CNN Live Event/Special Aired April 08, 2024 - 12:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [12:00:00] RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: It is a celestial event. We are all watching wherever you are in the world over the next four hours. Together, we will gaze to the heavens and watch a rare total solar eclipse. I'm Richard Quest in Atlanta. RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And I'm Rahel Solomon, also in Atlanta. Richard Quest, my friend, so good to be with you. QUEST: It's exciting. SOLOMON: It is exciting and so good to be with you. We will be with you from when the eclipse dawns over the west coast of Mexico to when it leaves the shores of eastern Canada. And CNN has reporters really spread out across the continent. We're going to take you live to events and parties, even weddings, at key places in the path of the eclipse. QUEST: Just look at it. We have every bit of it covered. And if it's not covered, it's not worth it. Our special coverage of the eclipse across America begins now. Now, Rahel and I know a great deal about eclipses and all of this. But this man, our chief science guru, Bill Weir, is with us to talk us through and to explain every bit of it. BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: So good to be here. SOLOMON: So good to have you. WEIR: So good to be here. I would prefer totality somewhere outside of Buffalo. But if I can't have that -- SOLOMON: Next best way. WEIR: I'm next to you guys. WEIR: But think of it. What we are celebrating is a cosmic coincidence. You know, every day the moon's shadow is sort of bouncing all over the galaxy. And if it hits Earth, odds are it's going to hit Arctic ice or the open ocean and no one's going to appreciate it. QUEST: So it is hitting us. Most days it's hitting somewhere. WEIR: Somewhere. Maybe if it hits Earth at all, it hits a place where nobody sees it. But today, this is a -- eclipse roadshow that is centuries in the making. And it's like a rock band touring from Dallas to Cleveland to Buffalo. SOLOMON: Yeah. WEIR: And so many 30 million people living in it. SOLOMON: A great American total eclipse. WEIR: It is. SOLOMON: It sounds like a band. WEIR: It is, exactly. And there's so many eclipses related. And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame actually is playing, I think, a six hour playlist. QUEST: We will be there. WEIR: Yep. Yep. QUEST: We will be up at the Hall of Fame. But, you know, it happens all the time. So, why should we get excited today? WEIR: This one is because it lasts much longer. This one will last two minutes longer than the one a few years ago because of the position, the coincidence that we're celebrating. So many more people will get to experience this sort of galactic wonder together. And we need a non-partisan, safe event to rally around. It's safe as long as you don't look at it -- SOLOMON: Yeah. WEIR: -- as long as you don't burn your corneas and retinas. We're going to talk about that today. But I think it's just such a beautiful moment to rally around our little place in this universe. SOLOMON: It's been called a great connector, a great sort of, you know, uniter, which I think is so beautiful. QUEST: I want to talk about that as we move through. WEIR: Okay. QUEST: I want to talk about that. I want to talk about why we care. This happens all the time. And also, our need to have these sort of events to bring us together and to appreciate something bigger. SOLOMON: But before we talk about that, before we get all abstract, before we get philosophical, religious. QUEST: You're talking about me. SOLOMON: Let's actually talk about what is actually happening. Let's bring in another science expert, meteorologist Elisa Raffa. Elisa, always good to have you, as well. So, talk to us exactly about what's happening and who's going to see it. ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we've been trying to track these clouds so closely over the last couple of days. Because depending on what type of cloud you have, how thick they are, that can kind of determine what types of phenomenon from the sun you're able to see as the shadow cuts across it. This is a live look at clouds right now where you can see we've got some clouds billowing over parts of Texas. There's some clearer skies in Arkansas. We have some clearing just south there of the Great Lakes. And then another slit of clouds there going over areas like Rochester, Buffalo, Niagara Falls. They are in that path of totality. And then we have some clearer skies up in New England. So, we're going to be watching this cloud by cloud as we go through the next couple of hours to really just see who's going to have that most perfect view. And, of course, on a day like today, we didn't want to see this. But we do have a storm system that's developing with a severe threat. So, we are looking at hail to the size of softballs possible in parts of Texas. You can see that three out of five enhanced risk there for damaging winds, large hail, and some tornadoes. Now, it does look like the storms do fire up after the eclipse. People have about an hour or two to get out of where they're at and seek shelter before these storms really start dropping immense hail and some damaging winds. So, something that we'll have to watch closely. [12:05:00] But a place like Dallas could have some of those clouds. Through three, 4 o'clock, we're looking at some mostly cloudy skies. A place like Indianapolis does have some clearer conditions when they hit their totality around 3:06. Those clearer skies will let you see some of those cooler things -- those phenomenon around the sun. Now, something also cool that will happen is the temperatures will dip as the shadow from the moon cuts across the sun. It kind of cuts off the sun's energy for a little bit. And the temperatures will drop. Look at the temperature forecast. It's a drop in Carbondale and Indianapolis where we'll have some brief cooling there. Really cool. You'll find those temperatures drop. The relative humidity will also increase as the temperatures come closer to the dew point. The winds decrease and the cloud cover decreases, as well. So, some really cool other more earthly things that you can feel as the eclipse comes through. When it comes to the weather, it should be a really cool event to catch. QUEST: This issue of if there are winds -- I'm sorry, if there clouds, and it'll still get darker, won't it? RAFFA: Absolutely. So, you'll still feel the darkness. What the clouds will kind of do is your ability to see some of the other things, like the corona or the Bailey's beads. You know, maybe you won't be able to see that as clearly if a cloud cuts across at that exact time. But the darkness is a surefire thing if you're in that path of totality. You'll get that with the temperature drop and all of this in that path. QUEST: And you'll -- SOLOMON: So, not maybe as bad as some had hoped. QUEST: No. Not. Looking forward to you helping us understand and be with us. Many thanks. Now, the assistant director of the Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, South Carolina, Tom Riddle, is with us and will help us understand. What -- Elisa was talking about the winds decreasing, the clouds -and over the next few hours, you're going to help us understand that these are phenomena that we should appreciate. THOMAS RIDDLE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ROPER MOUNTAIN SCIENCE CENTER: Correct. And it's really something that is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for many people. But, you know, I say that, we hear that often times, once-in-a-lifetime. But my experience has been that once you've experienced it, you're going to want to do it again. And so, you know, like I have, like you, I have friends all over. But if I can't be there, I'm glad I'm here with you guys. But, yeah, pay close attention to everything that happens. You know, make sure that you are really listening to the sounds of nature. The crickets will start to chirp. The bats will start to come out. You may feel this change in temperature. Of course you'll feel that. And then the winds will start to shift. And so, those things are really indicators that something incredible is about to happen. And it's just -- it's just incredible to experience it for yourself. WEIR: And the stars begin to twinkle in the middle of the day. RIDDLE: Absolutely. And that's something. And you'll be able to see planets. You know, we have Jupiter and Venus, especially, and perhaps even a comet. QUEST: The Devil Comet, right? RIDDLE: That's it. You know, 12-feet Ponds Brooks could be there as well just at about 11 o'clock, I think, away from the sun. So, there's a lot going on here with this eclipse, and it's really something. Put your devices down and enjoy it. SOLOMON: Yeah, I mean, if ever there was a reason to put your device down and sort of just sort of be. But, Tom, I think it would be really important for folks. We know that people of all ages -- RIDDLE: Right. SOLOMON: -- people from around the world are coming within these 15 states to try to get a view of the path of totality. But I think it's really important to take a step back and just explain for us what exactly is happening. RIDDLE: So, that's a great question. So, what's happening is that the moon, as Bill said earlier, this is crazy. We are in just the right place for this to happen. The moon is coming between the Earth and the sun. And as that's happening, the shadow of the moon is going to be cast on Earth, about 115 miles wide, and that's called the umbra. And then the penumbra is that partial eclipse zone, like we are in, and we're going to get still a change in light. There's still going to be a change in temperature and things like that. But it's all caused by the moon coming right in the right place in our orbital plane to be able to create this incredible experience. SOLOMON: Because the sun is so much larger than the moon, but the moon is so much closer to the Earth. And so it's sort of like an optical illusion, if you might. WEIR: Exactly. And it just -- if the moon was any bigger -- RIDDLE: Yeah. WEIR: -- or any closer, we wouldn't be able to study the corona. It would block the whole thing out, right? RIDDLE: That's it. You know, the moon is about 400 times smaller than the sun, and it's about 400 times closer. And so, we are just at that right place to be able to experience this. It's incredible. QUEST: You know, we were talking -- I mean, since Earth and the stars and everything, since it was created, whether divine or otherwise, let's not get into that debate. WEIR: Well, we have four hours. SOLOMON: We're starting early. QUEST: Since it was created, thereby, these phenomena were baked in. And we know that X number of years it will happen. But I thought "The New York Times" this morning summed it up rather well. It says it reminds us of our planet's place in the cosmos. RIDDLE: Absolutely. [12:10:00] QUEST: And therefore it reminds us, again, depending on how philosophical you want to get, how big we are or how small we are. RIDLE: That's -- when I experienced it in 2017, that's very much how I felt. You know, for some people, for some ancient people, this brought fear. For others, it brought peace and comfort. For me, from my perspective, it brought comfort that I am part of a much larger picture. And when you experience that with others, especially in a group setting, it's just incredible. QUEST: What does it do to you? What happens inside Tom Riddle when you see it? RIDDLE: Calm, excitement, all at the same time. It's kind of weird because I see videos. I go back and, you know, when I was shooting a video, I said, unfortunately, put your phone down. I should have done that. But I was shooting a video while I'm looking at it and I'm yelling and screaming because everybody is kind of interesting. People start to get quiet and people get to, you know, start yelling. And then once it happens, people start to get quiet again. And that's that moment. For me, it was a moment of reflection. I was there with my family and it was just incredible to experience. And I think, again, if you can be with other people and share this. You know, we had over just about 3000 people from 29 different nations that joined us at Roper Mountain when we did this in 2017. And to hear all the different languages, all the different backgrounds coming together and enjoying this and looking out for each other. There were hugs. There were high fives. There were tears. SOLOMON: Yeah. RIDDLE: And that was just so unifying. SOLOMON: The majesty, the wonder. QUEST: We're only going to get 80 percent her in Atlanta. But you and I will be sharing that. So, will you hug me? RIDDLE: Yeah, I'm happy to be with you. I'm very happy to be with you. WEIR: You give him permission to hug you. Or you just needed it on the record. RIDDLE: Oh, are you kidding? Absolutely. QUEST: H.R. required. SOLOMON: Let's do a group hug. Don't leave Bill and myself out of it, Richard. Tom, stick around. We're so glad to have you for the entire special. Over the next several hours, we are going to take you really across North America as we watch this spectacular show unfold. QUEST: From Toledo, New Mexico, which has the longest totality, to Dallas, Texas, to Niagara Falls. Wherever you are, we've got it covered. SOLOMON: Yeah, we're also going to take you to some watch parties. Who doesn't love a good watch party? Where people are making sure that their glasses are handy as the excitement really reaches a fever pitch. QUEST: Let's talk to one of our reporters and Derek Van Dam, who is with us. Derek is hanging out with a group of party-goers in New England. They're gathered to take in the moon's monumental moment. Where are you exactly? DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I am in sunny Stowe, Vermont. I mean, this is about as ideal of viewing conditions as one could ask for. It is warm. Actually, it's just perfect. And people are skiing by. The excitement is really starting to build. Of course, we're not into any part of this partial eclipse just yet. The sun still radiating all of its energy directly at it. In fact, I'm having a hard time seeing, so I'm going to don my eclipse glasses on this. By the way, the sun in one second emits enough energy equal to the entire consumption of humanity for an entire year. So, that's what it's doing right now, but that's going to change to -- in about an hour when the partial eclipse starts. And then 3:26 is when we have full totality here. And it is going to be absolutely beautiful. We are fending off the clouds that are just over this mountain ridge here. That is the highest mountain in Vermont, one of the highest in New England. And I'm going to do my best to blow those clouds and keep them to the west. Because they're reaching the Adirondacks in northern New York. I don't believe that it'll reach here. I think we're going to have perfect conditions. Maybe I'm just wish-casting. I don't know what Miguel Marquez has, but I'm going to send it to him and see how the weather is shaping up for his eclipse viewing party. It's pretty good here. Miguel, what do you got? MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Derek, Derek. Cleveland rocks on a normal day. It totally rocks today. This is a science center in sort of downtown Cleveland. They're expecting 30,000 people at this one event. There are going to be tens of thousands across the city and across this area in the zone of totality. At 3:13, when we hit totality, the sun will be right up there. Look at that. Perfectly clear sky. They're calling for some clouds in the afternoon, but we don't believe it. But what does my friend and colleague, the totally awesome Ed Lavendera, think in Texas? ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miguel, we've got a fun assignment today. We're watching and tracking animal reaction to the total solar eclipse. We are in Dallas. This is one of the largest cities. One of the largest populations watching this total eclipse. We're at the Dallas Zoo. We've got elephants over there, zebras in the background. We've got giraffes over here. And there isn't a lot of research that has been done on how animals react to the total eclipse, so we don't really know what to expect. [12:15:00] We have some ideas, but you just never know how animals might surprise us, and that's why we're here today. Sometimes they will just kind of pause and not move. Birds might just stop chirping. Giraffes were known to gallop during the last total eclipse. There might be some mating. Who knows? So, we will track all of this here in the coming hours. Richard? SOLOMON: Must watch T.V, to me -- the animal reaction. QUEST: Well, you know, anyway, we will have all of that for you. And we're also going to talk about the speed, the science, and the celestial event of a generation that will all come together. We'll be at the Indianapolis Speedway for a live report on the eclipse watch, and we will tell you how you can tell us about your experiences before, after, and, well, in the middle of. SOLOMON: And chances are, maybe you, a lot of people, scramble to spend just a few minutes inside of the eclipse. But coming up, we're going to introduce you to some scientists who found a way to spend more than an hour in one. Yeah, their story -- QUEST: It is our special. It is the eclipse across America in a moment. SOLOMON: When we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOLOMON: All right, Richard. So, in the last 18 minutes or so, we have been in Vermont, a ski resort. We have been at Dallas at a zoo. You want to take another turn now? QUEST: I think we're going to need to go to the Indy Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. Mike Valero is there and there's going to be 40,000 people with you. Now, this is the largest party for the eclipse. Are you ready for it? MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think I'm ready for it. Are you ready for it? Are you feeling the energy from the studio that is emanating from the heartland of America? I think we are. It's just bizarre, Richard and Rahel, to see this mecca devoted to racing, having rockets and grandmas and graduate students and schoolchildren and scientists all commingling. I mean, who would have thunk it? And we have in excess of now more than 50,000 people who are gravitating here because they've heard the weather forecast from Texas, Oklahoma, southern Illinois. People, for lack of a better way of putting it, getting freaked out that they wouldn't be able to see this celestial crescendo of our generation in Texas. In some of these other locations like Carbondale, Illinois, that had the 2017 and the 2024 path criss-cross in this small little town close to the Kentucky border. [12:20:00] So, we're seeing a lot of last-minute people come here, co-mingling with scientists. It's really breathtaking and brilliant, I've got to tell you. SOLOMON: Yeah, breathtaking. But for those who are traveling at the last minute, you definitely want to make sure you do it safely. Mike Valerio, so good to have you. Thank you, live there in Indianapolis. Astronomers encouraging everyone -- VALERIO: Thank you. SOLOMON: -- within the eclipse path to enjoy the sight, enjoy this rare sight, but do it only if you can do so safely with some handy glasses like Richard is wearing here. So, looking at the sun's brightness with the naked eye isn't just uncomfortable, it's also dangerous. And sunglasses, yeah, that's not going to cut it. Officials say that sunglasses will not be enough to protect your eyes for this celestial event. So in order to view safely, you need a pair of certified eclipse glasses, such as what my friend Richard Quest is wearing here. QUEST: Yeah, and what's fascinating about these is they are certified, I'm not sure. And once I'm wearing them, I cannot see anything, except if I look up at the lights in the studio, I can see the lights. Just pinpricks of the lights. Which, these are not just sunglasses, these are, oops. SOLOMON: Thanks for joining us again. Let me bring in our guest who's watching, Dr. Joseph Allen. He's an ophthalmologist. He is also the founder of the Dr. Eye Health YouTube channel. Doctor, so good to have you. It's a very important issue. A lot of people are taking part. A lot of people are really excited about it, but they have to do it safely. What Richard was just talking about there is a sign that the glasses you have may be legitimate, right? If you put them on and you can't see anything else, but maybe some glimmers from the light, that's a good sign. What else should people know? JOSEPH ALLEN, OPRHALMOLOGIST: Well, Rahel, thank you so much. It's absolutely correct that you want to make sure that these glasses, because I have some here, as well, that when you put them on, you should not be able to see almost anything, except for maybe just barely bright lights indoors. But then when you head outside, you should be able to see the faint but gentle sun coming through those lenses. It's basically helping reduce the amount of energy from the sunlight, so it does not burn a hole in the back of your eye, causing permanent vision loss. QUEST: All right. To those people who say, ah, what non-sense is he talking about? I'll just do something like look through the little fingers of my eyes, or I'll close my eyes and pretend it's not there, or I'll get a piece of paper. What damage can happen? ALLEN: Well, the sunlight will cause photochemical damage to the delicate retinal tissue in the back of the eye. And unfortunately, it's the central part of your eyesight in what we call the macula. And that's the part of your eye that you are able to see color vision. You're able to read with it and recognize the faces of your friends and family with that part of the eye. So, even just moments of glancing at the sun without proper eye protection can result in permanent vision loss to this part of the eye. And we have patients who unfortunately have gone legally blind from this type of loss. SOLOMON: Doctor, what about if you're not in the path of totality? If you're out of those states and maybe you're in a part of the country where you can see a partial eclipse, do you also need glasses for that? ALLEN: Yes. Thank you for that question. You absolutely do. You still need proper eye protection, even if you're not in that path of totality. QUEST: And in this path of totality, a lot's being said about, well, once you've gone to totality, or once we have totality, you can take the glasses off, in a sense, unless you really want to start, because you won't be at Bailey's Beads and Diamond Rings and the like. And is it safe to remove the glasses so you can appreciate it then? ALLEN: There's that small moment where you're in the path of totality, where no sunlight is coming in from around the sun. Yes, you are able to remove the glasses safely and glance for a moment. As soon as you see even a sliver of sunlight starting to come out on the other side from the moon, then, yes, you do need to turn away, put back on the lenses, and then start viewing the sun safely again. SOLOMON: Well, that would explain -- WEIR: Oh, I'm sorry, Rahel. SOLOMON: Oh, I'm sorry, Bill. Go ahead. WEIR: One thing I think a lot of people don't realize is, even if you have the really dark glasses, do not look through a telescope with these, correct? Because if that telescope, you know, intensifies that beam, it can literally burn through the retina or the lens on the -- am I right, Doc? ALLEN: You're correct. WEIR: -- Unless there is a similar lens like this in the front of the telescope. ALLEN: You're absolutely correct. There are specialized solar filters for telescopes, binoculars, and magnifiers. Otherwise, if you're using these sort of glasses, the image of the sunlight will be magnified through that telescope or binocular and will burn a hole through these solar filters are not meant for that. [12:25:00] SOLOMON: That sort of explains why folks say, your first time you should really just focus on seeing it properly because you really only have a few seconds where you can see it, and then your next time maybe focus on taking a photo or video. QUEST: So, I don't want to be pessimistic, Doctor, but are you expecting to have some patients in the next couple of days who have not heeded this advice? ALLEN: Unfortunately, there is that risk. And the vulnerable population, not only just people not knowing this information, but honestly, I'm more concerned about young children who aren't well supervised. SOLOMON: Okay. ALLEN: So, I strongly encourage if you have children who are going to be viewing the eclipse, supervise them well. A lot of kids follow directions well, except, you knpw, curiosity can get the best of us. And if they just want to think, oh, I can glance quickly, you know, we just really have to make sure the young ones are being aware of that. SOLOMON: Yeah, it's great advice and so important and obviously impacts all of us here as we witness this event. Dr. Allen, so good to have you today. Thank you for the time. QUEST: Now, we've heard of eclipse chasing. We're going to tell you about a supersonic eclipse chasing that happened some years ago. A small group of researchers, a supersonic jet and a record-breaking flight. It's in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [12:30:05] SOLOMON: Welcome back watching the eclipse. Well, that's one way to enjoy it. But scientists are also conducting several experiments to try to take advantage of this rare event. So, NASA is going to launch sounding rockets and high altitude planes to try to study the sun and to study the Earth. It's the type of experiment that can only be done during an eclipse. Let's bring back Bill Weir to explain