Enter Your Zip Code to See Your Solar Eclipse Viewing Percentage

The Total Solar Eclipse -- it's such a big deal, it even has its own cocktail recipe! But will you be able to see it, and how much of its effect will you be able to observe? Punch in your zip code here -- and the website Vox will also determine how far you need to go in order to see the Total Solar Eclipse in all its dark, eerie glory.

For instance, here in Flint we'll be able to see the moon block 78.2% of the sun. A passing grade, sure, but if you want a perfect score you'll have to travel about 430 miles southwest. Parts of St. Louis, Missouri will experience a 100% eclipse -- or as the scientists term it, totality. (That seems a little morbid, doesn't it?)

BTW, if you miss the Total Solar Eclipse on August 21, you'll have to wait until 2024 to see one again in the US.

Three things determine when we experience a Total Solar Eclipse:

1. There has to be a new moon.
2. The moon has to cross the plane of earth's orbit.
3. The moon has to be close to its closest to earth.

You got that? If that isn't scientific enough for you, check out this video. (But it may make your head explode.)