ST. LOUIS (AP) — If you plan to livestream next month's solar eclipse from one of the prime viewing spots, here's a thought: Keep your phone in your pocket, put on your paper shades and just enjoy the celestial wonder.

The Aug. 21 solar eclipse, when passage of the moon completely blocks out the sun, will be seen first in Oregon and cut diagonally across 14 states to South Carolina. It will be the first total solar eclipse visible coast-to-coast since 1918.

The best places to see it fall within a 60- to 70-mile-wide swath known as the "path of totality," where there will be periods of total da...