sort of what scientists are going to be using this event to learn. WEIR: This is really fascinating. The corona of the sun is the outer atmosphere. SOLOMON: Yeah. WEIR: It's millions of degrees hotter than the actual surface of that plasma there. And it stays consistent even though the sun cycles through these 11 year periods of activity. We're at the maximum right now. So, the hope is that as that thing goes over, there will be these ejections, these flares as the magnetic energy on the sun literally bursts apart and the plasma moves around. SOLOMON: Peak activity. WEIR: Peak activity. And why does that matter to us? Every time one of these solar storms happens, it sends a burst of monster energy that if it's aimed in the right direction and it hits Earth, could literally disable our power grids, could knock out communication satellites. This happened back in the 1800s. There was a solar storm that knocked off telegraphs -- SOLOMON: Okay. WEIR: -- off the air, created fires as these extra energy went and jumped from machinery and burned down a railroad terminal up in New York. So, they're going to study the corona with special planes that can fly super high. These are WB-57s, go about twice as high as our commercial flights and stay in totality underneath that eclipse for six hours. SOLOMON: Wow. WEIR: People on the ground get it for four minutes. These lucky souls get to watch it for the entire time and they'll be measuring the corona in different ways throughout. There's also -- this is called a super darn. It's sort of like a giant radio transmission. They'll be communicating with the eclipse in the ionosphere. The ionosphere is the layer of the sky between us and deep space that's full of these charged particles that come from the sun, right? You can see it here. When the sun comes up wherever you are on earth, it lights up. That's the ionosphere. And then as the sun sets, it goes away. During the eclipse, check it out in 2017, that's the ionosphere. All those ions, those charged particles, here's the eclipse coming across, changing it, right? They're able to see how this disables ground communication, radio waves. SOLOMON: And we should point out, Bill, that usually when we tend to see these total solar eclipses, they tend to happen over water. WEIR: Exactly. SOLOMON: They don't tend to happen over really populated parts of the world. WEIR: Exactly. SOLOMON: That creates a really unique opportunity. WEIR: Right, right. And the fact that you're turning off the sun for a second, it allows scientists to look at it in ways that you just can't because it is so powerfully bright. But they're also going to launch these sounding rockets, which somewhere between the high airplanes and the satellites, measures the ionosphere measures some of the coronas, as well. SOLOMON: Wow. WEIR: So much can be learned about this. And when we think about what a solar storm could do -- SOLOMON: Yeah. WEIR: -- to our interconnected planet, to our weather satellites, GPSs, in addition to our power grids, there is an office of space weather, did you know? SOLOMON: No, I've learned recently, actually. WEIR: In Nebraska, there are people who are watching the sun every day and seeing if this thing burps in a way that could upset us -- SOLOMON: Yeah. WEIR: -- here on earth, we have to be aware of this. So, the data that is gathered today will be invaluable to understanding all of that. SOLOMON: Yeah. And they've been preparing for this for so long because these are so rare in terms of how this is happening this time. WEIR: Exactly. Bill, don't go far. No, I'm here for you. I'm going to send it back to Richard. WEIR: Right. QUEST: Apparently, we're 18 minutes away from the partial eclipse in Mazatlan in Mexico. And I'm afraid it doesn't look particularly auspicious, as we were learning earlier and that the clouds are there. Tom Riddle, these clouds that are there will mean what? I mean, it will still get dark, but what will this mean for us? RIDDLE: So, if they're really thick rain clouds, they may -- they obscure some of the event. If they're those lower, wispy clouds, then they may actually start to burn off. So, we're going to hope that those clouds will part. Otherwise, it's still going to get dark. It's still going to, I mean, you'll experience that. They may just not see the corona as much. Right. QUEST: But quick question before I go to Brian Todd. And we heard earlier from Elisa that totality or these eclipses do remove clouds. The clouds disperse. Is that likely to happen here? RIDDLE: Well, with as thick as those look, it may not. QUEST: Right. This is just white, fluffy clouds. RIDDLE: This is white, fluffy clouds. QUEST: Right. We don't want big, thick clouds, but white, fluffy ones will be most welcome. Most welcome is Brian Todd, as always, at Wallops. Is that Wallops in Virginia? [12:35:00] BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Richard. We're at Wallops Island, Virginia. And here, you know, everybody knows by now the excitement of this day and the visuals that everybody's going to get to experience of the eclipse, of the total solar eclipse. Well, here we get kind of a double whammy. We get to experience the eclipse, even though we're not in the path of totality. But we also get the visual of rocket launches, three of them, to be exact. And we're going to show you right now where those rocket launches are going to take place. Our photojournalist Steve Williams is going to kind of zoom past my left shoulder and zoom into that facility. That is the Wallops Island flight facility that's run by NASA. There are going to be three sounding rockets launched from that area starting at about 2:40 P.M. One is going to be launched just before the peak of the eclipse. One will be launched at about 3:20 P.M., right, during the peak of the eclipse. And one will be launched at about 4:05 P.M. just after the peak of the eclipse. Three sounding rockets in succession. Each will spend about 20 minutes in the ionosphere. They're going to go about 260 miles above the surface of the Earth. And I heard Bill Weir talking about what they're going to be measuring. Each rocket, when it gets to the ionosphere, is going to deploy what they call four swarm canisters. Each canister is about the size of a two-liter bottle of soda. And they're going to float around, and each is equipped with telemetry and with instruments that will measure the disturbance in the ionosphere during the solar eclipse. Each rocket will also be kind of extending out a large boom that will have similar instruments to measure that disturbance in the ionosphere. One of the scientists, who's one of the lead people on this mission, equated it to this. He said, you know, the eclipse acts like a boat moving into a still pond, creating a wake. If you look at it that way, then you can kind of see what the solar eclipse will do in the ionosphere. Bill Weir talked about all the particles in the ionosphere coming from the sun and how they're disturbed and creating kind of a big wake, a big wave in the ionosphere. Well, these rockets and those canisters and those booms are going to be measuring all of that. And the reason is because a lot of our satellites are up there. The communications satellites that we use, a lot of our satellites are floating around up there. And we need to know just how much they're being affected by all this. That data is going to be transmitted to Earth later this afternoon. They're going to be analyzing it over the course of months. But it's an exciting day here, which we're going to see three rocket launches in succession. We're told that this is not like a shuttle or an Apollo launch. You just see the rocket kind of slowly making its way from the launch pad. This is going to be just going up in an instant, each of these rockets. One of the NASA people told me that if you blink, you really could miss it. So we're going to try to catch all three launches starting in about two hours. QUEST: Don't blink. SOLOMON: Literally. Literally. If you blink, you could miss it. All right. Brian Todd, thank you. Thank you. Well, for eclipse watchers within the path of totality, today's total solar eclipse will last roughly four minutes. And four minutes is actually longer than the 2017 version. But what if you wanted even more time? Well, turns out that can be arranged with the help of supersonic travel. QUEST: Now, back in '73 -- 1973, yes, some of us do remember it. A group of scientists flew on a modified Concorde jet. It was able to fly faster than the speed of sound. In other words, faster than the Earth's turning. So, they raced the moon's shadow for more than an hour. They spent 74 minutes in totality. SOLOMON: It was a record. QUEST: It was and it's the moment when the sun, the moon fully blocks it. On the line is Pierre Lennart, a French astrophysicist. It was his idea to actually use a Concorde jet. France gave him a Concorde jet. And he joins me now from Paris. Pierre, how did you come up with this idea that it would be good to go and do it? Why? PIERRE LENA, ASTROPHYSICIST: Well, it was not terribly difficult because I was doing airborne astronomy, first at NASA Ames and then in France. I was looking for infrared radiation, which was practically unknown at that time. Today, we know a lot about infrared stars, but at that time we knew almost nothing, even from the sun. And that needed high altitude. QUEST: Right. LENA: So, I was used with airborne astronomy. So, looking for the longest possible eclipse time, that was Concorde. QUEST: And when you went to them and said, look, I want to borrow a plane and I want you to fly this route. And they finally said yes. What was it like? LENA: What was it like? QUEST: Yeah. How was it when you were actually up there in totality for so long? What was it like? LENA: We had a very short time. We had about six months to prepare the experiment. We had invited American scientists and U.K. scientists to join the French astronomers who were on board. [12:40:00] And then everything was ready. We were in the Canary Islands, the closest possible place to take off with a decent airfield near the Shadow Pass. And then everything was ready. And we had to meet the shadow at one mile in distance and one second in time. And we achieved that. And that was an amazing achievement from crew, from Andre Turcat, who was the head of the chief pilot at the --. So, it was extremely tense. But once all the instruments were set up, you know, 74 minutes, it's a long time. So, we could relax, have a look through the window, see the dark shadow of the moon on African soil, and contemplate the data on the recorder. At that time there were paper recorders, not there. A lot of emotion, of course, at the end of those 74 minutes. We had planned for 80 minutes, but the wind was against us, so it was shorter by six minutes. QUEST: All right. LENA: But still, this record has never been beaten. SOLOMON: Yeah. And Pierre, let me ask, 1973, that's a long time ago, and yet your memory of that event seems pretty vivid. Talk to us about what it was like emotionally while you were on board. What were you feeling? What were you thinking? It sounds like your memory of that event is still quite crisp. LENA: Well, this is the type of event you never forget. You make friends for the life, like Donald Hall, who was an astronomer in Tucson and who died recently and stayed a friend of mine for lifelong, you know. So, this is a very intense moment, and this is part of the beauty of experience you make as a scientist. There are only a few, and astronomers have some of those. And I hope today people in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico enjoy this extraordinary vision of eclipse, the total eclipse of the sun. SOLOMON: That's beautiful. That's beautiful. It's the type of event you never forget. QUEST: Thank you, Sir. Grateful for your time and helping us understand and enjoy. And what's interesting, fascinating, is there you have an astrophysicist who's all concerned with the science of it. But what does he remember? SOLOMON: He remembers his friends. QUEST: He remembers his friends. He remembers what it was like. What Tom Riddle was saying earlier about that sense of community that we will see in eight minutes, 27 seconds, which is the first. It's only partial, but a number I think is the way to describe it -- is the correct terminology. And that happens. It's now what, eight minutes and 12 seconds to that. SOLOMON: I didn't realize your arithmetic was so strong. You're just sort of -- okay, if you want to be the first, you have got to be at sea. And coming up, we're going to take you to a cruise ship. It's off the coast of Mexico. And that's where passengers are hoping to be the very first -- the very first to see today's total eclipse. We're going to take you there after a short break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [12:46:13] QUEST: Warm welcome back. If you want to be the first to view the eclipse in North America, then you need to travel to Mazatlan in Mexico. SOLOMON: Yeah, tourists and locals there have been setting up telescopes and scoping out just the right place to view the astral phenomenon. The partial eclipse will begin in Mazatlan in less than 10 minutes. So, we're really sort of in the zone here. And the total eclipse will happen a little more than an hour later. But if you really, if you really want to be the first, well, you need to go to sea. You need to get on a boat. And that is exactly what our next guest has done. He is Paul Maley. He's an eclipse hunter who has chartered a boat off the coast of Mexico. QUEST: Now, as an expert in chasing eclipses, it's your 84th eclipse. Why do you keep doing it? PAUL MALEY, ECLIPSE CHASER: Well, it's a lot of fun. I mean, it's a great sight to see. And every eclipse gives you something sort of different perspective and feeling if you're out there watching it. QUEST: So, what do you hope to get from this one? It's a total eclipse. You're going to be, you're at sea, you're going to get to see it the first. What do you think and expect to see and gain from this one? MALEY: Well, first of all, it's a public activity that is sponsored by the Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society. So, we bring people out who have no background at all in astronomy or seeing things. We also take experienced amateur astronomers and we've had a few professionals come with us. So, it's a mixed bag of things and they're all waiting to see this grand phenomenon. SOLOMON: Yeah, Paul, did I read somewhere that you have a goal of seeing 100 eclipses, which I think is just so phenomenal. What's it like to be able to experience, someone who has experience as yourself, what's it like to be able to experience an eclipse with folks who have never seen it before? MALEY: Well, it's really enjoyable because you see people jumping up and down and screaming and crying and all the emotions that you see associated with a euphoric type of experience. So, it's great for me. SOLOMON: Can you explain? I've read that somewhere that half of all people who see an eclipse will cry, will shed tears. And I'm curious, I personally have not seen an eclipse, unfortunately. What is it about that experience that elicits such strong emotion, tears, the emotion? What is it? What do you think? MALEY: Well, I think people are disconnected from nature by definition these days. And so, when you go out and take a look, and there's nothing that's going to interfere with the scheduled event, and you actually can see it, it means it's not controlled by some human being on Earth. It's just a magical thing. QUEST: This is what we were talking about earlier with Tom Riddle here and Bill Weir. It is that, and this isn't a religious point, it's sort of a spiritual point, it is that connection to something bigger than us. MALEY: That's exactly right. And I've been doing this for 54 years, and I haven't got tired of it yet. SOLOMON: Does being in a group setting sort of amplify that sense of spirituality to be able to witness it with hundreds, sometimes thousands of other people? Do you think that sort of amplifies the emotion of the event? MALEY: Well, I can only speak from my personal experience. We normally take anywhere from 30 to 50 people. SOLOMN: Okay. MALEY: And it's much easier to evaluate their responses. But in this case, I've got 263 people on shore in Mazatlan, and I have 186 people here on the ship. So, that's nearly 500 reactions, most of which will be different from each person. QUEST: To those who are watching and about to enjoy experience -- experience is a better word than enjoy. What would your advice be? [12:50:00] Because I think the temptation in 2024 is to get your camera out, take a picture, make them. Look, you know the old thing, if the tree falls, well, if you haven't got a picture of it, it didn't happen. SOLOMON: You've got to post it on the Gram. You've got to post it on TikTok. MALEY: Yeah, and basically what we face is with the new generation, everybody's got an iPhone or Android, and they're all focusing on potential selfies and pictures of the eclipse. So, it's not exactly a personal experience when you do all that. If you put the hardware down and just sit in a chair and watch, that is the best experience of all. SOLOMON: Having witnessed 84 eclipses, is it possible to have a favorite? Is it like choosing your favorite child? Do you have a favorite eclipse and what made it the most special? MALEY: Well, I would say that every eclipse really is special. It may sound, you know, not to be true, but it really is because you engage in many different aspects. Like, for example, in 1994, we had gorilla activity in Peru, but yet we were able to see it and we had armed guards around us. Now we're in the middle of the ocean, everything is calm and quiet, and we're going to have a great lunch after the eclipse. QUEST: Paul, I'm going to let you enjoy what we're about to see, because literally now is when the partial eclipse starts in Mazatlan in Mexico. We will -- I mean, my understanding, Tom Riddle, is that this thing is going to take some time, but the clock doesn't lie, and so the partial eclipse has now begun over Mazatlan. How long -- there is the crowds watching it. How long is it going to take before we move to significant seeing of the Thingamajig, which will then become the full lot in how long? SOLOMON: I think that is the technical term. QUEST: It is highly technical. He'll put it right. RIDDLE: Well, the Thingamajig time -- QUEST: Yes. RIDDLE: -- will occur. So, it depends upon wherever you are, wherever you're located. The time from C1 to C2, as it's called, can be varying times. We can take over an hour to get to that point. But what's happening right now is that they can start to see the effects of the partial eclipse. So, as it continues, as the shadow over the moon continues, it's going to affect the light. You can start to see the crescent shapes and shadows. If you have a pinhole viewer, you can start to see that now. And as you start getting closer and closer to that moment of totality, then you're going to really see a light show that you can start now enjoying. SOLOMON: At what point does the weather start changing? At what point do you start to feel like something is happening, even if you're not looking up? RIDDLE: So, that weather change really starts to happen. Actually, it begins now. So, the temperature drop begins now. SOLOMON: Okay. RIDDLE: So, as the sun, because we're starting to interfere with the sun, between -- with the shadow hitting the earth. And so as you get closer, that temperature is going to be more significant. And that's when you're going to start seeing those weather changes more dramatically. QUEST: Now, I know from my notes that totality, Bill, is at 14 -- Mazatlan is 1407. WEIR: Mazatlan. QUEST: What? SOLOMON: Mazatlan. QUEST: Yeah, fine. SOLOMON: Thanks, Bill, because I didn't want to be the one to say it. QUEST: I know from my notes that at that place, it's going to be at 1407. All right? So, that's in our time, in Eastern time. So, that's over an hour and 20 away. WEIR: Yes, it's long. It takes a while. It's probably tempting to, you know, at first contact, right? QUEST: Look, there it is. WEIR: Yeah, you can just see it. QUEST: I can. Top right-hand corner. WEIR: Top right-hand corner. That is first contact, right? RIDDLE: Right. WEIR: That's first contact. The second contact -- RIDDLE: C1. And second contact, C2, is when you have totality. WEIR: Right. QUEST: There's nothing between C1 and C2? RIDDLE: So, yeah, it's no. So, this is the time you need your eclipse glasses. If you're going to begin looking at the sun, this is when you need these glasses on. And you can actually start now to see that crescent begin to form. From here until totality, that crescent will get larger and larger. So, this is the time. Remember, you've got to have the eclipse glasses to look at the sun. WEIR: If you're up in Portland, Oregon, you're only going to get about 30 percent or something like that. So, it'll be a big sort of crescent sun for you there. Fifty percent down in L.A. And then in this part of the country, Atlanta, what are we going to get, 80 percent here? QUEST: Eighty percent. Yeah. WEIR: And I would really love the idea of Bailey's Beads. Explain this. This is an astronomer named Bailey who, as it began to move towards totality, noticed that maybe the topography of the moon was playing tricks with the light, right? [12:55:00] RIDDLE: That's right. So, Bailey's Beads is the moment when the sunlight begins to move through the valleys of the moon. And so, right before, and it only lasts a second, so look quickly. This is going to be a moment where you're going to see what looks like all these little beads, dots around the edge of the sun. And then right before totality, there's going to be a flash, a diamond ring. And that's going to be the last moment that you're going to see, or the moment right before the corona will come into full visibility. WEIR: Right. RIDDLE: What's interesting, Bill, is that on the other side of totality, as you're moving away from totality now, you're going to have a chance to see Bailey's Beads again on the other side of the moon as light crosses through those valleys. QUEST: Do you get a diamond ring on both sides, both as it goes into totality and then as it comes out of it? RIDDLE: Yes, you can. And so, some people have not seen a diamond ring. Sometimes, you don't see that. Sometimes there's actually a double diamond ring, which would be amazing to see. So, be on the lookout for that. But, yes, you're going to see kind of a reverse of the motion, the march towards totality on the other side of it. SOLOMON: Well, Bill -- RIDDLE: And that's called C3, by the way. WEIR: Right. SOLOMON: And then just remind us, I mean, this is happening because despite what the moon may look like, it's not a perfect sort of smooth round -- WEIR: Right. Yes. SOLOMON: These are sort of the craters and the valleys and the mountains, and that's sort of why we get that image. WEIR: Like if you were flying through Alaska at sunset, you know, and you can see the light playing through the different valleys and ridges there. It's so fascinating. And it connects us, this event, at least for me in doing the research, with the sun that we don't think about, which is really a thermonuclear explosion that's been going on for four and a half billion years and has enough power that if one of those solar storms reaches Earth, could knock us all into the dark in certain ways. And we don't see that. We don't appreciate it. They rate solar storms like tornadoes. There's an F5 tornado. There's a G5 solar storm, which is the maximum there. And now because of the, Tom, you can back me up on this, this 11-year solar cycle, we are at maximum activity. SOLOMON: So, what does that mean? Can you explain that sort of peak activity for the sun and how that impacts this eclipse? RIDDLE: So, this is when the sun is in really overdrive. So, it really is like, think of, I like your analogy there, Bill, is that it's like a thermonuclear device going off, more so than normal. And again, it goes back to how the universe works. The sun goes through cycles on a regular basis. And so we just happen to be one of those cycles where it's more active, where it is ramping up its activity. And so, those solar flares can be a real challenge. WEIR: And just the idea that this is a good one with the kids, if you're gathered around. If you heat up solid ice, what do you get? Water. If you heat up water, you get steam. If you heat up gas, you get plasma, the fourth element. And the only time we see plasma on Earth is right after a lightning strike, when there's enough heat to turn gas into this strange other thing. The sun is made of that. And it is just burping out these explosions of energy. And you think, like, the average sunspot is the size of Earth, okay? So, a little storm way up there is the size of our planet. And you just think about the sheer power shooting through space. And that's just off of our little star, the closest one we have. There are so many other ones bigger than ours, way bigger, doing things that we can't imagine. SOLOMON: You know, can I just say that I am really enjoying nerding out up here? I'm really just enjoying this so much and learning so much. And Tom and Bill, I'm just curious, sort of, your perspective on what events like this do to sort of energize young people to maybe pursue STEM careers or pursue, you know, one of these industries because they get the chance to witness something that is so rare, so majestic. WEIR: Well, here's a plug. I got a new book coming out in a couple of weeks in which one of my main arguments is we have to get Generation Z, this