The eclipse already started. Reporter yes, it did. Its about to start in the western part of the country. Give me five, you guys. You were amazing. Thank you so much for being with us. And craig, so many families like them, theyre going to experience this together in this stadium behind me. 15,000 people have poured into carbondale, illinois, and the local businesses here are ex attic. It is estimated the private sector in carbondale will gain almost 20 million just by the influx of tourists and people All Around The World who have come here to witness this astronomical event together. All right. Well come back to you in a moment, as well. My friend and colleague, jeff rossen, is standing by, not far from where we sit here. Hes in new york city, on the upper west side. New york city, by the way, expected to get an eclipse of about 70 . But heres the thing, jeff. That doesnt mean that folks should take viewing any less seriously, right . Reporter yeah, you can never look at the sun. Whether its 1 or 70 eclipsed. That is what you want to look for on your glasses. Make sure its there. Along with the Manufacturer Name and crossreference to make sure its good. There are counterfeits out therther there. There are people out there trying to rip people off. If you have the glasses and you put them on and it is pitchblack and you say, well, Whats Going On here, thats exactly what its supposed to be. Pitchblack. Because when you look up at the sun, it will block Everything Else out, except for the sun. So right now i cant see where the camera is, and thats the way its supposed to be. Another tip for you. This is my daughter, skylar, my 11yearold, skylar. So she came to watch the eclipse with me today. She wears glasses. If you have glassions at home like skylar does, youre supposed to put the Solar Eclipse glasses over your glasses so you can see it well. How does that feel . Good. Reporter what does the sun look like through those . It looks like an orange circle, and i can only see the sun. Everything else is black. Reporter Everything Else is black. Except for the sun. Thats the way its supposed to be, craig. So 70 tolltality here in new york. And we have clearblue skies. Were ready to rock this. Jeff, really quickly. If ive waited until the last minute, if i dont have the glasses, if there is no one that i can call to borrow a pair of these things, is there anything else i can do . Or should i just stay inside . Reporter you know, ive seen a lot of these home made things online, ways to make a home made device, and that is well and good if you were to do it perfectly. My personal opinion, and speaking with all the experts, that is dangerous, because if you do one thing wrong, and no one is there to tell you unless you have a nasa astronaut or astronomer living with you, i think thats dangerous. You want to watch on msnbc or nbc. Com to watch it yourself so youre safe. You need to have these glasses by now. And if you do have them, i want you to check for all of those things because you want to make sure you dont have a counterfeit. Jeff rossen. We always learn something when
youre on television, sir. Reporter watch craig melvin. What other advice do we need . Thank you. And a big thanks to your daughter, as well. Our friend, sam champion, legendary weather man, has decided to drag himself off the beach to come in and enjoy some astronomical history. When you look at the scene there in illinois, we are roughly nine minutes away from totality there. Guys like you, how excited do you get . Were super psyched. When we show the graphics, and everyone is talking about, oh, its difficult, you know, to get one of these. But the variables, you dont want to do 9the math. Weve got the moon phase, the orbit of the moon, is 27 days. The moon phase to go from new moon to full moon is 29 days. The Orbit Of The Moon Wobbles on the sun. So everything has to be perfect. This is so, so incredibly
unique. The variables are great. So when this happens, run. Dont walk. Run to see it. And we are the only planet in the solar system that has a moon thats capable of the right size and right position to block out the sun fully. And take jupiter, who has like 6 0 minutes. None of them will do what this does on earth. Especially considering how much larger the sun is than the moon. 400 is everything in that number. The sun is 400 times the size of the moon. The moon the sun is 400 times farther away than our moon. So when you line them up in just the right way, boom, you get that. And the thing about this is, if you were waiting 1 billion years from now, we wouldnt even get this. Because the moon is actually drifting away from the earth in its orbit. Slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly. So about a billion and then the numbers are may vary, anywhere from 500 million to a
million years from now. Were watching this live shot courtesy of nasa. It would seem as if during the course of our conversation over the last 90 seconds or so, it would seem as if were almost at totality. Yeah. Is that what were looking at here . Thats exactly what youre looking at. So its going to look like and dont worry, east coast and middle of the country. Your time is coming. Remember, this shadow starts on the west coast and then races across the country. So when youre seeing these things on tv and youre looking out the window and you dont see this, you will. If youre in The Path Of Totality. This is exactly what youll see. That shadow blocking the suns light until it looks almost like a sliver of the moon. And then youll get that full coverage. And exactly what that young man said in your live shot was so brilliant. Because in that full coverage of totality, there are two very special things that go on. Baileys beads, because the shape of the edge of the moon is very rocky. Theres mountains, cliffs, craters, all this wild stuff. So when the moon pulls in front of the sun, youll see these
coming around the rocky, crater stuff, and little beads of light around this ring. And then there is just going to be one and they call that the diamond ring phase. And it is so beautifully special to see. So, you know, watch it on tv, if youre not in the totality. Because this is going to be a crazy, wonderful thing. Left side of the screen is where this total eclipse is set to start, roughly six minutes from now. Ride sight of your scene, uss yorktown, where this event is set to wrapup here a couple hours from now. Sam, a few moments ago, we saw that orange ring around. Was that the corona we saw there . The only time you can ever see the corona of the sun is when youve got a total eclipse going on. Because the light of the sun makes it too bright to see that dancing glow on the outside of the sun. And this is one of the things that scientists are so excited about, because we cant see it at any other time than total eclipse, this is the one time we get to study it. And there are so many things we dont understand it. Like we believe that corona,
