MADRAS, USA: Skygazers across the United States awoke in excited anticipation Monday of witnessing the Sun briefly disappear, with the first total solar eclipse in 99 years to cast a shadow on the entire continent just hours away.
Millions of travelers converged in cities along the darkest path of what has been coined “The Great American Eclipse,” which begins in the morning over Oregon and exits in the afternoon over South Carolina.
Festivals, rooftop parties, weddings, camping and kayak trips and astronomy meet-ups popped up nationwide for what NASA expects will be the most heavily photographed and documented eclipse in modern times, thanks to the era of social media.
More than 100,000 people have gathered in Madras, Oregon, typically a town of 7,000 that is one of the first places to see the eclipse once it begins.
The National Guard had to be called in to assist with traffic jams, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In downtown Charleston, vendor Jan Dahouas sold T-shirts emblazoned with “Eclipse 2017” and buttons that read “Keep Calm and Stare at the Sun.”
“I am really pumped up about it,” said Dahouas, who is from Atlanta, Georgia.
“I hear it is supposed to be really moving.”
Many people who have seen eclipses in the past describe the experience as an emotional one, as the sky goes black, birds return to their nests and the air chills.
“It is such an incredible, sensory-overload kind of event,” eclipse-chaser Fred Espenak told AFP of the first total solar eclipse he saw in the United States back in 1970.
Espenak, now 65, is a retired NASA astrophysicist who has been to 27 eclipses, and seen 20 of them — cloudy weather interfered with the rest. He will be in Wyoming on Monday.
The “total” part of the eclipse, when the Moon moves between the Earth and Sun and blocks all of the Sun’s light, starts at 10:16 local time (1716 GMT) over the Pacific coast of Oregon and ends at 2:48 p.m. (1848 GMT) over Charleston, South Carolina.
The total eclipse will carve a 70-mile (113-kilometer) wide path of darkness over 14 states.
Experts warn that looking directly at an eclipse can cause permanent eye damage.
The only safe time to look at it is for those within the path of totality — and only during the brief moments when the Sun is completely blocked.
Everyone else should use proper solar eyeglasses, which are far darker than regular ones, or make a pinhole projector to see the eclipse while avoiding the glare of the Sun.
Cloudy weather and thunderstorms threatened to dash viewers’ hopes in some places, including the bustling coastal city of Charleston, replete with cobblestone streets and multi-story mansions.
Some of the clearest views were expected along the west coast and in the midwest.
For those unable to witness it in person, NASA was counting down the minutes until it begins a live broadcast of the event at 11:45 am (1545 GMT).
Scientists plan to study the eclipse to learn more about the super-hot corona, or outer edge of the Sun.
Astronauts orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station are also planning to document the eclipse, and will get to see it three times.
“My first solar eclipse from space... We’re ready!” wrote Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli.
Millions in US get set for rare total solar eclipse
Millions in US get set for rare total solar eclipse
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