generation, plugged into nature, in love with the natural world, understanding the cycles, the rhythms, air, water, the planets, our place in it, and nothing better to indoctrinate a whole generation into STEM, right, than living through something like it's the closest for us to an overlook effect where astronauts look down and it changes them. So, what I'm finding fascinating listening to this discussion, look at what's happening at the moment. Now, here we have the moon trundling past the sun at quite a fast speed. I'm sure one of you can tell me what it is. But this is going to take an hour. This is going to take quite a long time. CNN Live Event/Special Aired April 08, 2024 - 13:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [13:00:00] RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And in this -- if it hasn't happened in the New York minute, we don't care about it. In this, you know, throw-it-away disposable society that you and I have created along with everybody else, we have got to wait an hour and 10 minutes for this thing to happen. And there's nothing we can do about it. BILL WEIR: CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: That's right? QUEST: And we could not -- we couldn't prevent it, we can't manage it, we can't -- all we can do is predict it. RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: But then here's the beautiful thing. After waiting, then you get just four minutes, right? Four minutes and some change to actually sort of witness it if you are in the path of totality. So, it's sort of a hurry-up-and-wait type of situation. You wait, you wait, you wait, and then you finally get it. And you have just a few minutes to actually wait -- QUEST: That's enough. SOLOMON: -- to actually enjoy it. QUEST: That's enough time. WEIR: It is. It absolutely is. SOLOMON: Yes. WEIR: We live in the golden age of sort of distraction and addiction and depression as a result of that. And it's so tempting. I think we want to capture these events. We want to, you know, have a record of it. That's why if you go to Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, where the Pueblo people saw the eclipse and carved it into pictoglyphs, you know, and their interpretation of it varied by tribe to tribe, whether they were frightened, whether they were invigorated. QUEST: And at that moment, let us take a moment to tell you what's happening, where we are, and what's happening. It is the great eclipse across North America. And you're most welcome here at CNN as we cover this in all its manifestations. Partial eclipse has begun in Mexico. And for the next hour, we will be watching as the moon moves across the sun towards totality in Mazatlan, which happens in just over an hour from now. SOLOMON: It's an event that's been billed as the Great Uniter, as 15 states, 15 U.S. states are here. in the path of totality where they will get to witness for more than four minutes the moon fully eclipsed the sun and get to witness the sun's corona, a rare experience that we don't often receive. It's an event, Richard, as you know, that is not only sort of majestic if you are witnessing it, but it's also an economic boost to many, many communities, some of which are saying this is their greatest tourism event ever. QUEST: Just look. There it is. It's happening at the moment. It is quite exciting to try to see. I'm going to take a wander over to the magic wall to show you exactly, if I may, how this is moving. SOLOMON: Just make sure you come back. Make sure you come back to us. QUEST: I want to show you exactly how this is happening and what's happening at the moment. So, you can see the picture at the moment on the screen, the double picture there. You can see the way the moon is moving forward. But what is actually happening -- And there you have it. So, you've got the sun, the moon, and us. And they're all spinning around each other at different times and taking different lengths of time. And this, by the way, is 400 times bigger than this. But Tom Riddle, why is this going to cover that? Explain why that's going to happen. THOMAS RIDDLE, SCIENCE EDUCATOR AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ROPER MOUNTAIN SCIENCE CENTER: It's just the perfect distance from the sun to cover the sun enough so that we were able to see that shadow. QUEST: So, as soon as that moves across that, because of the, if you will, distance and size, that is how it will do it. Now, so far so good. But if you look at where we are at the moment in Mazatlan in Mexico, you can see that we've just started. So, the actual movement of it is only just happening. This is the way NASA has shown the animation of it. There you go. There's us. And as it happens, it will move right the way across. But there's the moon and then the sun will arrive as well. Now, Bill Weir, you were saying, because that's the path of totality. WEIR: Right. QUEST: But, Bill Weir, you were saying that across North America, people will see it in different amounts. WEIR: Exactly. Depending on where you are. Down in Florida and Miami, you're going to get between 40 and 60 percent. Whereas in Vegas, that area, it's less than half, 40 percent there as well, which is still a thrill. You know, it's not nothing to see a crescent sun like something out of the opening credits of "Dune" or a science fiction blockbuster. QUEST: So, in this eclipse, essentially talking about this idea of community spirit, in this eclipse, we essentially have the whole of the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico, a sense of community all happening at once. [13:05:00] RIDDLE: Yes, that's correct. It's 90 plus percent of the United States will be able to experience this. And actually, there are more people experiencing totality this time than they did in 2017 because it's moving over more population centers. And so, it is a chance for really the nation to come together for the Great American Eclipse. QUEST: So, the cities that you should look out for, if you're wanting to see the ways -- oh, I've got a push this one. There we go. WEIR: It's a slow push. Let it go and -- there we go. QUEST: Yes, when you say it's just slow push, if we look at the mood of the moon, it is slowly -- WEIR: It is the theme of the day. QUEST: It is. WEIR: It's a slow push. QUEST: It's a -- how fast is that moon going? RIDDLE: The shadow is going to move anywhere from a thousand miles, actually increase speed as it goes, as across it. So, a thousand miles per hour to 2,000, 3,000 mile per hour. QUEST: That's where we are at the moment. RIDDLE: That's the shadow. QUEST: We're going to the roof later, aren't we? Where are we? Right around right here. And we'll see it, 80 00 -- we're going to get an 80 percent. And then up right the way through until it finishes in several hours from now. WEIR: I do -- you do -- my heart goes out to all those families who have been planning this, maybe booked the Airbnb and got the kids all excited and are looking at the cloud cover, wherever they happen to be. Sort of the way all politics is local, all eclipse viewing is local depending on cloud cover today. You wish we could have clear skies nationwide just for today. SOLOMON: Yes, consider this Richard, in Texas they're expecting some 270 to 1 million visitors just coming in to view the eclipse. And we know Texas is dealing with some cloudy weather, the weather is not. QUEST: But no. That's the wrong way to look at it. Seriously, that's the wrong way to look at it. You are looking at from a -- it's got to be perfect and it has got be this and that. The whole point of today, I would argue, is that this is nature on nature's terms. This is the greater than us telling us. And if the greatest than us doesn't want -- and by the way, this is not a religious point, by the way, before somebody starts e-mailing me, they're all excited about it, that is basically bigger than us. If you you've got clouds, I would use a language word, but I won't it. WEIR: And so, again, a lesson of resilience for the kids. QUEST: Yes. WEIR: Part of the central systems, right? RIDDLE: That's right. It doesn't always work out, you know, that's going to be OK. You're still going see, even if you have cloud color, it's still going to get dark if you're in totality. You're still going to see things that you wouldn't have seen otherwise. So, as parents, hey, make the most of it, if got those kids there, and you are building memories. You are making memories. QUEST: If you've -- I want to know what your -- you may be experiencing or how you're going to be looking at this. You can either treat to @richardquest or X, as people now say, but you know, what I mean. @richardquest you will get me, or send me an e-mail Yes, I can't believe I'm going to do it richard.quest@cnn.com. SOLOMON: Opening the flood gates. QUEST: Well, I always figured that if anybody can't work out what my e-mail address is, they ain't that bright to start with. richard.quest@cnn.com. It goes right into that phone over there, I promise you that. How are you going to experience it? What is going be your moment when this happens? Maybe it's not going a be a moment for you, richard.quest@cnn.com or @richardquest on X. SOLOMON: All right. I want to -- actually, Richard, stand by for a moment. I'm hearing from our friends at the control room that we have new photos. This is from Mazatlan. This is being provided by NASA of the partial eclipse as it unfolds. Beautiful. Now, if you are on the beach there, we just saw that shot of hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand people on the Beach there in Mazatlan, Mexico. This would be the time when you definitely want to be wearing your sunglasses as you wait for total totality there as it begins. as it begins its stretch across Mexico, the United States, Canada, but this is what we've been waiting for. QUEST: I do worry a little bit that some people may be wearing dodgy glasses or, you know, they've got the 50 cents off the street, a bit like at New Year's Eve when people buy -- WEIR: Yes. QUEST: And balloons and things from the streets. This is not something that you want to mess around with. WEIR: Even though. It looks like a 3D movie handout, these are these are actual certified -- they're strong enough, the paper ones can be, if they're -- if you get the right ones. SOLOMON: What if what if don't know? If you don' know, if you're not sure today's the day? What do you think? What should people be looking out for? RIDDLE: I say better safe than sorry. And there's other ways you can observe it -- SOLOMON: OK. [13:10:00] RIDDLE: -- up to totality, because remember, it's safe to look at it once it is totally covered. OK. That's when you want to take the glasses off. As you're looking at it partially, you can observe the trees around you. The patterns on the shadows cast on to the ground, as you are -- like already, they'll be able to see that the shadow is going to be different. You're going see these crescent shapes and those leaves on ground. Or take a pencil and a piece of paper or card, punch it through, make it as smooth as you can. And then hold it up, and you're going to also see that partial eclipse happening up to the point -- SOLOMON: With your back to sun. RIDDLE: Right, right. SOLOMON: Right. OK. RIDDLE: With your back to sun, to get the shadow. You have to get the shadow. SOLOMON: Yes, yes. RIDDLE: Correct. SOLOMON: Yes. RIDDLE: But you just don't want to look up at the sun. SOLOMON: Yes. QUEST: So, by my reckoning, we are one hour away from totality. One hour away from totality in Mazatlan in Mexico. And you know, as the sun -- as the moon is eating into the sun, we're getting an idea of just how long this is going to take. And as you can see, we could see from pictures from NASA clouds starting to interfere a little bit in Texas with things -- which does sort of create issues. But I'm not going to let that get to me. SOLOMON: I love, Richard, as someone who knows you quite well, I think I loved the glass half full vibes that I'm getting today. It must be the eclipse. It must be the eclipse. It's -- the optimism is -- it's beautiful. WEIR: Did you check your horoscopes in light of the eclipse? QUEST: It's life on life's terms. RIDDLE: Life on life's terms. QUEST: Life on life's terms. And you can spend an enormous amount of time trying to change the wind without instead of just trying to just change your sail. SOLOMON: Well, speaking of trying to the change wind, the winds might change. QUEST: The wind? SOLOMON: The wind. The wind literally might. QUEST: Why is that? SOLOMON: Yes, talk to us about what's happening. Why? RIDDLE: That has to do with the amount of solar radiation that's hitting the earth. SOLOMON: OK. RIDDLE: And sorry -- it just came out. And so, the -- as it is -- as the sun's being covered, you're having less radiation. So, there's less heat, and it's going to bring about the cooling temperatures. So, that's going to affect the dew point with the clouds, and you are going have this wind and develop. Richard, you're -- QUEST: Partial totality has begun in the United States, I'm being told. So, remember the way this thing rolls across the country and across -- or across a continent, partial -- you got to get your head around this. You know, what's happening -- because we're moving, and they're moving, the sun and everything, therefore, it's going to happen in little bits and drops throughout. Dan Chris has said, he's in Sarasota in Florida, it may not be a full view. This is still a great experience for me and my family. The question from various other people which are coming in, or at least Kennedy Morales, I'm in Queens, New York City. I'll be sitting in my backyard looking at the sun with my glasses. I will not use my phone. I want to experience the eclipse and soak it in with all the positivity. SOLOMON: You know, New York is actually -- thanks for writing in Kennedy. You know, New York was actually going to get a pretty decent shot at looking at this. Was it 90 percent? WEIR: Close to 90 percent. SOLOMON: Yes. WEIR: Yes. SOLOMON: I mean, that's pretty awesome. QUEST: I'm not sure why Jeremy Nava (ph) is going to be experiencing an eclipse with nature's finest gifts, brussels sprouts. There we go. WEIR: Do each his own folklore around. QUEST: I mean, people are watching, of course, telling it. So, richard.quest.cnn.com, your experience, please, how you're preparing, praying, spirituality, enjoying, or simply going to open a very good expensive bottle of something and enjoy it. SOLOMON: Yes. And, Bill, if we could take a step back. I mean, before scientists were actually able to understand what was happening. I mean, this is an event that at times really sparked a lot of fear. I mean, imagine an ancient times trying to understand what exactly was happening. And so, with each passing eclipse, we get the opportunity to learn more and more. WEIR: Yes, and we were talking about that earlier, and I want to hear more from Tom on his favorites. But it really says so much about the psychology of a given culture at any particular time, what's around them, right? So, the myth among the Cherokee is that it's a big frog eating the earth. If you see similar stories from South American tribes, whether it's a panther or a frog in China, it was a dragon devouring the sun. And you needed to make a lot of noise to chase the dragon away. And other places, even other indigenous tribes within the same continent, here in the United States, the Navajo see this as a moment of quiet reverence. Like they closed Navajo National Park for this. And -- but you've had some other insights to cultures that just, in beautiful ways, interpret this event. [13:15:00] RIDDLE: It is. And one of my favorites is the Tammari people of Togo, Menen (ph) in Africa, when they would -- they believed that what we were experiencing is the sun and the moon doing battle with each other, but they're doing that because they were influenced by humans' negative emotions. The strife and the violence on earth was influencing them to fight. And so, the Tammari people called for a time of peace. And if you needed to make amends with someone, you go to them and make amends. It really is a beautiful sentiment. And, you know, I think it goes back to what we were talking about earlier, Richard, about how people interpret this, you know. And this is one of my favorites, because it says, hey, it's time for us to come together and not to pull apart, we're better together. SOLOMON: Yes. QUEST: Let me tell you, you know, the e-mails I'm getting are proving the point. Eclipse in Barcelona, not that sure they're going to see it, Eclipse in Barbados, South Africa, Montreal, Dubai, England, Vermont, even in parts of the world where you are not going to see it, you are e-mailing me to tell me about your experience, because I believe the next big eclipse is going to be in Spain and other parts of the world. So, you're -- and that's next year. So, you are already enjoying it, but this is a good moment for something that's like, right? SOLOMON: Yes. We'll reset. We'll be right back. It's beautiful. WEIR: That's awesome. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOLOMON: Welcome back to our coverage here on CNNI of the total solar eclipse across America. The Great American Eclipse, as it has been called. We want to go now to Gustavo Valdes. He joins us from Torreon, Mexico. Gustavo, give us a sense of what you've been able to see so far where you are. GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, the excitement is -- I can't see you right now. I have my glasses because we looked up, and I think you have the live signal. You can hear the people clapping because the clouds break through a little bit, and you can see, and you can start seeing like the cloud move through, and you see the edge of the moon start to pull in. You can hear the excitement of the people. Tens of thousands. A little bit of the sun, that's what they saw, that's what they said. [13:20:00] But you can see the excitement is growing, they're expecting here in Torreon, in this particular park, some 40,000 people in the city, up to 750,000 in different points. This is a really good point to view the eclipse, if the clouds allow it, because it's in the middle of a desert. So, there's not a lot of urban lighting outside the cities. It's going to be really dark once the sun is completely covered. What's your name? GABRIELA: Gabriela. VALDES: What are you seeing? GABRIELA: I'm seeing a little bit because it's cloudy, but it's so amazing. VALDES: Where are you from? GABRIELA: From here. VALDES: From Torreon. What does it mean for you guys to have all the people, all the attention on you? GABRIELA: I really don't know, but -- not really know, it's a lot of people here. VALDES: There's a lot of people here. So, there's something very interesting, because also on the other side, and it's getting every time harder to see on the other side of the hill. NASA scientists and scientists from all over Mexico and the world are actually here studying what's happening. It just so happens that Torreon has a couple of telescopes. One of them is always straight on the sun. So, they had all the infrastructure in place precisely for something like this on the right spot at the right time. But what they're telling me also is that the fact that the attention is in Mexico is allowing people outside the United States, which is one of the places where science grows -- and there's some other TV network doing something here -- that for the local, for the Mexican students, this is also an opportunity to see that they have the infrastructure in place to become scientists, to be interested in science. So, they are also hopeful that this is going to raise awareness and more people want to be scientists and, you know, have the opportunity. But as I said, something else they did here in Torreon, if we can walk this way so we could move away from the local station. They are providing the glasses for free for people who forgot or didn't get the glasses on time. People can -- as you can see just come here and they can share it so that everybody can share on the experience. Now, unfortunately, the cloud cover is still a little thick. It's not that easy to see the sun. But like I said, once you look up, you put the glasses on, you see the bright yellow disk, the clouds move on and you're starting to see the moon creeping in. Mazatlan is about to get the full eclipse, the total eclipse, total darkness, and that's going to be the first chance in North America to see this event. SOLOMON: Yes. You know, Gustavo, I think it's so interesting that despite the cloud cover there, clearly, that's not doing anything to dampen the enthusiasm or the excitement out there, which is really beautiful to see. Gustavo Valdes, thank you. QUEST: Looking at the eclipse with your eyes isn't uncomfortable only, it's also dangerous. Safely viewing the rare event requires special glasses. SOLOMON: Now, if you don't have a pair -- and I don't -- so, I guess I'll just take Richard's. There is some hope for you. All you need is some cardboard -- if Richard wants his back -- here to show us what to do is CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa. So, Elisas, for those of us like myself who somehow find ourselves without glasses, is hope lost? But what can we do? What can I do? ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No. Actually, a lot of these things you should have right at home. So, I have glasses, but I also was able to make this pinhole projector viewer. I decked mine out and decorated it a little bit for the occasion. Brought you guys some stickers. You can decorate -- WEIR: You (INAUDIBLE)? RAFFA: Yes. We're going to make them. So, this will help because you'll be able to look at the shadow with the sun to your back and kind of project it in the box instead of staring with your eyes directly at the sun. QUEST: A pinhole camera type of -- RAFFA: Yes, exactly. WEIR: So, you're watching the shadow change -- RAFFA: In the box. WEIR: In the box. RAFFA: Correct. WEIR: Got you. RAFFA: So, what we'll start is you want white paper on the inside. So, it is -- you can see the shadow the best. So, yes. So, you want to trace the bottom of your box on the white paper. I pre-cut some, if you guys want it. WEIR: Oh, I see. This little thing. RAFFA: Yes, yes, yes. WEIR: I see. OK. RAFFA: Like that. So, then it winds up going on the inside. There's some tape if you want to tape it on the inside. WEIR: All right. RAFFA: Yes, tape it on the inside of the box. QUEST: All right. Something is telling me -- so, I take the white paper to, what, to the bottom? RAFFA: The inside -- the bottom of the box. WEIR: Inside of the bottom, like that. RAFFA: All the way in the bottom. Exactly, like that. QUEST: You -- something tells me you were really good at this sort of stuff at school. WEIR: My baking soda volcano kicked ass, Richard. SOLOMON: I have no doubt. No doubt. WEIR: Can we say that? QUEST: You know, we could say it. Whether we say it or not, we've done it. RAFFA: Well -- SOLOMON: Oh, thank you. RAFFA: Yes, there you go. So, yes, you can just put that at the bottom. QUEST: What -- I can't get -- RAFFA: Yes. So, with the white surface, we'll be able to see the shadow pretty well. QUEST: It won't go on the bottom -- all right. RAFFA: There's some tape if you need to like secure it in there. OK. Then we need to like get rid of the flaps on the box. So, you're going to cut off the flaps on the side. QUEST: All four of them? RAFFA: No, no, no, no. Just the two on the side. QUEST: See? WEIR: Oh, OK. QUEST: Yes, yes, yes. But you -- WEIR: Oh, the little ones or the big one? [13:25:00] RAFFA: Cut off the two on the side. No, no, no. The side. The side. WEIR: Oh, the wrong ones. OK. QUEST: Mr. DIY. RAFFA: What happened to your volcano? We messed it up already. WEIR: Story of my life. QUEST: Yes. Your volcano just went up in flames. WEIR: Yes. Direction -- reading the direction is optional. RAFFA: This two on the side. And then, you only want like the center of the flap -- on the big flaps. So, you want to cut them into like thirds. So, you like cut them into thirds and then cut off. So, you see what I mean? WEIR: I see. RAFFA: So, you see there's the middle. WEIR: Yes. RAFFA: So, cut off -- QUEST: Oh, right. What does it turn? RAFFA: Right. So, do it on both sides. WEIR: OK. QUEST: All right. RAFFA: So, cut off the like the ends, but leave that flap in the middle. WEIR: OK. RAFFA: Yes. How's it going? WEIR: Oh, yes. QUEST: You have no idea what PTSD. This is bringing back from my days at school. WEIR: Today's eclipse vision brought to you by Cheez-Its. RAFFA: Yes. So, we won't wait. Yes. I decided to pick a snack that I like to snack on. I don't know. So, you could use like a cereal box. You could use any type of snack box, any type of -- your favorite snack or cereal. WEIR: OK. RAFFA: I've even seen people use shoe boxes online too. QUEST: I can't help feeling that we should have been telling for people about this two weeks ago when they could have got it already. But don't worry. RAFFA: Hey, people have some snack boxes and some scissors at home. QUEST: All right. WEIR: All right. What's nexst? RAFFA: OK. So, now you tape your -- SOLOMON: Are you laughing at me? WEIR: Oh, you need to flap in the middle. I got it. Got it. OK. RAFFA: Yes, yes, yes. You need the flap -- QUEST: All right. RAFFA: Guys, what is happening over there? OK. That's perfect. There we go. Like that. SOLOMON: All right. All right. WEIR: Oh, good for you. RAFFA: Beautiful. So, we just want the middle to flap and then you tape that closed. QUEST: Sorry. What do I do? RAFFA: Yes. So, you tape that -- tape your center closed. QUEST: With what? We the -- RAFFA: Have some trash tape. QUEST: This? Yes? RAFFA: Yes, yes, yes. QUEST: Oh, no. Now, oh, epic fail. RAFFA: Oh, no, where is it? QUEST: I can't get the -- you know, when you're wrapping Christmas presents, and you lose the end. WEIR: Yes, it's the worst. RAFFA: Yes. So, we just tape it close. WEIR: All right. QUEST: This is just it. Here we go. RAFFA: People thought you might be up for the challenge. So, I'm glad to see you're enjoying it. QUEST: Hey, I'll be on the roof with you. I'll be on the roof with you in a couple of hours. RAFFA: I see, and then we'll be able to use it. WEIR: This is a sobriety test, isn't it? All right. QUEST: There we go. WEIR: There we go. RAFFA: Yes, like that. QUEST: What's next? RAFFA: OK. So, we tape it like that. So, then the last thing that we need is the foil. WEIR: OK. RAFFA: So, the foil, you just cover up one of the sides, and then you tape it on one of the ends. That's going to help really reflect that shadow. SOLOMON: All right. RAFFA: So, we just -- and then you just tape it on one of the sides. WEIR: OK. And are we poking a hole in the foil? RAFFA: Yes, and then you wind up -- I have some paper clips, and then you can -- QUEST: Oh, I see. Shall I look through that one? RAFFA: Yes. QUEST: That's -- RAFFA: Yes. WEIR: That's all -- RAFFA: Yes. WEIR: It's all coming from clear. RAFFA: So, here's some -- QUEST: Ritual humiliation, had to be -- have a purpose to it. No, what are you doing? SOLOMON: I've been told to give you the paper clips. RAFFA: Yes. So, once you tape your foil, you tape your foil on the edge of the box, then you can kind of unwind the paper clip, so you can poke your hole, not that quite as big, but just poke your hole, little pinhole. WEIR: Do you suggest just one hole? RAFFA: One hole. Yes. WEIR: One hole. OK. RAFFA: Just one little pinhole, and then that's where essentially the sun's rays will come in here, and then reflect on the white on the inside of your box, so you're looking on the open one, and the sun is essentially behind us. QUEST: OK. I (INAUDIBLE). Could you just put a bit of tape on there? RAFFA: Yes, I think that should be good. QUEST: Just put a bit of tape on there to make it all work. SOLOMON: All right. Let the record reflect that the women at the table are done first. WEIR: All right. Good job, ladies. QUEST: Yes. Let the record reflect we don't know whether it's going to work. It might be that the men who are taking a little bit longer are going to get it right. RAFFA: That may be. SOLOMON: Maybe. RAFFA: That may be. QUEST: We will find out in a few hours. WEIR: Which planet do you want? QUEST: Oh, I don't care. Something big and bold. RAFFA: We've got some planets. SOLOMON: We're going to decorate ours. We're going to accessorize. We're going to bedazzle. QUEST: Oh, now she's excited. SOLOMON: We're going to bedazzle. QUEST: Now, she's going to get -- SOLOMON: And we're going to take a quick break. And we will be back in just a few minutes. QUEST: Accessorizing. SOLOMON: Don't go anywhere. