To get an idea of what totality will look like on August 21, 2017, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on current solar activity. Activity on the Sun will affect various features of the view of totality such as:
- The shape of the solar corona
- Prominences
- Sunspots during the partial stages.
One of the best resources for finding out this information is the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) website. At the point of writing, the Sun was blank with no sunspots facing the Earth. There is however a very large sunspot about which has rotated to the far side of the sun. It may return or more sunspots may bubble up nearer eclipse time.
SOHO Solar Activity Images – 20 July 2017
