The upcoming solar eclipse on August 21st may have more gravitas than neat pictures. Across the country, percentage of total sunlight blocked will vary from 50% to total darkness for approximately 3 minutes - spanning its full course from Oregon to South Carolina in a matter of 90 minutes. Granted its impact on daily activity will likely be minimal, photovoltaic generators across the country will have a much lower energy output. North Carolina has the largest amount of generator capacity that will be in the 90% darkness band, which provides with state with 3.1% of its electricity generation. However, California will be the hardest hit with a direct reduction of 4.2 GW statewide and is projected to even slightly darken the state for about 2.5 hours mid-morning.
"Dollars & Sense" Behind Mayweather-McGregor Match Up
The historic top grossing fight, Mayweather-Pacquiao, will be given a run for its money come this August when Mayweather-McGregor have agreed to meet up. The two boxers are known for their loyalty to cash and given their prior earnings - McGregor himself just $40M in 2016 - this matchup has major bucks on the line. Between ticket sales, pay-per-view revenue, betting, sponsorships, and merchandise sales, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight grossed a total of $623.5M. However, projections for this fight are about $17M lower mostly due to a disappointing finish in the historic matchup and this isn't a title fight (meaning the $/ticket won't be as high, although more seats may be available for purchase). Coming in at a forecasted $606.1M, the Mayweather-McGregor fight surely isn't just a kick of the bucket, but will be interesting to watch how the final totals up.