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [13:32:43] QUEST: You are most welcome just. Look at it. There it goes, he or she, the moon. Choose your pick, I don't mind. Anyway, trundling across the sun. And for millions of people across North America, this is a man -- an amazing day at living out nature, natural world in its most beautiful. SOLOMON: Yes, this is the shot from Mazatlan, Mexico. You might remember just a few moments ago, we spoke to Gustavo Valdes, who was on the ground in Mazatlan, and despite the clouds there, you could still hear the enthusiasm, you could still see the crowds, people were smiling, people were happy, clearly not doing anything to dampen spirits as we watch this really rare phenomenon. But from Mexico, we want to now turn to Miguel Marquez, who's in Ohio, and he is at the Cleveland Science Center. Miguel, give us a sense, also filled with a lot of friends there, what you're seeing, what the vibe is like. MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it is -- there is that sense of everybody coming here, thousands of people here at the Science Center, tens of thousands all over the county and all over the town, and millions of people pouring into that zone of totality. This is what it looks like out here right now, but people are just coming here with a sense of awe and wonder and hoping to see the full power of our sun through this eclipse. I can show you. You know, it was cloudy this morning, it rained overnight, everybody peeking out their curtains was a little concerned, but right up there is where the sun will be around 3:13, when the totality begins. The Rock and Roll Museum, which is right next to where I'm standing, they are going to DJ the eclipse. They're going to play Pink Floyd, "Dark Side of the Moon" as the eclipse starts, but just at totality, they will play a bit of the song eclipse. Here's a little bit of that, I'm going to let you look at what's happening here. (MUSIC PLAYING) And if everything goes according to plan, just as totality ends, the lyric they will hear it, because they have speakers all over Cleveland. The lyric they will hear is, the moon has eclipsed the sun, and that will be the end of this eclipse. [13:35:00] There'll be another one not too long from now, 420 years, 2444. See you guys there, here then. SOLOMON: Yes. Well, we'll see if science gets us there. But, Miguel, Ohio expecting a huge boost of people, of visitors just sort of coming in to hopefully a catch a view, 125 to half a million visitors. MARQUEZ: It's going to be massive. And look, Cleveland alone -- I mean, this has just begun. There were huge lines this morning at 10:00 a.m. when the science center here opened. This is also where the NASA Glenn Visitor Center is. The NASA Research Center, the Glenn Research Center is in Cleveland. It's the only NASA facility in the path of totality. So, there's a massive NASA contingent here as well. We also had basketball, the NCAA, the college women's final four in Cleveland this weekend, the home opener for their baseball team, The Guardians, that's happening today as well And there's an international film festival in Cleveland. Cleveland rocks on a normal day. It totally rocks today. Back to you. SOLOMON: It's all going down in Ohio, in Cleveland. All right. Miguel Marquez live for us there. We'll check back with you throughout the hours. Miguel, thanks so much. MARQUEZ: You got it. QUEST: Now, when these eclipses happen, as we were talking earlier, there are a huge amount of myths, beliefs, devotions attached to it. WEIR: I find this so fascinating, Richard, you know. You're going back to the civilizations that really centered themselves around the sun. QUEST: Mayans. WEIR: The Mayans, right? They literally described it as the day when the sun is eaten The Incas, a similar sort of idea of doom and foreboding, that things are being rearranged in the sky above. QUEST: Well, this idea devouring the sun, which is also -- and indeed, in some past times, they would kill the king. WEIR: Yes. That's the Hindu interpretation. The Chinese believe there was a dragon eating the sun. The Hindus had a myth about the trickster god trying to steal a sip of the nectar of the gods and is beheaded. And that is what we see is the head of this trickster god rolling across the sun. In Mesopotamia, this is -- there was a belief that the universe was angry and the king would be -- have to die, that the heavens were angry at the king. And so, what would they do? They would put a fake king in, murder him, just in case the real king could slip out the back, essentially, a bait and switch. There's a political metaphor in there somewhere, right? QUEST: OK. Yes, just so -- yes. Imagine being told, good morning. Now, today you are going to be the temporary king -- WEIR: For a minute. QUEST: -- for a minute. Long enough for us to kill you, so the real king can come back. WEIR: Exactly. QUEST: All right. WEIR: So, he can do it. The Ancient Greeks saw it as a period of abandonment from the celestial gods. The Navajo, as we mentioned earlier, there's over 450 different indigenous tribes in North America. The Navajo see this as a moment of quiet reflection, no eating or drinking, you know, definitely no celebrations during the eclipse, but other tribes felt differently. QUEST: This is a reminder that in the path of total eclipse, you see one thing, but the rest of the country will experience. This is something everyone can enjoy. And indeed, as I'm hearing from people e-mailing me at richard.quest@cnn.com, wherever you are, you may not even see it, but that feeling of being involved is quite extraordinary. WEIR: And what's interesting, Richard, when you think about it, is those tribes that, you know, a thousand years ago would carve this moment into rock. That was the tool they had, right? QUEST: Right. WEIR: Now, we have infrared spectrometers and camera phones and all myriad ways of modern ways to basically record the same feeling of awe that they felt all those millennia ago. SOLOMON: And really fascinating. I want to bring Tom Riddle back because he has a prop, which I think, you know, we just talked a little bit about sort of how other cultures and communities try to understand what was happening. QUEST: Never mind the digital version. SOLOMON: Let's have Tom explain what's actually happening. QUEST: All right. RIDDLE: All right. So, Richard, if you'd like to turn that, then what we're seeing is -- this is called an Ori, by the way, and we use it in our lessons, our labs with students at Roper Mountain. And what it's showing is that how the earth is moving around the sun and the moon is moving around the earth. And so, what it also shows -- and there's a -- you can't really quite tell it. We can do it more in a classroom setting. You can do it a little bit. Maybe not be able to see the camera. Yes, there you go. But the moon is slightly tipped. To Bill's point earlier, that the -- there's about a five-degree tilt in the plane of the moon as it orbits the earth. And so, you can actually see that in this model. [13:40:00] We used to teach seasons and things such as this, but when it's right, if you move back, go back just a little bit. QUEST: That's -- RIDDLE: Just a little bit. Right around there, bam, there you are. And so, that's totality, where we're getting the earth right -- I mean, the moon right between the earth and sun. And as we said earlier, you know, it's 400 times smaller than the sun and 400 times closer to us. And so, it just covers -- it's perfect for covering the sun so we can see the corona. SOLOMON: So, to put a fine point on it. So, the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun. RIDDLE: Correct. SOLOMON: And yet, the moon is 400 times closer to the earth? RIDDLE: To the earth and the sun. And so, we have that perfect connection. And you know, it's -- you have to think in the cosmic scale of things too. You know, if you were to -- if the sun was the size of a basketball, for instance, and then the earth would be about a two-millimeter pinhead, then you'd put the basketball in the center of a football field, about the middle way point width of the football field, then you have the earth on the sideline. That's the distance between the earth and the sun. QUEST: I have a confession. WEIR: Yes. QUEST: I -- SOLOMON: Is here the right place to -- QUEST: It's a day of confession. SOLOMON: I mean, all right. QUEST: In a moment of idiocy, stupidity, and ignorance, I forgot which goes around which. SOLOMON: I think that's a fair -- QUEST: And I had to Google on the plane coming down to Atlanta -- actually, forgive me, from London, you see. Does the moon go around the sun or does the sun go around the moon or does the earth go around it? And I had to Google it yesterday, just so I could remind myself. WEIR: One of our colleagues, Mr. Galileo, would like a word with you. RIDDLE: Best case important, how much learning is happening? SOLOMON: Yes. WEIR: Exactly. RIDDLE: Think about how many -- I'd love to see, you know, the number of Google searches that have occurred around the eclipse. Or I love what you're talking about. I'll have to get a copy of the book, because I'm passionate about getting -- that's what we do at the Science Center, right, we want to get kids excited about studying these things, nature, we've got to get connected again. So, this is just a great opportunity for that to happen. So, Richard took advantage of it. QUEST: Right. So -- SOLOMON: Can I ask? QUEST: Go ahead, please. SOLOMON: Excuse me. So, when it's total totality, right, we sort of see the outer edges of the sun, the corona, and that's something that scientists don't often get to study. Can you explain for us why exactly that happens in terms of the corona and why this presents sort of a unique learning opportunity even for scientists? WEIR: Yes. So, I'll start and, Tom, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but the corona, the Latin for crown, is the atmosphere of the sun, essentially, and it's really hot, much hotter than the plasma on the surface of the sun, but because it's sort of wispy and because the sun is so bright, we can't see it. It's hard to study. And so, when we get that temporary blackout where, wow, now, it's cooled off for us to look at, that's when you can study that corona. And it wasn't until just a few years ago that science realized -- but this is another thing that I didn't realize. Did you know what we have shot a probe into the sun? Well, this is a couple years ago. I'm looking through my notes. You know, what this guy is called, it is the Parker Solar Probe. It's named after Eugene Parker who witnessed solar storms, and this was a time when they'd have these solar flares and then odd behavior on earth with telegraphs and whatnot. And he said, boy, if we could send a probe up there and measure what's happening in the corona. So, in 2018, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe. It is the fastest man-made object ever created. It moved 430,000 miles per hour towards the sun. It has 4.5-inch heat shield on it where the front of it is 1,300 degrees Celsius. That's off the charts hot and the back of it is room temperature. And it's measuring that corona and its activity because all of that energy coming off, right, Tom, is -- affects so much around the galaxy. RIDDLE: It does. And you know, this is an awesome opportunity, like you said, Rahel, that we have to study the corona unlike other times. OK. And, Bill, you're absolutely right. It -- we can't see it otherwise because it's so bright. But -- and one thing I meant to mention earlier, you know, to be looking for during totality are the prominences. So, these are these flares. The prominences -- or it looks like -- you'll see like a little wispy red hairs almost coming off the sun, that's something to be on the lookout for. So, you know, actually, you know, a lot of research has always been done around eclipses. And in fact in 1919, it was Einstein's theory of relativity that was proven during that eclipse because -- SOLOMON: Clearly the eclipse made him think -- is that what I read? Sort of made the -- RIDDLE: He had proposed it in 1915 that gravity could bend light. And so, they knew -- scientists knew -- astronomers knew where to look for the stars, in the heavens. [13:45:00] And then if Einstein was right, during the eclipse, the stars would be shifted somewhere else, and just off where they should be, and that's the light being bent -- or excuse me, the gravitational pull on the light. And so, that was actually proving that. QUEST: So, we are just about 22 minutes away from totality. As you look at that picture on your screen, which is coming to us from Mexico, and you see the way in which the moon is moving forward. This is what's happening remember, all of this is what's taking place in real-time, the moon, the sun, the earth, everybody's going around each other, but that's the reality of it, it's happening now on your screen. WEIR: Our celestial dance, the billiards game in the sky. QUEST: And we'll take a break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOLOMON: Welcome back. So, Canada has declared a state of emergency for its side of the Niagara Falls region. It's set to be -- this is out of an abundance of caution because of all the huge crowds. Spectators have already started gathering in Niagara Falls early this morning. Trying to get a good spot. QUEST: So, the emergency is really not expecting anything to happen. There's nothing wrong per se. It's just a sheer number of people who are wanting to enjoy this. On the U.S. side, similar numbers that are expected to the 4th of July holiday weekend. And joining me now from the U.S. side of Niagara, John Percy, President Chief Exec of Destination Niagara USA. I mean, this is one of those moments, John. You know, please, God, we should have these problems all the time. It's a sheer number of people who want to come and enjoy your destination. JOHN PERCY, PRESIDENT AND CEO, DESTINATION NIAGARA USA: Correct. Thank you for having me. It's great. It's a wonderful day. I can't wait to soon go over to the state park with my official glasses and join the crowds that have assembled over there. It is probably better than a 4th of July weekend, better than we expected this weekend. We had fantastic numbers, small businesses thriving in the numbers that -- even surpassed the numbers that we projected. So, it's been a fantastic week. A lot of festivities that were planned, that people have been able to take advantage of in the entire region. [13:50:00] So, it's been a great week and leading up to this. We're just now praying that the clouds will move ever so slightly so we can get some glimpse of totality here at 3:18 Eastern Standard Time. QUEST: So, let me ask you, how many people are you expecting? And because I'm "Quest Means Business," how much do you think it's going to bring in? PERCY: Great question. I mean, we will, you know, pull together numbers over the next couple weeks and we have an official events calculator that will submit everything into, so we get a real precise and more scientific number. You know, thousands of people. It's hard to project. I know there was a number thrown out there of a million. I don't think we'll have a million people, but tens of thousands have joined us today. All city lots are filled. State Park lot was filled at 10:00 a.m. So, the numbers are significant. Again, I think we will surpass a typical or high season day of 4th of July or a big summer weekend. So, it really is fantastic. You know, tourism is made up of small business, and our job is to try and drive economic value to those small businesses. That's across the entire country. So, it's great that small businesses being impacted by this greatly, never on a first weekend in April for sure. SOLOMON: Yes, yes, for sure. And on a Monday, no less. John, before we let you go, as we understand that the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, that is the site where she is planning to enjoy the solar eclipse. What is it about Niagara Falls that you think offers a spectacular perspective or view? PERCY: Well, I'm getting chills when you just said that. You know, I'm going over to join the governor here very shortly. You know, we're iconic and how wonderful to have this historic moment in one of the most iconic wonders of the world. So, you tie -- it's a great marriage of both of those. And so, I think with it being such a natural and iconic, and this being a natural, you know, celestial event, the two could not be married together better. And so, we're very excited that people did decide to join us on the Niagara Falls, New York side, especially the governor today. SOLOMON: Yes, and we're excited to have you. We can't wait to see sort of the view as it crosses New York. John Percy, live for us there at Niagara Falls. John, thanks so much. PERCY: Thank you, guys. SOLOMON: And it's not just us. It's not just us here on earth that get to experience this, animals, too. QUEST: Animals are expected to act strangely during the eclipse. Ed Lavendera is at the Dallas Zoo. What are they going to do? ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know. That's kind of the fun part of all of this, is that we don't exactly know what we're going to be able to show you on the other side of this total eclipse. But if history is any gauge, there might be some interesting reaction to what the animals will do during the total eclipse. We are here in the -- what's known as the Great Savannah Area of the Dallas Zoo. We've got elephants, there's some zebra out there in the distance and ostrich and giraffes close by. And so, the question is, you know, there isn't a lot of research on what exactly animals do. So, there's a number of -- like there's a lot of crowdsourcing efforts to document how animals are going to react during the nearly four minutes of total darkness here in the middle of the day. And some of the theories kind of go like this, so there could be some mating. We'll see. Some tortoises had done that in 2017 in South Carolina. There could be, you know, parents -- or animals that kind of gather around their young because they feel like it's a dangerous situation, so we could see some of that. We also could see some animals who think it's nighttime and start putting themselves to bed. And you know, the more boring option is that the animals could just stand around and say, what's all the fuss about, what are you guys humans go -- what are you humans going crazy for today? So -- QUEST: Oh, look. LAVANDERA: But, you know, all of that kind of a great, great fun to kind of experience this today. QUEST: Ed Lavandera, very grateful. Yes, that's a nice giraffe. I wonder what that's going to do. Let me know what the giraffe does, how's it moving. Thanks, Ed. LAVANDERA: That's the bogo. We've made we've made fast friends with the bogo here today. QUEST: Oh, excellent. I was just thinking, the -- thanks. Ed Lavandera in -- at the zoo. I was just thinking. So, if tortoises are trying to mate and they're not the fastest and they've only got four minutes, they'll have -- in Dallas, they'll have four minutes and 51 seconds. SOLOMON: Oh, god. To -- QUEST: Three minutes and 51 seconds. They better move fast. These better be fast tortoises. I'm just saying. SOLOMON: Yes. I'm hearing, let's get it on, in my sort of like musical sort of brain here. Thank you for that reference. Richard Quest. So, if the sun and the moon are getting together, well, so are hundreds of couples in Russellville, Arkansas. And that is where we find our Stephanie Elam. This is where couples are deciding to get married or renew their vows and a mass ceremony. Look. (MUSIC PLAYING) [13:55:00] SOLOMON: All right. Stephanie, this is a story that is very -- STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can you guys hear me? SOLOMON: We can hear you now, but this is the story, that is very near and dear to my heart, as someone who is about to get married herself, walk us through sort of all of the celebrations and the happy couples. ELAM: Oh, it's so full of love out here, Rahel, I got to tell you. You've got right now the Liverpool Legends are on the stage right now. They're a Beatles cover band playing Beatles songs. And you see some of them brides and grooms are out they're dancing. Last check, there were 358 couples we knew about that were registered for this event, but we heard that more have registered since then. So, this is going to be a massive elopement here for the eclipse here in Russellville, Arkansas. Our weather has cooperated. We were looking at rain before, but now we've got pretty clear blue skies. It's actually really phenomenal. And because I've gotten my trusty protection here, I can look up and I can see -- yes, it looks like someone took a bite out of a cookie up there. You're starting to see the eclipse happening here. So, people are getting excited. What's going to happen? They're going to stop playing, everyone's going to get married, there's going to be a massive wedding here for all these couples. And then everyone is going to stop, and we're all going to look at the total eclipse. And after that, of course, your Beatles are going to play. What do they have to play? "Here Comes the Sun." So, that's what they are going play at the end of this. And then, all of these couples will then have their first dance. They'll have some -- a toast and they'll have cake. But obviously, it's just a beautiful day here that we weren't sure we were going to have, and people are in great spirits. We've heard some amazing love stories, much like, I'm sure, your own, Rahel. SOLOMON: Elam, go on. Go on. Nobody -- Elam, I saw you earlier, you were in a hot air balloon, and now, obviously, you are back on earth. Just give us a sense of sort of what the vibes are like, how people were feeling. Obviously, you're looking beautiful and feeling good. How are people feeling out there? ELAM: Oh, yes. No, seriously. We have heard from amazing love stories. The balloons are a morning thing because it gets too hot. I got a whole science lesson. And then, the earth warms up and the balloons can't fly. So, they come out early in the morning. That was really fun. We saw some couples taking rides as well. And overall, a lot of people have been months to be here, to make this day the day that they wed their love. Some of them have their families out here, some are coming out here and just doing it themselves. And then, we're going to have a bigger ceremony in other places. But a lot of people have come from, I think they said about half of the states. They traveled to be here. So much so that little Russellville, Arkansas, which is a population of about 30,000, they say they have more than 100,000 people who have come here to be in the path of totality for this event here today. And they had gambled and won, because our weather right now is spectacular. SOLOMON: Yes. ELAM: And I covered the 2017 eclipse from Missouri. And, I kind of lost my mind. I'll admit it to you guys because we were drizzly and rainy and cloudy. And we actually still saw the eclipse. It opened up in a hole and we could see it. QUEST: Right. ELAM: Once you see one eclipse, you'll see why people chase it around. It's amazing. SOLOMON: Well, Elam, you and I have to talk offline because between this assignment and the fact that you always get sent to the Bahamas for New Year's Eve, I have some questions about how you get all of these assignments, but we'll talk about that another time. ELAM: It's the same producer. SOLOMON: Oh, OK. ELAM: OK. SOLOMON: I got you. QUEST: All right. SOLOMON: All right. Thanks, Stephanie Elam. QUEST: Stephanie Elam there. Let me just bring you up to date with where we are and what's going to happen as we move forward. So, we are roughly nine minutes and 30 seconds, give or take, from the first totality of this eclipse in Mazatlan in Mexico. You can see there the -- this is when it really gets interesting, doesn't it? Because now we're almost there, 10 minutes away. We've got partial eclipse happening now in various parts of the United States as the path of totality moves on. But the first one for total will be when -- will be in just about eight -- nine minutes from now. SOLOMON: Yes. Let's go to our CNN's Rosa Flores, also part of our wonderful team of reporters. She is in Kerrville, Texas, that's where the eclipse has started and they're going to be a totality in about 30 minutes. Rosa, love the love of the outfit. Certainly, dressed for the part today. Talk to us about the crystal ball and what you're seeing where you are. ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Rahel and Richard, there were predictions that there was going to be storms. And I spoke to the mayor of Kerrville, Texas and she told me that she looked through her crystal ball and that it was going to be a beautiful day and that about 100,000 people that were going to descend on this town were going be able to enjoy the eclipse. And so, I borrowed that crystal ball. Just to let you guys know, if you have any questions for me, I think this is a really good one because it definitely predicted that we were going to have a beautiful sunny day, but stand by for that because I want to look up to give you a play-by-play of what we're looking at right now. And I can tell you that there is this beautiful crescent that has been created by the sun and the moon. CNN Live Event/Special Aired April 08, 2024 - 14:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [14:00:00] ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: …The moon started taking over the sun at about the 3 O'clock mark, and right now, there's this amazing crescent, you could probably hear the crowd as well. And then, all of a sudden, you see just a little tad of cloud cover. So, it's almost like in the movies, but other than that, I can tell you that every now and then, there's this cool breeze -- did you see just that, my scarf -- every now and then, there's a cool breeze and then we have the sun. It feels and looks more like that twilight zone than anything else, the colors don't look exactly how we normally see the colors. So, we're definitely experiencing the eclipse right now, totality, not yet, only a partial eclipse. RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And Rosa -- FLORES: I'd like to take you up on those questions. SOLOMON: Yes, I'm going to e-mail you some of my questions that I'd like you to look into the crystal bar in south -- RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: What's going to happen to Tesla's stock in the next three weeks? SOLOMON: Yes, seriously. QUEST: Sorry. SOLOMON: Well, we'll for an answer on that. But Rosa, I saw this cute little boy behind you, I'm curious sort of like the ages of people you're seeing out there, how young they are. Just sort of give us a sense of the lay of the land and who is out there? FLORES: Absolutely. Look, there are infants, there are grandparents who are out here. There are multiple generational families that have decided to make this eclipse a family reunion. There are people from all over the world, Israel, Wales, other parts of Europe, New Zealand, from all over the place and they're descending on Kerrville, Texas. And in part, it's because Kerrville, Texas, is the X that marks the spot. And here's why. There has been two eclipses in the past six months. There was one in October and the one that's happening today. And if you look at the paths of totality, they make a cross. And In the center of that cross is Kerrville, Texas, where I am right now. And people believe that there is this sense of -- oh, and there's that cool air again, did you see my hair? I feel a little -- like a cool breeze, it's the oddest thing. And so, people believe that there's this strength and energy here. And that's why they're descending onto Kerrville, Texas, now. But like I mentioned, there was this scare that there was going to be massive thunderstorms. And you can see all around me, there are no thunderstorms. And so, people are actually able to enjoy the eclipse at least for now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I don't like that cool wind, and it kind of scares me. I hope that the clouds stay away so that we can keep enjoying the eclipse. SOLOMON: Yes -- FLORES: Rahel and Richard, back to you. SOLOMON: Really fascinating, Rosa, because obviously I'm in studio, so really cool to kind of get that on the ground view that the wind, the color is changing and just the sense of all the people who are out there. Rosa Flores life for us there in Kerrville, Texas. Before we go back to Richard, I want to -- I have Tom Riddle here with me. Tom, it's been so good to have you in the last few hours, just sort of explaining all of this stuff -- just sort of picking up what Rosa picked up on there. The color is changing. What's going on there? THOMAS RIDDLE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ROPER MOUNTAIN SCIENCE CENTER: So, you're -- the visible light spectrum is being affected by the shadow of the moon crossing over the sun. And so, you're going to start to see kind of more of a muted colors -- SOLOMON: OK -- RIDDLE: And it's really fascinating. Again, there's the subtle changes that begin to occur like the wind. And there are things that are huge, like, hey, something is happening, so pay attention. SOLOMON: Yes -- RIDDLE: And it's -- SOLOMON: These all senses -- RIDDLE: This is where you need to be, exactly -- SOLOMON: Yes -- RIDDLE: Really need to be on the moment here. SOLOMON: Love it. RIDDLE: Put those devices down. SOLOMON: Yes. QUEST: OK. SOLOMON: Put your devices down, but pick up your glasses. RIDDLE: That's right, absolutely -- QUEST: Yes, right, you've got the model there -- SOLOMON: Yes -- QUEST: Right in front of you, we're going to show you, we are now just four minutes away from totality. And this is what's going to happen. All right, Bill? BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. QUEST: As totality happens, we've got -- we're going to start seeing some shadow bands. WEIR: The shadow bands start to spread around, right? It starts to get a little bit darker, a little bit darker depending on where you are in relation to totality. QUEST: Right, hard to see, Tom, the shadow bands only. RIDDLE: The shadow bands are going to be reflected on white surfaces, clear surfaces. So, look for those, they're going to look like snakes. Some people call them shadow snakes. So, look for those. They don't always see them. QUEST: Right, and then we get to totality, which is just three-and-a- half -- SOLOMON: That is what -- yes -- QUEST: Minutes away -- WEIR: Right -- QUEST: The Baily's beads. WEIR: Oh, yes, I love this part. This was discovered by an astronomer named Baily, that's the name. And you can see that is the result of mountains and valleys on the moon. So, the light shooting through the uneven surface, of course, the moon not a perfect cube ball, all kinds of typography up there, and that's what you get as we head towards total coverage. [14:05:00] QUEST: OK, looking at the picture of where we are at the moment, how far out where -- I know we are 2 minutes, 54 seconds away, but when would we expect to start seeing some Baily's beads, Tom Riddle? RIDDLE: Right before totality. So, we need to be looking at that carefully, but it should be just a few minutes -- excuse me, a few seconds before -- WEIR: Few seconds, yes -- RIDDLE: Totality -- QUEST: And the famous diamond ring -- no, not Rahel's engagement ring which is -- (LAUGHTER) WEIR: Nearly as stunning, this one in the sky -- QUEST: Right here, yes -- WEIR: Nearly as stunning. (LAUGHTER) QUEST: Right. When do we see this? RIDDLE: That's going to be the last thing that we see right before totality, so, we're going to look for that, wow -- QUEST: So, Baily's beads is before -- RIDDLE: Right before. QUEST: So, it goes Baily's beads, diamond ring -- RIDDLE: Diamond ring -- QUEST: Totality. Have I got that right? WEIR: I think so, yes -- QUEST: And then totality -- WEIR: That's where we're at -- RIDDLE: Here we go. WEIR: And that's when you can see that corona, unlike any other time in human existence and the way NASA is able to capture this, it's so incredible to see the uneven atmosphere of the earth. The sun is not round either, it spins in very bizarre shapes. SOLOMON: All right, guys, just hold on for one -- QUEST: Yes -- SOLOMON: Because we actually want to go to the ground in Mazatlan, we want to go to the observatory's commercial manager, Marianna Deleon Epinna(ph) who is joining us now. And Marianna(ph), as we understand, totality is just moments away, where are we with that and what can you see? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello world, welcome to the observatory park. Here we are around 500 people ready in Cacao(ph) for money. We are very excited, dark, we cannot believe it. All of the birds suddenly shut down, we have my cows and parrots and flamingos and everything is quiet. I think a lot of the people that is here behind my back because this is an iconic play -- SOLOMON: Oh -- QUEST: Oh, we've lost that. SOLOMON: Well, and you know, we should point out that all of the folks who might be trying to send messages, who might be viewing, that might impact -- QUEST: Yes -- SOLOMON: Cell towers. QUEST: We are now under a minute away, Tom Riddle, I want you and Bill Weir, talk us through, please, the next 40 seconds. WEIR: If you are on the ground, Tom, feeling this, what's it like? RIDDLE: Oh, my gosh. The anticipation is incredible. We started counting down at about 20 seconds, but I'm getting chills right now even just sitting here in the studio. Where -- here we go. WEIR: Can you -- just a tiny edge there. The Baily's beads would come -- RIDDLE: Wow -- WEIR: Any second now if we get any, and this is the activity now that we're in solar maximum. The surfaces it's on is at its most active of an 11-year cycle. And those with the powerful-enough telescopes might be able to see as ejections happening? Oh, here we go. (CHEERS) RIDDLE: Here we go. WEIR: Wow. QUEST: Totality has arrived, there it is, as the lenses change, and that's the diamond ring -- well, anyway, here we are. WEIR: There it is. QUEST: Yes! WEIR: That's it. RIDDLE: That's it. QUEST: Totality has arrived -- RIDDLE: And there's -- you can see some -- looks like prominences along the edge. WEIR: Yes. QUEST: Look at that -- RIDDLE: You see those in that -- QUEST: From the NASA -- from the NASA pictures -- RIDDLE: Wow -- WEIR: Wow, isn't that cool? That energy coming off of there, those solar storms, they -- what's amazing is they actually increased density and drag in the atmosphere if they're strong enough, which can shift, knock low-earth orbits out of or satellites out of orbit. It's why Skylab fell early back in '79, it was solar activity. QUEST: Just look at it -- RIDDLE: Look at this -- QUEST: Great. I suggest -- difficult, there it is. Let's try to enjoy it for a minute. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) [14:10:00] SOLOMON: So, Tom, for those watching at home, taking this in, and maybe in the path of totality themselves, and you're watching this. At what point -- because maybe right now you don't need your glasses. RIDDLE: No, you don't. SOLOMON: So, when that moment changes, let us know because I think it's important for people at home to understand sort of when that critical -- RIDDLE: Yes, so -- SOLOMON: Moment is. RIDDLE: So, right as the -- as you'll start to see on the opposite side, from the first crescent, you will start to see a sliver of light, and that's the sun coming back through, and it's time to put those glasses back on. I mean, you start to see the Baily's beads, perhaps see another diamond ring, and then put those glasses back on. The prominences here are fantastic. This is a -- and you'll see some -- look, you'll see some cloud cover right there, right? But this -- it still breaks through. SOLOMON: What's it like for you? I mean, you've devoted your life to science. What's it like to witness this, even if on a screen? RIDDLE: Yes, so it's -- I think Richard hit the nail on the head, and that it's the humanity of it all. It's the deeper meaning of things, we've talked a lot about that of that shared experience. I'm even sharing this experience with you guys. You know, it's -- it really -- for me personally kind of centers me and who I am and where I am. QUEST: What's that on the bottom right that we can see? RIDDLE: That looks like a prominence -- I'm trying to see. SOLOMON: When you say prominence -- RIDDLE: It's like a -- it's like a flame -- like a -- with a plasma has come through -- I'm sorry, I'm kind of speechless right now, I'm thinking about my friends who are going to be seeing this, they're not in Mazatlan, but they're coming. So -- but it's -- WEIR: If you think about that plasma, like magnetic fields and they're twisted like strands and ropes, and they rip apart -- RIDDLE: Right -- WEIR: And then snap back together, and that extra energy that burst out is what you see -- wow, look at that -- RIDDLE: Right -- WEIR: And -- RIDDLE: Yes, so, glasses back on. QUEST: And the power -- as the filter is going back on the camera, whoever is operating that camera has now -- is putting the filter back on quickly. But the power of that sun even at a sliver on the far right side, the moment it comes back, even a sliver is so powerful -- RIDDLE: Right -- QUEST: That we have to now change the filters on the cameras and continue. WEIR: I was reading that what that -- these solar flares, one of them has enough energy to power humanity for tens of thousands of years. They say, you know, one second, there's -- QUEST: All right -- WEIR: Enough sunlight to power us for a year, tens of thousands of years because of that thermonuclear reaction up there. SOLOMON: Can I -- can I ask you both having witnessed eclipses before, does it ever lose its sense of awe, or is everyone sort of different than the last? WEIR: I think the guy -- the captain we talked to out at sea, who's been to 80 or whatever -- SOLOMON: Before -- WEIR: Is they're all different, right? SOLOMON: Yes -- WEIR: And they probably take on personalities based on who you're with and where you are in the world -- SOLOMON: Yes -- WEIR: They're also significant in their own way. SOLOMON: What do you think, Tom? RIDDLE: Yes, I've just been blessed to experience one and ready to do another one. Already, I'm like, wow, it seems like -- so, Spain, like when is that? QUEST: Next year -- SOLOMON: OK -- RIDDLE: Yes, and -- QUEST: I'm getting e-mails from all around the world of people watching this, richard.quest@cnn.com and who has just written to me, she's not even touched this. She says "I have tears in my eyes and goosebumps". Wow. Extraordinary. SOLOMON: I can't -- I have goosebumps, and I mean, I'm just -- you know, maybe it's your awe that I'm -- that I'm sort of picking up on energetically. QUEST: Right. SOLOMON: What is that? Is it just the -- QUEST: Life -- RIDDLE: Yes, there you go, Richard. Yes, it is. QUEST: It's life -- RIDDLE: As much -- QUEST: I can feel tears. RIDDLE: Yes -- WEIR: Absolutely -- RIDDLE: You know, it's -- QUEST: Life -- RIDDLE: It's that innateness that's -- WEIR: Yes -- RIDDLE: Placed within each of us to search it out. WEIR: Yes. [14:15:00] RIDDLE: And to experience it together. You know, this is -- these are reminders of -- look, we have so much more in common than we do than not -- WEIR: Amen, brother. RIDDLE: And, you know, there are moments like this, pivotal moments like this -- WEIR: Yes -- RIDDLE: Where we can choose to use them to be united or not. WEIR: Right -- RIDDLE: And I think this is a wonderful opportunity for us to take a moment to be united. And here's the thing. The challenges, yes, this is great today, but tomorrow as well -- WEIR: As well, yes -- RIDDLE: And the day after, and the day after, and the day after. SOLOMON: Yes -- RIDDLE: Because the eclipse has passed. QUEST: Now touring on Mexico is about to get the eclipse, and the interesting thing about here in Torreon, Mexico, I'm sure I'm mispronouncing that, and build where we could be right -- WEIR: No, I think you got that one right -- QUEST: Twenty with change. (LAUGHTER) QUEST: Right, so, the interesting thing, as far as I can tell is that Mazatlan, the totality was 4 minutes, 17 seconds, but Torreon is the longest, and hopefully, Steve Tumbler(ph) will tell me exactly when totality arrives in Torreon. But this is going to be the longest, at 4 minutes, 28 seconds. It goes sort of then down after from El Paso to Dallas to everywhere -- then it will head up towards El Paso and to Dallas, Texas. SOLOMON: Yes, and we should point out, I mean, 4 minutes is much longer than the 2017 eclipse. QUEST: Yes -- SOLOMON: So, this is an opportunity not just for more people to witness the eclipse, but for a longer duration of time. WEIR: And a lot more science to get done depending on where -- QUEST: Yes -- WEIR: They are -- RIDDLE: Absolutely -- SOLOMON: Yes -- QUEST: Happening now in Torreon, I'm told totality is just about to arrive, and they will have the longest of this eclipse, 2024 -- SOLOMON: Oh -- QUEST: Four minutes and 28 seconds. SOLOMON: How about we see how the animals are reacting. Let's turn to our Ed Lavandera who is live in Texas. He's at the Dallas Zoo where totality there is expected to begin within the hour. Ed, one thing that we heard Tom Riddle tell us a little bit earlier is that it doesn't necessarily take full totality for the animals or the conditions on the ground to start to shift. Give us a sense just based on what you can see right now, how the animals are reacting if at all. ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are about 23 minutes away from totality, and we're already getting -- given the indication of the disruption in the atmosphere, if you will. We're talking to a couple of zoo officials here and we've seen out in the distance over there, you might -- there are some guinea fowls, which are these birds that kind of like run around the ground and they were kind of scurrying around kind of crazy like a little while ago. And there's been a great deal of louder bird chatter here in the last few minutes. So, that has been kind of something that has changed so very subtly and very slightly, but definitely different from what we've seen in the last hours. I mentioned we're about 23 minutes away from all of this happening here in the Dallas area, and we're going to be keeping tabs on the animal reaction to all of this. And so, there's -- you know, what are they going to do? How are they going to react to this? There's not a lot of research that has been done in the last century over all of this, because there's just simply not that many opportunities to do so. So, they're really, you know, kind of crowd-sourcing reaction throughout the entire path of this solar eclipse to kind of document the animal reaction and what we might see. But here, we've already been able to see the cloud cover, is held off dramatically compared to what many people were worried about. The temperature is starting to go down just a little bit, so, I can really sense that we are approaching, getting closer and closer to this spectacular moment. This area behind me, you see here, this is a Tobago; the giraffe kind of interesting, they're trying to figure out what they might do. Some animals might kind of herd around their young to protect them because they might think that it's a dangerous situation once it goes completely dark, others might put themselves to sleep, others might start mating or others might not care and think we're all just going crazy for nothing. So, we will -- kind of highly anticipating and anxiously anticipating how all of this is going to unfold here in about 20 minutes or so. SOLOMON: All right, we'll let you continue with Tobago; the giraffe there behind you, Ed, and we'll check back with you in a moment, thank you, Ed -- WEIR: You know, another interesting one, spiders, the spiders that hunt during the day, start taking their webs down because they think it's night. QUEST: So, Torreon, Mexico, is now experiencing total solar eclipse. If you have just joined us, you're almost welcome. This is the longest of all the totalities that we will see at 4 minutes and 28 seconds. And it's a moment I think for Tom Riddle and new -- Bill Weir, to talk us through what we're seeing. [14:20:00] RIDDLE: Yes, so, we're seeing the corona right now as we already talked about earlier. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to do some research on this. As Bill said, you know, it means crown and it is majestic. It's aptly named. The -- wow, that's just impressive. WEIR: Yes, it's fun to talk about it, not in relation to a virus and we're fond of the Mexican beer, but this corona today is all about -- SOLOMON: Well done, friend, well done -- RIDDLE: That's well played. WEIR: That earth's atmosphere, which is so mysterious and actually affects life down here. QUEST: Let's listen in if we can just hear anything of the sounds from Torreon. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) what do you hear? What do you like about this? