years for a solar eclipse to reoccur over the same geographic location on Earth.