The circle of totality is about 67 to 70 miles in diameter. It will pass over a viewer in about 2.5 to 2.7 minutes. How fast is the circle traveling?

Question

Answer the question in miles per hour and meters per second.

Answer 1

 

Due to lack of logistics, we must make the assumption that the

entire diameter of the circle will pass over the viewer in 2.7 minutes.

 

70 miles       60 min

----------  * ------------ = 1559 and 5/9 miles per hour

2.7 min          1 hr 

 

 

1559 and 5/9 mph * 60 min/hr * 60 sec/min * 1.6 km/mile * 1000 m/1 km = 8,983,040,000 meters per second

 

May seem like a lot, but it is a circle of 15,400 square miles.

That's about 10 miles longer than Charleston to Beckley

and CHarleston to Huntington