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) QUEST: Amazing. SOLOMON: Look at the sky. QUEST: It's fascinating to watch this, to just experiencing no Baily's beads. Now they'd been gone in Torreon, and there it goes, 4 minutes and 28 seconds, it doesn't last long. SOLOMON: Tom, can I ask maybe a silly question, how dark does it get? Is it sort of like pitch black darkness, because you also sort of see the sky there. What's ahead -- RIDDLE: No, you can see, so it's almost like looking at a sunrise or dusk 360 degrees. So, it's not going to be pitch-dark, but it's going to be like sunset, and it's -- as you can see, that's clear now, it's probably -- it looks like we're starting to possibly move back -- move back away, what's called C3. Thus when you're coming out of totality, that's third contact. And if that's yes, that's the right one. You start to see getting lighter again. This is the moment when you need to start putting your glasses back on. There's -- there we go with the diamond ring -- QUEST: Oh! RIDDLE: There we go, and glasses need to be on -- QUEST: Still, that's -- WEIR: Historic, isn't it? RIDDLE: That never gets old. QUEST: I know you guys, the camera woman who has to change the lens so that the camera doesn't get damaged. WEIR: It's a good chance to remind everybody even if you do have the safety goggles, do not use them to look through a telescope if someone is set up and they don't have the proper filter on the telescope. You can end up just burning a hole in non-lenser glasses and then maybe do some damage to your eyes. SOLOMON: What about your phone? What about your iPhone? Is that OK? WEIR: That's a good question -- RIDDLE: No, there's special techniques and I'm not versed, well-versed enough on it to speak to it, but there are some things you can do with your cellphone -- SOLOMON: OK -- RIDDLE: To -- but right now I wouldn't. SOLOMON: Yes. RIDDLE: I mean, I've filmed it with my cellphone and it just looks like you can't see it at all -- WEIR: Yes -- RIDDLE: Without a filter, you have to have a filter. That's the word I was looking for -- it's rincon(ph). WEIR: Yes -- RIDDLE: But -- WEIR: It's sort of like the northern lights, the aurora borealis -- RIDDLE: Right -- WEIR: In-person is a much -- SOLOMON: Yes -- WEIR: More vivid experience depending on where you are -- RIDDLE: Right -- WEIR: And people want to photograph it -- RIDDLE: Yes -- WEIR: But it's one that must be seen to be lived with. And those are directly related to that solar energy we've been talking about. That's -- those are created by those in the ionosphere. QUEST: It is actually the -- as I understand it, having been up to see the things, it's actually the earth and the sun and the atmosphere having a battle for the -- you know, in terms of -- RIDDLE: It's the way to put it -- QUEST: So much less -- (LAUGHTER) QUEST: OK, look at this -- WEIR: That's a cool filter, look at that. QUEST: Yes -- WEIR: Like a -- SOLOMON: Speaking of colors, Tom, I heard that some colors look more vibrant sort of during an eclipse, some colors look darker. What -- RIDDLE: They can -- SOLOMON: What's that? RIDDLE: And that, you know, there's a research scientist that I saw recently, he made a shirt that was half green and half red to see how the colors are affected. But again, it's how we -- it's how the light is the partial light is playing havoc on our -- on our -- the spectrum and how we pick up, how we perceive visible light. SOLOMON: Yes -- RIDDLE: It's all about the perception. SOLOMON: Yes -- RIDDLE: And so, that's one thing you want to be noticing as you get -- if you're in the path of totality, start to notice how the colors -- do you feel more muted? SOLOMON: You know, I was told that green is one of the best colors to wear. So -- QUEST: You made it -- SOLOMON: You're most welcome, Richard, you're most welcome -- QUEST: Did they say lime green? SOLOMON: They didn't, that was my little spin on it for a green. QUEST: Well, I met -- WEIR: Somebody said dress for a total eclipse. (LAUGHTER) SOLOMON: Why -- QUEST: I thought I'd go with the gold of the sun. WEIR: Yes -- RIDDLE: Yes -- SOLOMON: I like that -- QUEST: And the tediousness of a boring suit. As for the -- look, hey, Arkansas as the shot we've just been showing you a second or two ago, and now you see it again. [14:25:00] It is in Arkansas which we'll get totality at 1:50 -- 13:51. WEIR: It looks like our Arkansas camera has some sort of a red filter -- RIDDLE: That's from looking at it, yes -- WEIR: Yes -- QUEST: And they will get it. And then we go from -- we go from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and I think in Dallas -- sorry, here in Atlanta, we get 80 percent of totality. And that happens in about 40 minutes from now. Stay with us, please, around the world -- SOLOMON: One fact about Arkansas -- QUEST: Go -- SOLOMON: Before we go to break as we look at these shots off from Arkansas, it's being built as one of their greatest tourist events and state history. They're expecting 337,000 visitors at one point. I mean, they are expecting a ton of people -- WEIR: All right -- SOLOMON: So, this is -- QUEST: Right -- SOLOMON: A huge, as we talk about the majesty of the moment, the wonder of the moment, this is also a really big moment for a lot of small businesses. QUEST: Wherever you are, wherever you're joining us around the world, around the clock. This is CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOLOMON: We want to welcome you back to CNN's live coverage of the total eclipse. If you were with us within the last hour, you know that we have already seen total solar eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico. We've seen it in Torreon, Mexico, and we are being told by our colleagues in the control room that it has now crossed in to the U.S. That total solar eclipse, we're now in the path of totality here in the U.S. We want to go to Virginia now though, and that's where NASA's experiments are being carefully timed out for this very eclipse, that's where we find CNN's Brian Todd, who joins us from Wallops Island, Virginia, where NASA has a flight facility. And Brian, I'm not sure if it's the camera or if it's the partial eclipse or what we're looking, but it already looks like we're seeing some cloud cover there. What's it like out there? BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hell, it's actually pretty clear day and a very exciting day here. This is how exciting it is. Look at how many hundreds of people have shown up, because you get a double whammy here in Wallops Island, Virginia, not only do you get to see at least part of the eclipse, even though we're not in the path of totality. But you get to see the eclipse and you get to see three rocket launches, the first of which is going to begin in just a couple of minutes. It's going to be launched from over there where you see those facilities, those are rocket-launching facilities on Wallops, Island, three-sounding rockets are going to be launched. The first is in just a few minutes from now at 2:40 p.m. Eastern Time. [14:30:12] The second one is during the peak of the eclipse at about 3:20 Eastern Time. The third one will be at about 4:05 p.m., just after the peak of the eclipse. And these sounding rockets are designed to go up into the ionosphere and measure the disturbances during the eclipse. Why? Because in the ionosphere, that's where all of our satellites are moving around, our communication satellites, and the eclipse itself creates a fairly large disturbance where the particles from the sun get kind of shaken up. One lead scientist in this project describes it as, it's like a boat moving into a still pond and creating a wake. So if you look at it that way, that's the kind of disturbance that this eclipse will create in the ionosphere, in these rockets. And the instruments on these rockets that NASA is going to fire up into the ionosphere are going to measure that disturbance. They deploy things called swarm canisters that are about the size of a 2-liter soda bottle that have all these instruments on them and telemetry. They're going to measure the disturbance, transmit that data back to Earth, and then they're going to plummet into the ocean just like the rockets. So a very exciting day starting just a couple of minutes from now, right over to your left, my right. And again, we can kind of show you the area there where it's going to happen. That is the NASA flight facility at Wallops Island. And in just a few minutes, we're going to be seeing rockets starting to launch from there. So pretty exciting day here, guys. SOLOMON: Yes, and Brian, just give us a sense, we saw some of the crowds there on the ground, sort of how people are feeling and how people are just sort of taking this moment in and this day in. TODD: Well, there -- we've talked to a bunch of people here, and they're really excited. Even the people who maybe have been here and seen other launches before have told us that this is really exciting because, again, you really don't get a day like this. You don't get a day where you can see an eclipse and a rocket launch all in the same day. And they're going to get to see not only one but three different rocket launches, each within about 45 minutes of each other. It really is kind of a historical day in addition to being just a great day for science. And it's also a good visual day. Obviously, you know, the visuals of seeing the eclipse are really cool, even though, again, we are not in the path of totality, but the visuals of seeing that are going to be really cool. And during all that, you get to see three rockets go up. So, hey, why not spend a day out here in pretty good weather and take a look at all that? It's really exciting. Yes, it sure is. Brian Todd live for us there on Wallops Island, Virginia. Brian, thanks so much. QUEST: Straight to CNN's Gustavo Valdes currently in Mexico. You had totality. You had it, and it's finished. What was it like? GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Richard, this is not my first eclipse, but this was like really no other one. It almost felt like it was too long. More than four minutes of a perfect ring of the sun. You could see the diamond ring effect. It was a beautiful moment. It was a beautiful moment sharing it with thousands of people. They're starting to walk away, you know, short memory. The event is over. Move on. But the eclipse is still going on. I mean, if we were to look upstairs, up to the skies, you still see a little bit of a crescent moon shape on the eclipse. But it was very interesting for a few reasons. First, we felt that change on temperature. The place just cooled down. This area, this time of year, we could be at around 33 degrees Celsius. It fell to about 23, about 10 degrees. At least that's what we felt here. And then the birds, the birds that live in this park, on the trees of this park, they just came back. They started to go back to their nests, started to do their songs as if they were going to bed. There was a little bit of confusion. And then the light, the light that came down was not like total darkness, but it was like a very clean, white light that just covered everybody as they looked up in the sky and saw this magnificent event. A great opportunity for scientists. On the other side of this ocean of people moving behind me, there are tens of scientists from all over the world. NASA partnered with the local observatory. They have two telescopes, one of them directly looking into the sun. So it was a great experience. QUEST: OK. Let's -- Gustavo, I'm grateful to you. Thank you. In Mexico. SOLOMON: Yes. QUEST: Where's got totality now? SOLOMON: Kerrville. Kerrville, Texas. That's where Rosa Flores has been giving us reports throughout the day. But let's just take a moment and watch this totality now that the path has officially entered the lower 48. It has officially entered the U.S. Let's watch and witness this. [14:35:00] QUEST: So Dallas and Kerrville has totality at the moment. Kerrville, will I get about -- Kerrville. I'm sorry. Kerrville, you're right. My apologies. Kerrville gets -- is in totality. We -- Dallas, which you saw just a second or two ago, Dallas will get totality in about four and a half minutes. And when it does get it, it will have it for three minutes and 51 seconds. SOLOMON: Yes. Let me bring in Bill Weir here. Bill, it has now officially entered the lower 48. WEIR: Yes. SOLOMON: We have welcomed it to the U.S. Now talk to us a bit about Texas. Texas was an area where there was a lot of focus in terms of who would be able to see what this time. WEIR: Exactly. There was a great moment from NASA. It's unlike covering a launch, but there was a great moment. You could hear the voice say, totality has crossed the border. Totality is in the country. And again, it's sort of -- it says more about us than the sky that we think in terms of borders. You know, the sun, the moon, they don't know of any such things. These are all sort of human-made creations there. But on a day like this, those things melt away. We are just the shadow, knows no political borders or no areas. It just is this quirk of coincidence that the moon shadow, which bounces everywhere every day and so rarely finds us. It's sort of like if you go to a thousand baseball games and you know that on this day, I'm going to catch the ball. All the foul balls -- one's going to land right in my glove. And you can prepare for it and savor it. And for those who love the sky and the celestial body, the symbolism, our sense of awe, you know, the astronauts talk about the overlook effect when you go into orbit and you see this little blue marble floating out there. The first photographs of the Apollo, some of the early Apollo missions that showed the world, Earthrise, those pictures, they spark the environmental movement, gives us a sense of place. This is kind of the next best thing for the Earthbound who can't pass those NASA math tests like yours truly. QUEST: Sounds like you tried. WEIR: Well, I dreamed about it. I didn't even bother to try. But, you know, and we're living in now this really explosive age of commercial space travel now. And, again, it's one of those things, as homo sapiens, we adapt to things so normally. What were once national events, a space shuttle launch, become blase and we don't even pay attention to the SpaceX launches anymore. They're so frequent these days. But to reconnect with the bigger purpose, beyond the commercial profit motive or whatever it is, nationalistic motive to plant a flag somewhere, just our place in this magnificent universe and still trying to figure out some of the basic questions about what's happening and why we're here. SOLOMON: You know, Bill, we've talked so much today about the path of totality, literally the path. But what about at any given moment, if you are in the path of totality, how wide is the shadow? I mean, how big -- WEIR: It's what? It's over 100 miles wide. THOMAS RIDDLE, SCIENCE EDUCATOR: 115 miles wide in that path of totality. Somewhere in there. SOLOMON: Wow. RIDDLE: You know, what's interesting is that I saw just last night that NASA was having to do last-minute calculations. Again, it's such a science to it, and we're not perfect at it. But they were moving the line of totality slightly. There were some towns that thought that they may be in totality, but just for a second, and they were just moving out of it. SOLOMON: Because they were on the edge. RIDDLE: So -- they were just on that edge, yes. SOLOMON: Yes. QUEST: So we are a minute and a half away or so, a minute away from totality in Dallas. WEIR: Oh, the animals. We've got to check in with Ed, right? QUEST: Well, Ed Lavandera has just sent a note to everybody saying the animals are behaving weirdly. WEIR: As predicted. QUEST: As predicted. So when we can get -- he's probably enjoying the moment at the moment, but Ed Lavandera is telling us that the animals are starting to behave strangely, along with the humans, I suspect. WEIR: If you've ever vacationed in Hawaii, for example, other tropical places, and have had the joy of sitting under a big banyan tree right at dusk, and the bird song goes crazy, and then it turns off like a switch, right? [14:40:01] Right at sunset? And this is sort of -- you heard that description from Gustavo in Mexico, the birds are acting in those ways. SOLOMON: Is it possible that they're confused? WEIR: Totally, yes. They think it's sunset. SOLOMON: They don't know what time of day it is. QUEST: They're behaving as they would expect to behave. We're about to go into totality in Dallas, where they will experience it for three minutes and 51 seconds. SOLOMON: But how about this? The entire metropolitan area of Dallas- Fort Worth is inside the path of totality. That is nearly seven million people. QUEST: Which is why they're also expecting in Texas a million or so extra arriving. It is the number one destination where they are hoping to see. WEIR: And just to put this in perspective right now, in the United States, the next time this happens, your newborn will be old enough to drink, 22 years from now, the shadow -- QUEST: That's a really good way to put it. Thank you. WEIR: The shadow on this continent. Of course, it will touch other parts of the Earth. Were you saying Spain, Tom, is the next big one? RIDDLE: Yes, Spain is. That's -- QUEST: And while we're watching, let me just remind you how else who will see what. So Dallas is getting 100 percent of totality. But across the United States, you'll be seeing 80 percent out towards the west, 60 percent, 40 percent to 20 percent, right the way up to the Pacific Northwest. So at the moment, if you're in Florida, you're probably getting around 40 percent or 60 percent of it at the moment. And there it is. There it is. RIDDLE: Almost. WEIR: San Antonio hit their totality a few minutes ago. Fort Worth and Dallas at the same time, twin cities. QUEST: Tell me your feelings. RIDDLE: Three of my co-workers, Michael and Maggie and Lisa, are there right now, and I'm so happy for them that they were so concerned it was going to be cloudy. And, hey, guys, enjoy it. I'm happy that you're there. Wow. Right. QUEST: Guys, I'm going to love you and leave you. WEIR: Oh, yes? QUEST: Not for long. WEIR: You're going up to the roof? SOLOMON: I think I got it from here, Richard. It's been great having you. QUEST: I'm going up to the rood. Oh, please. SOLOMON: Go and get ready -- QUEST: I've got my -- I've got my -- WEIR: You got your man-made box? You have your -- QUEST: I have a glass. I have a glass. SOLOMON: I'll handle it down here. Tom, for those who -- certainly those who are in the path of totality, but for even those we just saw that map of all of the people across the U.S. who might be seeing a partial eclipse, important to remind people that you still need your glasses. RIDDLE: Yes. Please, please, please make sure Richard has his. You have to have special eclipse glasses, not just sunglasses. Don't trust a welder's mask or anything like that. QUEST: Come on. SOLOMON: Absolutely. QUEST: No, no, you. Come on. Come with me. RIDDLE: Let's go. WEIR: All right. We'll hold down the fort. SOLOMON: All right. Bill and I will hold down the fort. QUEST: Don't break anything. SOLOMON: Well, I make no promises. Listen. QUEST: Don't sell it. WEIR: Go enjoy, boys. RIDDLE: All right. SOLOMON: But, Bill, if you might be able to pick up on that thought, that even if you are not in the path of totality, sunglasses are still extremely important. WEIR: Well, of course, because you're going to be seeing -- SOLOMON: Not sunglasses, the eclipse glasses. WEIR: Sure. Even if you're in L.A., you're looking at half the sun, which is still enough to burn a hole in your retina. I know this from firsthand experience, sadly. Your retina is sort of like wet tissue paper on the back of your eyeball. It's sort of like a wallpaper back there. It's really -- I had mine detached a couple times recently. And that is what gets burned. It's so sensitive if you really stare at that. So, you know, in places with partial eclipse, just like an average sunny day, it'll be hard to look up at. You'd really have to force yourself to do it. But it's those kids to worry about, you know, because they're so excited. And if you're in a place like New York where you're close to 90 percent, that's when it's tempting to sort of take a peek. But you know what we haven't seen, Rahel, that we talked about earlier on. But there's also a comet in the sky, just as we're in solar maximum. There is a comet named Comet 12P/Pons Brooks or better known as -- SOLOMON: Just rolls off your tongue. WEIR: Exactly. But better known as the Devil Comet, because as it moves, it appears to have these two horn shapes. Some actually say it looks like the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. But it's about 25 degrees away from the eclipse sun. So those with -- those real sky watchers with the cool telescope rigs might be able to find it. And there's a number of planets you can see as well. SOLOMON: Bill, let me ask. You and I sit next to each other in our office in New York. So we spend some time. WEIR: Yes, we are neighbors. Yes. SOLOMON: Yes, we are neighbors. We spend some time talking. This is obviously something you're really passionate about. Science, climate, nature. I'm curious, though, in your preparation for this, if you learned something especially new or if you learned something especially interesting or cool, what's it been like for you? WEIR: I tell you, I learned so much, Rahel. [14:45:00] About, you know, the science of heliophysics, you know, the physics of the sun. And these stories about this thing called the Carrington Event back in the 1850s, that the Aurora Borealis, the northern lights, appeared over New York City and Rome and Havana. And -- because the atmosphere was acting so crazy. And then telegraph operators, things went berserk. And we realize until now that these are solar flares, that the Earth has a gravitational force field around it, sort of comes out of the North Pole, goes around the Earth and goes back in the South Pole. And that is affected by the activity of the sun so much so that pigeons, homing pigeons, which use that magnetic field to navigate, will go crazy and fall out of the sky during a solar storm all at once. In Vietnam, the United States had floated thousands of mines in the waters around Vietnam to protect the harbors. They all had magnetic switches. During a solar storm, thousands of them exploded at once. There are these forces that we really don't even think about. And I cover Earth weather, but to think that space weather could also ruin your day in a big way one day is something that we were forced to sort of consider at moments like this when we can actually look into our big star. SOLOMON: And as we as we prepare to take a quick break, you are looking at the Dallas Zoo, where our correspondent on the ground there, Ed Lavandera, is reporting that the animals are acting strangely. We will certainly get to him just as soon as we can. But this as the city of Dallas, Texas, experiences a total solar eclipse, what makes Dallas really unique in this situation is that this is a city of nearly seven million people where practically everyone in that city will be able to experience the path of totality. We are going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back. Don't go anywhere. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:50:01] SOLOMON: Welcome back to our coverage here on CNN. We want to take you to Arkansas, where literally within two minutes, the eclipse is just nearing its point of totality for spectators, as you see on the ground there. Now, if you've been with us for the last few hours, you might remember this is where our correspondent Stephanie Elam was. And she was telling us that couples are using this opportunity to either wed or renew their vows. But couples are taking advantage of this really rare phenomenon to wed themselves, you know. Bill, actually, I wasn't thinking about this, but you and I are both engaged and soon to be married as well. WEIR: We both have pieces, yes. SOLOMON: Yes, we do. WEIR: And then -- and somebody looked up the horoscope and said, given my sign. What are you? SOLOMON: I'm a Libra. WEIR: You're a Libra. Well, for me, a Sagittarius, it meant that I'd be getting married soon. SOLOMON: Oh, my pieces is a Sagittarius. WEIR: Oh, there you go. There you go. So I don't know if we have to get hitched during the eclipse or what that means. But, no, it is an expression of love in harmony with the planet's dance. It's romantic. SOLOMON: And, you know, it's so interesting, Bill, because a total solar eclipse tends to happen, what, once every 18 months or so. But it's rare because they tend to happen over the seas or somewhere where we're not actually able to witness it. And so that's part of what makes this so rare. WEIR: Exactly. Yes. It's all about us. It's when it comes to us, when that shadow comes to our town, that's when we wake up. But, yes, two- thirds of the Earth is open ocean, always water, right, the poles. Nobody's up there or down there but the penguins and the polar bears. And so when it goes over Dallas and Cleveland and, you know, upstate New York in the same swoop, it's a -- it's a big deal. It's just so many more people get to get a sense of this. Almost 95 percent of the country will have at least a partial one. But over 30 million live in the path of totality, another 3 million expected to travel in. We can't control this event. Thankfully, that's part of its appeal. But, boy, we can market around it. SOLOMON: Many people have. WEIR: And travel and build souvenirs and a whole sort of community engagement piece of it. SOLOMON: And, Bill, as we look at this shot now from Arkansas there, explain for us the white light that we're seeing. Obviously, that's the sun, that's the corona. WEIR: That's the corona. You can see the beads, the Baily's beads a little bit, those little ridges in the Earth's surface, whether mountains or valleys and the sun, sort of when we have -- SOLOMON: And the moon surface. WEIR: And the moon surface, rather, yes. And the way we have -- I don't know if you've -- have you seen Manhattanhenge yet? And, you know, where the sun lines up with the east-west streets, you know, in the middle of the summer. And so you get this amazing sort of effect through the buildings of Manhattan. It happens in other cities. Same thing on the surface of the moon. Instead of buildings, there's canyons and valleys. And so that creates that effect of those beads there. And then because the corona is so hard to see normally because the sun is so bright. This is what gives us an opportunity to appreciate the atmosphere around the sun, which is millions of degrees hotter than the plasma of the surface itself. And we're just -- scientists are learning new things about that in just in recent years. And now that we have this probe up there, NASA launched that probe into the sun, the Parker Space Probe, which is just staggering that we have the ability to build machines that can do that. So amazing. And we're just, who knows what discoveries will come out of this new set of data, the way that the theory of relativity was initially proofed back in the day. SOLOMON: And Bill, for those who are experiencing this now in Arkansas, what's it like in terms of what happens with the weather? How dark does it really get? Even the winds shifting. WEIR: It does. Yes. Because when you think about our weather on Earth is really built by heat. Right? And high pressure systems, low pressure, depending on how it is. Hot air rises, which creates wind patterns and pressure systems. And so when that intensity of the sun dims, it's visibly or noticeably cooler. The winds can shift as well. The -- it's not complete blackout because of that corona, as Gustavo in Mexico, our man in Mexico, explained earlier. It's like a clean, white atmospheric light while this thing is happening. So cool. And again, this is just gobsmackingly long in terms of previous eclipses. In 2017, people were lucky to get two minutes. Some of these are well over four depending on where you are. SOLOMON: Yes, it's historically -- it's not the longest, but it is long in terms of the last the last eclipse in 2017. [14:55:00] WEIR: It's interesting for health, too, is we think about it as sighted people. This is such a visual experience. You have to think about folks without vision. And there's actually some very interesting innovators who came up with something called light sound, which uses a light sensor, that then reflects the variations of the eclipse in sound. So blind folks can listen to the change in the phases and visualize it in that way. I'm reading on CNN.com, we've got running coverage as well. Some people worried about pets, how they might react in an eclipse. SOLOMON: Yes, I look to see how dogs might react. WEIR: Yes. It seems like cats all sleep through it as cats do. But I think more noticeable are the nocturnal animals. You know, the birds and others that are there -- their