<P> This was the first total solar eclipse visible from the United States since that of July 11, 1991--which was seen only from part of Hawaii--and the first visible from the contiguous United States since 1979 . An eclipse of comparable length (up to 3 minutes, 8 seconds, with the longest eclipse being 6 minutes and 54 seconds) occurred over the contiguous United States on March 7, 1970 along the southern portions of the Eastern Seaboard, from Florida to Virginia . </P> <P> The path of totality of the solar eclipse of February 26, 1979 crossed only the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota . Many enthusiasts traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the eclipse, since it would be the last chance to view such an eclipse in the contiguous United States for almost four decades . </P> <P> Some American scientists and interested amateurs who wanted to experience a total eclipse participated in a four - day Atlantic Ocean cruise to view the solar eclipse of July 10, 1972 as it passed near Nova Scotia . (This is referenced in the Carly Simon hit song "You're So Vain" in the lyric, "Then you flew your Lear Jet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the Sun .") Organizers of the cruise advertised in astronomical journals and in planetarium announcements, emphasizing the rarity of the event . </P> <P> The August 2017 eclipse was the first with a path of totality crossing the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the U.S. since 1918 . Also, its path of totality made landfall exclusively within the United States, making it the first such eclipse since the country's declaration of independence in 1776 . Prior to this, the path of totality of the eclipse of June 13, 1257, was the last to make landfall exclusively on lands currently part of the United States . </P>

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