Madras will see a total solar eclipse on August 21 and the place is expected to see a huge footfall for the big occasion. Yes, you read it right. It's Madras and not Chennai and is based in the state of Oregon in the United States.
In what is being described as the first total solar collapse extending from the western to the eastern coast of the US in 99 years, the event will make plasma flares on the sun visible from Earth as the moon will pass directly between them. Land area extending to a width of 70 miles from Oregon to South Carolina will turn dark during the eclipse.
The event will also a mark a special occasion in the life of Oregon, a small town of a little over 6,000 residents as a lakh people are expected to visit it to witness the celestial phenomenon.
In fact, the residents set up a City of Madras Solar Eclipse Planning Group two years ago to meet the organisational and logistical challenges.
The geographic advantage of the town – high elevation, flat plateau and clear desert skies – makes it an ideal location for star gazing and hence the high tourists' footfall for the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.