biological triggers are set up on light. And to have that completely thrown off in the middle of the day, bats come out in the middle of the day. SOLOMON: Birds get confused apparently. WEIR: Birds get confused. SOLOMON: Well, let's go visit our friend Richard Quest. Let's go to the roof. He is on the roof of our building here in Atlanta where we are not getting a total solar eclipse, but we are getting a partial eclipse. So, Richard, my friend, obviously also there with meteorologist Elisa Raffa, what's it like? What can you see? QUEST: All right. Now, I spent the last two hours, or you have, telling everybody not to look at the sun. So the big thing up there is the sun and -- ELISA RAFFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you need glasses? QUEST: Sorry? RAFFA: Do you need glasses? QUEST: Thank you. What should we be experiencing now? So come and join us as well. RAFFA: Come here. It's the partial -- we're in partial solar eclipse right here in Atlanta. So when you look up, you see the crescent of the sun. So you're -- we're looking at the moon coming in front of the sun and we're seeing like a piece of the sun. Do you see it? QUEST: I do. RAFFA: How incredible is that? QUEST: I see that the moon is now eating into probably about, I'd say, five eighths of the sun. Tom. RIDDLE: So we're on there. RAFFA: Breathing. RIDDLE: Yes. So we're going to get around 80, 85 percent here in Atlanta. And it's -- yes. If you look at it now, if you have your glasses, it's the time to look at it, look down and take your glasses off before you look away. So don't -- yes. People make that mistake. QUEST: I can't show you on this camera what it looks like because let me first of all, see if this thing works. RAFFA: The things that we made. QUEST: The things that we made. OK, so bear with me. What do I do? RAFFA: OK, so you want to look in the open part. Their pinhole is on the top and then you want the sun behind us. So the rays coming in here. QUEST: Oh, yes. RAFFA: You might notice -- there it is. QUEST: There it is. There it is. RAFFA: And you are seeing the shadow. QUEST: Just in there at the bottom. You can see hopefully -- can you see that white little bit? There you go. It worked. RAFFA: We got it. QUEST: It worked. I mean, it's a bright little -- RAFFA: Isn't that incredible? QUEST: Did you see that? Did you enjoy it? It was a good moment, wasn't it? Right. But we need to show you how it actually looks. And this, this is cool. RAFFA: We've got some really cool shadows. QUEST: This is homemade science. Explain. RAFFA: Everybody's got a pasta strainer at home, right? A colander? So you see how these are circles. They would be full circles on a regular day. Right? You just see the crescents. The shadows are not full circles. They're crescents on the -- on the colander, on the pasta strainer because you're not getting a full sun right now. You're only getting a piece of the sun. QUEST: So this -- so there you see, this should be a full. RAFFA: Yes. RIDDLE: I have another one. So, yes. So this is really cool. We're having a party, an eclipse party. Right? And so what we're seeing is that that's it. If you look down at the ground, you're going to see the reflection. Actually, it's better. Look on the wall over there behind us. If you'll see that, look at all -- there you go. RAFFA: That's cool. QUEST: Yes, it's -- RIDDLE: There we go. There we go. QUEST: No, no. Yes. So we see all of those crescent shaped suns reflecting from all the mirrors. This is acting -- this is acting as a pinhole camera. And so you can see all of the little crescent suns reflected on our clothes and on the wall. RAFFA: And on a normal day, wouldn't they be like full circles? RIDDLE: Yes, they'd be full circle. RAFFA: Some of those reflections? RIDDLE: That's right. QUEST: So let's -- so put some of that on my suit. RIDDLE: There we go. We're dressing you up, Richard. We're going to have to get away a little bit. RAFFA: Get you all this sparkly crescents. RIDDLE: Get into focus a little bit. So there we go. QUEST: Oh, look at that. RIDDLE: Now -- yep. Yep. RAFFA: And what was cool is I heard from a science educator that this, like, disco ball thing, people almost like found out by accident in 2017 that the crescents were showing up on their walls from disco balls that they had in their rooms. QUEST: Right. RAFFA: It was like a oops, science experiment. RIDDLE: It was awesome. QUEST: Right. You're the sun. RAFFA: I'm the sun. Yes. So then -- QUEST: You're the moon. RIDDLE: OK. QUEST: I'm Earth. So, show us what's happening. RIDDLE: So what we're doing is that as I am revolving around, I'm orbiting -- QUEST: You're closer to me, aren't you? RIDDLE: Yes, I am. I am. There we go. There we go. Thank you. Thank you. As I'm orbiting Earth, I'm going in direct alignment with the sun and you're -- and our orbital planes… CNN Live Event/Special Aired April 08, 2024 - 15:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [15:00:01] THOMAS RIDDLE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ROPER MOUNTAIN SCIENCE CENTER: So we have to be just precisely right and so you'll see the sun is now casting its light on the sha -- on the, on the moon and the shadow of the moon is being cast onto the Earth. And we are -- there's the sun. ELISA RAFFA, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: Yeah. RIDDLE: And there we go. It's about 150 miles around. I'm moving around. There we go. RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: I'm heading around, don't worry. RIDDLE: Wires. QUEST: So well basically go around each other, right? RIDDLE: So I have to move around you. QUEST: Yes. RIDDLE: I'm moving around just a little. It's a cosmic dance. QUEST: Right. RIDDLE: It's just a cosmic dance. RAFFA: And the sun is the center of the universe, right? The sun stays stationary. RIDDLE: Of our solar system. QUEST: All right. RAFFA: Yeah, and this only works because this son is that much bigger and farther the way -- farther away than the rest of it. QUEST: All right. So let me go back to do you know how I was really very irresponsible. A nearly tried to look up without these. Hey, Rahel, it is quite something to see. I would say that I'm hoping for totality, but I don't know that it's not going to happen, Rahel. RAFFA: I'm not -- QUEST: Just about that. What time do I get -- what time do we get it here? RAFFA: It's like 3:06. So, we'll have to watch two is see how the temperatures response, because even though were not in totality, we'll have to see if they dip a little bit. You know, it depends on the clouds and the humidity to the shadow. QUEST: You could be cool to me. I saw you out here. RIDDLE: Thanks. QUEST: Right. What is interesting as well as even though we have got so, even though we have got so much, 80 percent. It's still bright right here. RAFFA: Yeah, yeah. The difference between 99 percent and the totality when it comes to the darkness, it's like 10,000 times, right? QUEST: Right. RAFFA: It's incredible what that 1 percent can do it. RIDDLE: It is. That's why you want to be in totality. QUEST: We got people over there looking. And, madam, make sure you've got your glasses on it, please, please. You do talking about iPhones and phones. RIDDLE: You put your eye out kid. QUEST: Did it work? Did you get the picture? Let's all know -- did it -- did it get anything? Oh, like this where you go? Because now were going to prove she put the eyeglasses over the lens of the phone. And this is why you don't get enough message. Oh, no, look at that. Look at that. RAFFA: Did it work? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not really. QUEST: At least you know, it was at the moment. Oh, and a reminder to buy something for dinner. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yeah. (LAUGHTER) QUEST: There you have it, Rahel. And we're not a few more minutes, we will get to 80 percent. We'll see if the temperature drops will see what happens but at the moment, Atlanta is experiencing -- RAFFA: Partial. QUEST: I can't -- RIDDLE: You can't make the penumbra. QUEST: We're having a bit of a penumbra up here. RIDDLE: Really are. RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: All right. Richard, thank you. BILL WEIR, CNN HOST: Richard Quest on the roof with the disco ball, or as we call it, Monday. SOLOMON: Yeah. Around these parts? Yes, it's just a typical Monday a number. Penumbra, so a lot of people in the U.S. will be experiencing a penumbra. WEIR: A lot of umbraphiles. SOLOMON: Okay. WEIR: That is someone who loves shadows, who chases eclipses. An umbraphile, I learned that last night. SOLOMON: I love that, okay. WEIR: Yeah. SOLOMON: So while we wait here in Atlanta for this, this partial eclipse, we want to take you off to Indianapolis, Indiana, because that's where a total eclipse is expected. That's supposed to happen in just a few minutes this show and the sky will continue throughout this hour. It's been really fascinating to watch from Mexico to Texas, just sort of watch this, this happy coincidence, this dance in the sky. We've seen and we will see totality in places like Cleveland, Ohio, Vermont, Boston, the state of Maine, and the total eclipse will also cross the southern border into Canada and that's where it then goes off to see and come to a close on the Atlantic coast. WEIR: Yep, out of Newfoundland there, yeah. In Indianapolis, the old brickyard where home of the Indianapolis 500 auto race, of course. No fumes and engines roaring today, it's all about stargazing and science and connection as people fill the stands there to see totality in Indianapolis. SOLOMON: You know, what's fascinating about Indiana. I mean, that's a state that actually sees quite a bit of tourism because of different events, right? But they're still expecting this event to blow those events out of the water in terms of tourism. So, what do you take that to mean in terms of what it says about our fascination with, with space its in the sky and the sun and the moon? WEIR: That surprises me given the basketball crowds and auto racing crowds gather in that state there. I guess just the universality of it, right? We all may or not -- may or may not like car racing or sports in that way. [15:05:03] But being seen, something, a phenomenon so awesome, so rare, so interesting, the way that connects us in so many ways. It's such a nice break from the man-made rancor these days. It's a nonpartisan event where its safe as long as you don't burn your retinas and together with neighbors and strangers, and feel something beyond ourselves. It's really something. SOLOMON: Yeah, it's been called -- I've heard it called the great connector. The great uniter, because it brings people certainly nonpartisan, but brings people from all over the world, right? So this, this path of totality across 15 states to witness this -- this really rare event. You know, one thing we didn't talk about today is that while many people will see this event from the ground, there are also some companies -- I think Deltas, one of them Southwest and other one also planning flights to sort of try to track the path of totality, which is fairly cool. WEIR: Yeah, it would be interesting to see how that works. Does -- do if the pilot is doing sort of an s serpentine turns. So both people on both sides -- SOLOMON: Yeah, how about that? WEIR: -- can look up, because you know, if you're on the wrong side of the plane, you might miss a landmark here and there. SOLOMON: Yeah. But there's also those -- those NASA flights the WB-57, which can fly way up ten miles high, 60,000 feet. And they're staying in the path of totality to try to measure that corona using all different kinds of instruments as well. It's just -- looking at this last time there was a total eclipse in Indianapolis was something like 900 years ago. SOLOMON: Wow. WEIR: When the Potawatomi and the Kickapoo and the Iroquois and the Shawnee were looking up probably with equal wonder and fascination and different scientific definitions and what we have now, but the same sort of humanity and humbling moment. SOLOMON: And let's listen together as Indianapolis experiences this total solar eclipse. (INAUDIBLE) SOLOMON: And for those who are watching this split-screen, obviously on the one side where we're witnessing the total solar eclipse there from the vantage point of Indianapolis. And then the other side is the on-the-ground view and our guests of the four hours -- I was going to say the guest of the hour -- guest of the four hours, Tom Riddell (ph), I'm pointing out earlier that what you're witnessing on the ground there isn't sort of pitch black. Its not total darkness, but it might be something I think Tom, you said it sort of feels like dusk before dawn. RIDDLE: Yeah. It really does, a little bit dusk, duskier than dusk. But a little bit darker than dusk, but it's just something unique. I mean, you really can't explain it. It's especially -- I think it's part of it has to do with our with our with our brain. Thinking, hey, that shouldn't broad daylight, we shouldn't be here, you know, at this level of darkness, but yeah, it's just fantastic. I'm so excited for all of these people. You know, there was a lot of predictions about the weather and I'm just so excited and what has -- Bill, one thing that has really struck me today is the prominences. I mean, those -- those -- look, I mean, its been amazing to see the number of them. WEIR: It's going off, as the kids say, and just the sheer and try to imagine -- SOLOMON: Remind us what prominences are. WEIR: Plasma in there, just exploding and almost like geysers of this molten fourth element that's -- it's gas that's heated up so hot it becomes plasma. And those magnetic forces are roiling and ripping apart based on these explosions, it's thermonuclear explosions, it's what were trying to capture with nuclear fusion energy. Nuclear fission splits the out and fusion mashes them together with such force, hydrogen atoms that it turns them into helium. And then there's all this energy extra energy as a byproduct of that. It's really hard for us to do on Earth to create those conditions but that's exactly what was going for, sort of a self perpetuating ball of energy like that. If we could harness that power that we're seeing there down here on earth and abundant limitless source of clean energy, and it would be safe enough to blow out like a match? No meltdowns, no waste. That's not why its one of the holy grails of clean energy, but here we get to see the OG form of nuclear fusion in all its glory. [15:10:06] RIDDLE: That's a reminder of just the sheer power of the sun SOLOMON: Yeah. RIDDLE: -- to see that. SOLOMON: Well, to that point, Tom, we've -- we've spoken a lot about eye safety and the importance of glasses, anything that people should know if they have yet to experience it and they plan to, in terms of skin safety, in terms of if you're -- if you're out, if you're watching I mean, is this an if is this the time that you really need to lather up the sunscreen. I mean, what do you think? RIDDLE: No, no more than normal. SOLOMON: Okay. RIDDLE: Yeah. No, no, no. No more than normal. SOLOMON: Okay. RIDDLE: Wow, look at those. That's just spectacular and here's the diamond ring. Here we go. QUEST: I always think its interesting and we know this is going to happen and we know that next year, I think its Spain, Barcelona and Greenland. I think gone unnoticed. And where of where next is show we know when the next one in this country is in U.S. is 2044. WEIR: Right, yeah. QUEST: And knowing it makes not a jot of difference, we can't stop it, we can't change it and -- WEIR: We can mark it around it, but that's about all we can do. QUEST: Nothing wrong with that. RIDDLE: No, especially with so many of these towns that, it's been great -- WEIR: What a boon for them, absolutely, yeah. RIDDLE: Absolutely. And here's just a shout out to for all those organizers, there's event organizers. It's an incredible feat to pull off something like this. So congratulations, you've done it guys. QUEST: I mean, its fascinating to watch all of this and how it is how it is moving, moving forward. Now, we'll come back to and just I want to show you where we are what is happening and how things have been developing. And so what we've got to -- my wires are coming adrift. What we've got here, of course, we've been through Atlanta and Little Rock and we're heading up now towards the northeast of the country as the eclipse moves forward and then up to -- there we go. Let's push that button and see what happens. Because one of the most important aspects of the day is how people are learning about it, what their -- what were teaching people like me, well, for kids big and little. Chris Packham is with me to talk about this. Chris, what have you been telling them? Where -- where are you? And what have you been telling them? CHRIS PACKHAM, PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: I'm in a wonderful Spurs facility here in San Antonio, Texas. We just went through the eclipse. It was cloudy, but boy, it was still an incredible event. The sky went completely dark. Of course, we had a series of STEM stations. We have NASA come in, folks coming in from Hawaii, Germany, many other places, and perhaps most excitingly for the kids, we have the coyote and the hype squad. And it was an incredible event. QUEST: How do you explain to them what's happening? And I'm sure I have a nasty feeling there was probably a lot of cardboard boxes, papers, and pinhole cameras. PACKHAM: Well, the way that I like to explain it is that its such an incredible coincidence that the moon is about 400 times smaller than sun, but its full 100 times closer. So those two things cancel out. Once you put it in that way, it's actually quite easy to understand what's going on and the choice to get people involved in stem. And that was really the goal of what we wanted to do at our event here. QUEST: All right. One of the children you've got next to you. How did they find? Asked them, let me let me see can tell it to speak louder. How do they enjoy it? UNIDENTIFIED KID: I thought it was very interesting. And something that I learned was that they're going to be very big telescope that is going to try and find different life on different planets. QUEST: Now, obviously this is your first. I'm not sure if you can hear me, but maybe you could just ask him, what did she learn? What did any of them learn from having gone through this experience? How did they feel it? PACKHAM: What did you learn? UNIDENTIFIED KID: Like she said, I learned that there was going to be a telescope that they're going to see if there is life on any other planets. I like that we were learning stuff about space and not only just about the eclipse. QUEST: The hardest question of all for you, Chris, do you think today instilled in any of those great youngsters you've got there a STEM interest? Because we all know that that is the future to learn about. What do you think? Ask, find out. PACKHAM: I'm pretty sure that the answer is yes. We had again these wonderful giveaways from NASA. These momentous people could take and we had eclipse. [15:15:01] So I'm pretty sure that the takeaway was there. But if I may, let me just ask a question. What do you think? Did you think -- are you inspired into STEM? You want to look at the camera and say, if that's inspired? I think that's -- that's a cautious yes I heard there. QUEST: You do realize -- you do realize, sir, that the entire future of the U.S. science and ability to innovate is in your hands PACKHAM: I tried my best as a professor here at UTSA. QUEST: I've got news for you. They've got one thing over you and me probably, one thing. Do you know what that is? PACKHAM: I'm excited. No, please tell me. QUEST: They'll probably be around for the next one. I'm not sure about you and me. (LAUGHTER) PACKHAM: Sadly, I think you're correct QUEST: Sir, I'm honored and grateful that you've joined us. Thank you, professor of physics and astronomy, Chris Packham. I'm grateful for you. Now, well, you know, it's a true fact. I mean, when you see the younger generation like that and you, realize the work that has to be done by people like Chris. This is whether it's the U.S. or E.U., or Australasia, the investment is phenomenal and needs to be. RIDDLE: It absolutely because that is literally investing in our future, and one thing I -- a positive outcome from the pandemic was just how we all went to -- we all went online. The world really got smaller and so we've been able to connect with -- students have been able to connect like they haven't in past, young people as well, with their peers around the world and just being able to create, you know, to capital realize off that synergy for education has been phenomenal. QUEST: I'm afraid -- I'm afraid I've half the production team, they've all gone to -- (LAUGHTER) There was a moment. My pinhole camera work really well. I could see on -- I couldn't see any crescent, but I could see a light okay. So it worked. And your disco ball -- but just to look at it. RIDDLE: With your own eyes. QUEST: With your own eyes. RIDDLE: Wear your glasses on. QUEST: Yeah. What do you got? All right. Where are we got totality at the moment, Cleveland. Cleveland, Ohio, is just -- WEIR: Look at that plasma going off. QUEST: Is that the thing in the bottom right, at 5:00? RIDDLE: It is. QUEST: So, what's interesting is we've had that plasma going off as you technically put it, in that same position in all the places it's not just because that's where it is. WEIR: It's a good question. Yeah. I mean, given the angles or even as a cameras shift, but are our perspective to the sun doesn't change that dramatically. So yeah, look -- RIDDLE: No, it's a massive flare. WEIR: It's a massive explosion there. RIDDLE: Yes, it is, and we're at solar maximum of course as well. So yeah, I think there's going to be some -- some great data that comes out of this. I can't wait to see what that's going to be. QUEST: But each year, there are all solar eclipses, right? I learned -- I mean, this happens -- RIDDLE: About every, every 18 months somewhere -- QUEST: Yeah. RIDDLE: I'm glad you mentioned earlier, Bill, because you could be it could fall in the middle of the ocean. But for it to happen in any one given place consecutively can be hundreds of years apart. So for us to have across our nation these two eclipses seven years apart has been fantastic. WEIR: There were a bunch -- there was a flurry of them like back in the '20s, there was what's four or five, relatively short, right after another at a time when telescopes were just coming in now into maturity. And then the one in 2044, I believe I think they're going to be another one right after year after a two. So there's no rhyme or reason to the rhythm of it because it's just these random shadows bouncing around a complicated milky way. SOLOMON: We want to go to Niagara Falls now, where they are just moments away from totality. This is this, is an area where they are expecting hundreds, thousands of visitors, including the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, is expected to be there as well as totality is underway as, we've witnessed today from Mexico to the Texas, to Ohio, and now Niagara Falls. QUEST: And from we will wend its my way up towards Vermont, I've got my notes somewhere they will go up from buffalo and then to Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and then Canada. You get to experience it and enjoy it. What I find fascinating, we are seeing the same event in the same way happening in these difficult -- oh, let's listen to somebody is having a moment. [15:20:17] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's see what I mean. It's like night again. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We got to get a picture of this, right? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, quick. QUEST: I do have to -- I'm not going to do something indecent. Well, not talking about meeting in Zoom. WEIR: Human nature always at play. QUEST: Yeah, and they are, they've got three minutes and 46 seconds. WEIR: It's funny the last time, I was in -- following an event like this in Niagara Falls was I was covering years ago. Nik Wallenda walking across the high wire over Niagara Falls. Nik Wallenda, remember, and there is like everybody gathering to watch one person's effort. But in this case, it's sort of the opposite of that. Everybody on Earth gathering, well, not on Earth, but in these dense cities, gathering to something bigger than us, bigger than human achievement. SOLOMON: Which I think you read my mind because I was thinking the same thing as you started to say at how we've witnessed -- if you've been with us for the last three-and-a-half hours or so, you have witnessed the same, how we have witnessed this event, and how different people have experienced the same event from different places. And that has been really fascinating, but that reminded me of a conversation we had a bit earlier with a gentleman who has witnessed 84 total solar eclipses. And we asked do you have a favorite and something he said really struck with me. He said each one is sort of different, you know, which is which -- WEIR: I collect sunsets around like this is one of the book, you know, what where what are meeting, whom, with, you know? SOLOMON: Yeah. QUEST: You see, with that, how much of that is where you are in your life in this moment? WEIR: In human history, right? QUEST: That's I think, I get the scientists will tell me that it all to do with, you know, well, penumbra, or the corona, I've never seen the diamond ring like that. RIDDLE: Yeah. QUEST: But at the end of the day, it's -- RIDDLE: Yeah, at the end of the day it's about -- to me, it's about relationships with others, experiencing with others. It's about finding our place in the universe in the greater scheme of things and I think there's power in that. And that would explain why when you talk to people who have witnessed a solar eclipse, when you read the narratives of people who have experienced a total solar eclipse, you often hear that it's a really emotional experience that people cry, the people gasp that there was a sort of -- there was a sort of eerie silence to it all. RIDDLE: Right. And I think for me and those I experienced it with and so in '17 -- QUEST: Sorry, forgive me ever -- we just lost, we've just come out of totality as you can see from that picture on the left of your screen in Niagara Fall, and the light has come back very -- that's the thing that struck me most it comes back, with a passion an the force. WEIR: And more so with the midst, there, how that light plays with those water particles. QUEST: Now Tupper Lake, New York, which is just a bit further up is going to get its own totality, where it will enjoy it -- SOLOMON: But, Tom, finish your thought. You were just saying in 2017. RIDDLE: Yeah. I think it was a sense of euphoria afterwards. It was what did we just experienced because the conversations afterwards, were incredible and you could you could feel the energy you could feel the love more or less from everyone was like wow, thank you. Thank you for experiencing this with me. It was -- it was phenomenal. SOLOMON: It's also something to be said about experiencing it as a community. I mean, you hear these watch party, some of which are really big and sort of experiencing this sort of otherworldly event. WEIR: What's the main appeal of a great music festival or you are your church congregation, right? That's how its connect the same sheared motivations were here to celebrate something beyond ourselves. We all know the words to this song and connects us and puts the raises -- the hair in the back, your head together. And this is the same -- SOLOMON: There's the strength in the numbers there. WEIR: It's totally. QUEST: It's about the four of us sitting here now, enjoying the moment and enjoying each other. RIDDLE: Absolutely QUEST: And on that note, we'll take a break, but there is still at least another 40 odd minutes or so. Please don't go away. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:27:32] SOLOMON: Welcome back to our special coverage of "Eclipse Across America". The great American eclipse as it has been called. We want to go to Indianapolis now, that's where we find CNN's Mike Valerio. We've also got Miguel Marquez. He is in Cleveland, both sort of experiencing these events from obviously different vantage points. We want to start -- and Richard experiencing from his vantage point here with our -- with our prop, we want to start with CNN's Nick Valerio who's in Indianapolis. All right. Mike, might give us a sense of what you've experienced and what you've seen. MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this is something we have never seen before. People in the pit lane and the racing lane of this Mecca to racing. So let's show you a bit of what is still left over. So you see this is the pit lane right here covered with media. And as we go further over to the right, you will see the racing lanes of the home of the Indy 500 still filled with people. Only a few minutes ago, we all together, Rahel, witnessed the tremulous magic -- or scratch that. I'm not going to go with tremulous. The dazzling magic of the corona. And there was a gasp from the crowd as the twilight fell over us, that 360 degree twilight, as we heard the soundtrack of interstellar, and then return of the Jedi at a waltz came on. It was beautiful and breathtaking as the crowd began to really bloom with life, people coming from hundreds of miles, hundreds of kilometers away from here when they had inclement weather in Texas, in Oklahoma, and southern Illinois to see one of the most spectacular views with a beautiful summer day, tea with my t-shirt that they could possibly hope for the best conditions. It was interesting, Rahel, we have wonderful cadre of NASA scientists, physicists from the Heliophysics division of NASA in charge of trying to study the mystery of the brilliant corona that we just saw, because the dance between the earth and the moon, that's a known thing. But when were talking about the chaos of the corona, this solar energy that can come our way, knowing how to predict solar energy that could wreak havoc on our communication systems, on our electrical grid. The scientists were also elated looking at the jumbo screens, looking at their instruments a width us to see totality lasting for three minutes and 49 seconds here at the heart of this great American race witnessing its great American eclipse. [15:30:04] QUEST: All right. SOLOMON: Well said, dazzling and chaotic. QUEST: Miguel Marquez, what have you got for us? Where are you? MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm in Cleveland, gorgeous Cleveland, rocking Cleveland. And it is totally fantastic Cleveland today. That -- this crowd -- this is the science center here, there are thousands of people here still, they're starting to stream out now, but it was so moving. I don't know what it is about an eclipse where people want to come together. Well, you come over here. You just walked up to us and wanted to say you came in from northern Virginia. Why so important to come together with other people to see this thing? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it was an event. We could watch it from the hotel where were staying, but the event you got to -- it's an event, it is. MARQUEZ: And I can say it was stunning. It was gorgeous. I've never seen anything, maybe more beautiful in my life. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very cool, very cool, almost like, oh, welders light right before it went out completely in this clouds turn all silvery. MARQUEZ: It is spectacular. The pink bits that you see come off the sun. You can see so that people sort of moving around here. Thank you very much. And have a lovely trip home. Thank you very much. Those pink that you see coming off the sun, those are the ejections from the sun that will eventually become the solar wind. And they look tiny, tiny, tiny on camera, but they are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of kilometers long. We were speaking with Kelly Couric (ph) who's -- she's seen three eclipses, total eclipses and one annular eclipse. She was bouncing up and down. She was so excited when it did that diamond ring thing. It is absolutely stunning to see. It is -- you think its not going to move you, you think, okay, it's an eclipse. Got it. It's just the sun in a shadow of the moon but it is such a moving experience. There is something that feels spiritual about it. There is something that's incredibly human. The fact that everybody has to come together to -- there are places all over Cleveland that are doing this. Rock and Roll Hall of fame next to us, the Oval, the Wade Oval, which is a beautiful parks near the Case Western University here, they're doing a big gathering today as well. Spectacular. Richard, sorry. QUEST: And hard bitten correspondent like you, who's done his fair -- who's done his fair share of war, baffling misery. Are you telling me you've got a heart and you felt it? MARQUEZ: It almost made me cry and being here with Kelly Couric in listening to her, this professional, she looks at it in terms of the science, but even she was so moved by what we were seeing. It was absolutely gorgeous. Its just a beautiful thing to see and the number of people who are cheering, the awe that this crowds sort of felt may look, they actually have NASA here and they're replaying -- oh, that's Houlton, that's the next spot where its going so people are able to watch it in other places. But that, that beauty of the moment, it was just, it was so moving, it was incredibly moving. And it and it felt -- I sort of, I've seen an annular eclipse before where you get the big corona caught coming off of it. This is my first total eclipse. It was spectacular, absolutely gorgeous way. What -- what did you think of it all, what -- you two? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: W thought it was incredible. You know, I've seen several solar eclipses, as you mentioned, the annular. I saw one in '94. My first one was '91, partial, and then 2017 was amazing. This though, was the best I've ever seen. MARQUEZ: This is your first I'll take it? UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Well, it is not the first but one that I remember seeing. MARQUEZ: What do you make of it? UNIDENTIFIED BOY: I thought it was really cool. MARQUEZ: Really cool. Where are you guys in from? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here from Detroit. MARQUEZ: Detroit? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he's from Chicago, but Cleveland is rocking the right now. So we've got to give it all up. MARQUEZ: Cleveland came. We thought it was going to be cloudy. We woke up, it was raining this morning and it was spectacular. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was spectacular. I mean, the thing about it is, that makes it interesting, as we saw the diamond ring effect. And then Bailey's beast, the sun coming through the mountains, and then the prominences and everything, and there was a halo around the sun from the upper atmospheric like ice crystal. It was like -- it was unbelievable. MARQUEZ: Oh, maybe you got all that. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. I saw it. I was happy to be here Great Lakes Science Center. They do a great job here. MARQUEZ: That was just fantastic. And why, why have to -- why come to -- what you can start in your hotel parking lot. Why come with all these people have to gather together? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Well, I'm president and CEO of the Michigan Science Center in Detroit. MARQUEZ: Oh, right. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of my best friends and mentors, actually two of them are right here in Cleveland at the Great Lakes Science Center, grew up at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, where I got my first start. These organizations, these museums make it possible for us to do its kinds of things wonderful thing for kids to see, for school groups, the public everything. MARQUEZ: All right. And are you now eclipse chaser? [15:35:02] UNIDENTIFIED BOY: And yeah. MARQUEZ: And yes. Absolutely, eclipse chaser. I am, too. SOLOMON: Miguel -- MARQUEZ: Thank you very much. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great, thank you. SOLOMON: The enthusiasm there on the ground is infectious, but what a sight to behold, Miguel Marquez talking about love, talking about emotions, talking about it being so moving. What a sight to behold. Miguel Marquez, live for us there, Miguel, thanks so much. You know, he's not the only one feeling emotional, Richard. QUEST: I felt emotional. SOLOMON: Yes. Yes, I know, but love is also in the air literally. We have some breaking news into CNN. QUEST: Tada-dadada-dadada! SOLOMON: A man just proposed to his girlfriend during the total solar eclipse has happened in Stowe, Vermont. Let's listen and watch together. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You marry me? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: An engagement during a total solar eclipse. OK. This is a supernatural moment as -- sun comes back. True love story cemented in the darkness of a total solar eclipse, now written in history. (END VIDEO CLIP) SOLOMON: Written in history and written in the stars. QUEST: I've got a tweet to read you. It's from the tweet account or the X account of NASA Moon. So from NASA Moon tweeted, oops, I did it again. SOLOMON: Britney Spears, yeah, a little more. QUEST: We'll be back in just a moment with the wall eclipse. NASA very clever, oops, I did it again. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:40:25] QUEST: We're in the last moments of our coverage of the eclipse, but there's plenty more. The eclipse has finished in the United States, but it's not over yet. Sun and moon have more business to be dealing with. SOLOMON: The dances aren't over just yet. QUEST: No, the dance is most certainly -- it's still going round each other, round each other and they're off in Canada now. SOLOMON: Yeah. And we want to actually -- well, we want to go to Rochester, New York, not too far. I'd like to bring in Debra Ross. She is the chair of Rochester, New York's eclipse task force, and it looks like she has some friends with her. Debra, good to have you. Talk to us a little bit about -- DEBRA ROSS, CHAIR, ROCHESTER NEW YORK ECLIPSE TASKFORCE: Thank you. SOLOMON: -- your experience and what it's been like witnessing this with young people as well. ROSS: Absolutely. Well, in Rochester, we've been preparing for this moment for seven years ever since the 2017 eclipse, when my teenager dragged me to totality, not knowing what the big deal was went in a skeptic, came out, transformed and immediately we started working here to make sure that this wasn't just a three-minute and 30 seconds experience, but a whole weekend. So we've been hosting lots of people all weekend for sort of eclipse saturation. And just having more teenagers around me for this was just the best. It's the best thing ever. SOLOMON: And what have you heard just in terms of talking to young people and their experience of the solar eclipse? What's it been like for them? Or maybe we can actually talk to someone behind you. ROSS: Sure. Absolutely. This is Sella Seller (ph). She's one of my young people in my group. So ask Sella the question. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. SOLOMON: Hi, Sella. Good to have you. What's it been like so far? What's this experience been like for you? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was truly amazing and it wasn't just something that you saw. It was something that you felt all around. You just like experiencing everything change. SOLOMON: Yeah. And Debra was just mentioning how they've been planning for this. I'm wondering if you were setting or if you were looking into this and if the experience was different than you expected? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely was something that I was expecting. I just didn't realize how dark everything was just going to become. SOLOMON: Yeah. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it was truly just wonderful to see. SOLOMON: Yeah. And, Debra, talk to us a little bit about all of the activities that have been planned. One thing, I mean, I cover business, so I'm always sort of interested in the economic angle. But one thing that's just been really interesting to me is how so many towns and communities are really benefiting in this -- this boost and this boom of people coming into town, talk to us a little bit about the activities you guys have been unable to plan and really take advantage of? ROSS: Absolutely, sure. So this has been a boom economically for sure, but psychologically for our community the preparation did take years, but they were years of fun. I mean, there's nothing negative about an eclipse and its omen in history in the 21st century. But oddly a moment you can plan for making deliberate. So we really did. So we had all kinds of arts experiences. We had an original full length musical for a middle school that was written by a music director at Caulkins Road Middle School called "Midnight at Midday", they actually had me on for a guest celebrity cameo yesterday. So that was amazing. Last night, we had the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, world's premier, an eclipse sweet by Jeff Tyzik (ph), too, an amazing light show. Nobody all the thousands of people who went to that, they'll never forget it either. And that was just leading up to this intensely emotional experience. So financial, yes. Wonderful to be in the spotlight in Rochester but really this community, everybody who prepared together has bonded, and everybody who experienced this together. We are now bonded forever me with all of these people. I mean, I already was bonded with them, but I mean, it was just intense. Now it's amazing. SOLOMON: Yeah. And before I let you go, just talk to me a little bit more about that, that bonding and just the emotion of the moment. What was that like? ROSS: Yeah. So there's no experience like a total solar eclipse in which you feel science with your whole body. It was kind of like what Stella was saying. You can read about this experience. We know intellectually about the moon going around the Earth and the Earth going around the sun. And sometimes they line up. But the feeling yourself there sort of suspended in space with the sun, the moon, and the earth lining up, and it making your world eerie and dark in a way that feels wrong. But science tells us that we know what this is. So it's not scary. And so you feel the whole triumph of human achievement together in this moment, all of us together and I look at all these young people and I think their futures, and I think of 2045 when the next big solar eclipse in the U.S. And I want to be with all of them. SOLOMON: Yeah. Beautiful. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing your experience -- as my colleague. That's a Debra Ross there. As my colleague Bill Weir said, one way to think about it is the next time if you were to have a newborn now and the next time, you might see one of these things, your newborn would be able to drink. So that is a really good way to think about it. [15:45:08] Debra Ross, thank you. ROSS: What I want to go do right now. But we have all been (INAUDIBLE) here in Rochester, so I think I may go do that with all of their parents. SOLOMON: Yeah, it sounds like a lovely time. Thanks so much for coming on and sharing your experience with us. ROSS: My pleasure. Thank you. QUEST: I'm just trying to work out. All right. So the next one is in 2045 which is -- WEIR: '44, I think, is '44? QUEST: '44, so that's in 20 years time, which mean I will be 82. RIDDLE: What do you want to meet? QUEST: Sorry. RIDDLE: What do you want to meet? You'll still be here. WEIR: You'll still be here, yeah. You got a hundred in you, Richard. SOLOMON: Where is this going, Richard? Where is this going? QUEST: Yes, look, it's going nowhere, that's the problem. (LAUGHTER) QUEST: All right. Steve, come to please update this so I can see exactly -- push the live button and I can see exactly where this is at the moment -- this is going to show us what where it is. The eclipse at the moment has now moved out of the United States. It's moved across Canada. And indeed, it is moving just off Gander, Newfoundland, where it will head out which is a question for Tom Riddle actually. It doesn't -- what -- when did it end? I don't mean just end here. I mean, how does it end? I mean, does what happens when suddenly it's not eclipsing? RIDDLE: Well, it's when the moons moving out with our orbital plane and then its going to happen over, over the ocean and it'll, it'll, it'll dissipate so the moon will continue on its journey as it has. We've talked about so much today. Its dance around the earth as the earth dances around the sun, but it's just going to -- it's going to lead to orbital plane. And then the shadow will dissipate. QUEST: I don't know whether to be sad or happy at that because it sort of connotes both, doesn't it? WEIR: Well, it would be really bad if it stopped. SOLOMON: Happy about that. QUEST: When you put it like that, I'll take it spinning. WEIR: If the shadow never left. QUEST: If the shadow never left. It depends where it was, but it didn't leave. All right. As you can see, how Nikki has wanted Judy broke it out. The community spirit is strong, or maybe some other spirit that -- we'll be back with more with more in just a moment. This is CNN. God be with us (ph). (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:50:11] SOLOMON: Welcome back. If you've been with us for the last few hours, almost four hours at this point, you've witnessed as we have witnessed, this total solar eclipse, as it has taken shape from Mexico to Texas really across the United States, 15 states, in fact. It's now over eastern Canada. QUEST: Now for those in eastern Canada just reaching totality. And as you know, its heading out towards the Atlantic Ocean now. Stephenville's mayor is Tom Rose, and he is with me now. So tell me, sir, how is it? What was it? TOM ROSE, STEPHENVILLE, CANADA MAYOR: Absolutely amazing. We had a little bit of cloud cover during totality, but we did get to experience it. But something happened that I didn't expect this went once it got so dark, the horizon was absolutely beautiful. SOLOMON: Mayor, talk to us about where exactly you are and then what made you want to sort of witness the eclipse from where you are? ROSE: Well, actually, I'm on top of the upper deck of my son's barn and we're just here with family. We're going to break a bottle of champagne and celebrate this momentous celestial moment. And were, I guess the word of three just in North America that totalities, happening. And a former U.S. Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland, below the 49th parallel and the community is embracing it and we're having a great time. QUEST: Now, tell me why I should visit Stephenville. What have you got to show me? ROSE: Well, we believed that we have one of the best weather records, Easter Montreal, and all of eastern Canada. Got a lot of history of the U.S. Air Force base in Stephenville, but our hospitality is the best and our seafood is also one of the best in the world. SOLOMON: Listen, you had me at seafood. QUEST: Well, we have a couple of minute yet. Thank you very much, sir. Very glad that you all with us. ROSE: You're welcome. QUEST: thank you. Keep the champagne on ice. Final thoughts out on a date that was an absolutely brilliant day for us all. SOLOMON: Yeah. For me, you know, it was so beautiful one to witnesses this with all of you because I think we've really talked a lot about the science of the mind oh man, it was so sort of enriching in that way, but also the emotion of the moment which, which for me was really, really special. And so even though I didn't get to witness it on the ground, this sort of felt like the next best thing just to be able to witness it with you guys. QUEST: I was very taken but your emotion. First of all, when we saw it in Mazatlan and then when we saw it in Texas with your colleagues? RIDDLE: Yes, so to me this it is an emotional thing. Again I think it really validates for me in many ways, although I believe and you know, it's a chance I would really hope for people to take this spirit of cooperation, the spirit of joy, the spirit of enthusiasm each other, and carried onto tomorrow and the day after and the day after. You know look at the -- look at the moon tomorrow night look at the sun different way. Look at the stars in different way. You're still here to share that with people. QUEST: And the moment for me where you're concerned was when you looked at that photograph of your son. WEIR: Yeah, my little boy River. He turned 4 yesterday, has his little glasses on. He's watching in Dumbo, Brooklyn, his first 90 percent eclipse. I wish I could have been there with them, but I'm going to have to take them to Spain for the next one here. One of my favorite stories as a kid was Mark Twain, a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court, where the protagonist travels back in time and is about to be burned at the stake and realizes, wait there was an eclipse on this day and says, unless you let me go, I will blot out the sun any some way parlays that know -- uses that knowledge and parlays it into a position with the king, and a cut of the coffers and all of that. But now I think, we know so much about these events. He traveled back in time now to April 8, 2024, it's not a threat. It's more of a promise that we're going to connect together and have a rare moment of human peace and harmony and joy around something bigger than us all. QUEST: You say it's not a threat, but is it a clarion call that reminds us if we screw around with the climate to as much as we are doing, were in for trouble. WEIR: I like that. I like that anything that reminds us -- QUEST: We can't stop it because this thing happened WEIR: Absolutely. Yeah. And anything that reminds us of our fragility on this planet, how precious it is and the stories we tell ourselves around this. [15:55:03] You know, it's -- we talked, we've been talking about diamond rings, right? You should spend three months salary on that ring. That's forever. But diamonds are everywhere. It rains diamonds on other planets. You know what special? A tree, wood is the most special substance in our galaxy because we live on the only planet that produces it. So anything that connects us beyond our little bubbles is so powerful. QUEST: Final told from yourself. SOLOMON: Final thought -- just to communities, just all the people who have witnessed this together in crowds. I don't think we've seen one, at least one our view of one person just watching it alone. It's the community. And so in that way, we have had nice little community up here. QUEST: Thank you for joining us today. It has been a very special afternoon. It has been a privilege for us to spend time with you enjoying this celestial moment, wherever you may be in the world, the community that you have been part of for the last four hours. I'm very grateful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We won't forget this in a hurry. And because the news never stops and neither do we. This is CNN.