that ring, that Golden Orange ring where the rays are shooting off the edge of the moons shadow, we believe thats a million degrees or so hotter than the actual sun itself. And we dont know why. So this is a great opportunity to study the gases, what we know that comes off the sun that interrupts our radio and Tv Frequencies periodically. We get to study that now. Lets get back to Jacob Soboroff standing by in oregon. We are roughly five minutes away from totality. Jacob, how has this scene changed there in oregon, sir . Reporter well, its darker, for one. Its certainly less and less light as the time goes on. This is really cool. So this is a whole family and group of friends. This gentleman brought this amazing telescope. When you look through this, we basically see what youre looking at from nasa that we have got up close and personal. This is a tiny sliver of the sun. Five minutes left, theyre telling me. What you were telling me just now, when this ultimately happens, were going to see a
massive shadow come 2,000 miles an hour from that way, which is the west. Thats the west, yeah. Reporter towards us here in the east. Jefferson is going to go dark before it gets to total here. Reporter so, craig, if we are together and connect at the right time, were actually going to see 2,000mileanhour shadow, which is the speed at which this total eclipse of the sun is progressing across the United States. Throw this place into darkness in a matter of moments. Im going to quickly check out the sun One More Time with my special glasses here. This is probably the dorkiest thing anybody can do on national television. Its getting smaller and smaller. You guys are all here together as a group. One thing, craig, i learned, show me the eye patches. Whats that about . So if you want to acclimate your eye to totality, if you keep this one dark, so when its totally dark, then you dont have to waste time having your eye get used to being in total darkness. Reporter so four minutes from now, craig, it will go into total darkness here. And that patch, i guess, is critical to becoming acclimated. What im told by these guys, youre going to be able to look up at the sky and see stars as if it was nighttime. And, again, 360 degrees all around us, it will look as though its dusk, as though the sun is setting for only about two minutes and then slowly go back into a partial eclipse again. Only a matter of minutes now. Only a matter of seconds, i guess i could say. Jacob, i want to come back to you in 90 seconds. Dont go far. I want to bring in Gadi Schwartz, in casper, wyoming. Gadi, safe to assume, its also gotten darker there, as well . Reporter yeah, starting to get a little bit darker and definitely the sun is almost covered up. The only way to really experience this is this firstclass kind of lying down. And then youve got a hill over here. Were in casper, wyoming. This is my friend, maria. Im just going to join you on the hill, here. Just going to lean back, and tell me what youre seeing, maria. Im seeing a huge sliver. And it almost looks like if it was white, it could be the moon. But it is the sun, so its orange. And the black is coming in. Reporter it looks like its the opposite, sun and moon. Exactly. Reporter when was the last time you saw an eclipse . It was in the 60s, but it was a a partial. It was a pretty good one. And reporter you still remember it . Oh, yes. Reporter vivid . We were in the military, and we were in a military quarters. And i looked up, had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, it got dark. I said, Whats Going On . And then once it was over, the roosters started crowing. Reporter the roosters. They thought it was morning. Morning. Reporter wow. Yeah. Definitely something completely unforgettable. And you see out here, theres a lot of people all along this hill, and then youve got people all along the ridge right now. This is what it looks like in casper, wyoming. This is a place that basically doubled in size, the population doubled in size over at the airport, planes landing to see this. So were going to go ahead and keep an eye on it, craig. Back to you. Well come back to you in a bit. Gadi in wyoming. Lets go back to illinois again. We are roughly 60 seconds away now, by my count, sam champion. Here we go, craig. My kw my goodness. Reporter its pretty incredible. You can hear the crowd starting to cheer. The sky is definitely darkening. Everyone looking up at the sun being covered up by the moon. The Air Temperature is getting colder. Lets take a look at the crowd right now. Its its an extraordinary thing to behold. And physically, it is getting colder. By the second. They say a 60second countdown. People are out here cheering. And if you look with the special glasses and through here we go. Here it comes look reporter here comes the shadow. Woo reporter reminder, it is 10 19 in the morning here in oregon. And we have it. Reporter but it feels as though we are getting into the late hours of the evening. The sky is going dark. My goodness. That is what totality looks like. Reporter we are now in a virtual total eclipse. Of the sun. Reporter ive got to be honored, craig. I have the chills. This is the moment where you can take your glasses off. Take a look at the sun in the sky completely obscured by the
moon. It is an absolutely beautiful thing to see. You have waited a lifetime to see this. How do you feel right now . Planning for two years. And its finally found a place. And the smoke was in this morning, i thought it was going to be completely covered up and there it is. Ive never seen it before. Its spectacular. Im going to watch now. Reporter okay, go ahead. Craig, i think a lot of people feel that way. Ive certainly never seen anything like it. It looks like a giant starburst, which i suppose in scientific terms is exactly what it is behind the moon. Its amazing. Reporter from this Vantage Point. And, again, my Vantage Point certainly nothing compared to yours, but from this Vantage Point, fat out amazing, sam champion. This is one of the few times youll feel like youre not on planet earth. Because during the middle of the day, we dont get sunset. We dont get darkness. And on an eclipse, you do. So its this aweinspiring feeling, craig, when youre standing there and all of a sudden the sky goes dark, the
birds get quiet. You start to see the stars and some planets you dont normally get a chance to see with the naked eye. Because the sun and the bright skies will keep you from seeing them. Youll be able to see pluto, mercury is also a visible today. Now what youre looking at from nasa one of the things when we flip shots and you see the nasa emblem right there, youre going to see nasa telescope, but also going to see the wing of a plane. Nasa and a lot of scientists are flying along The Path Of Totality. So they can get a nice, long look. Because if they were on the ground, they would only get that twominute, 2 40 look. In a plane, theyll be able to race along that shadow and theyll be able to show us a little bit more and theyll be able to see more. So right now every time we show you from now on for the rest of the time of this eclipse, the shots will look different. Jacob, are you seeing stars and planets. Reporter just real quick, a couple things were seeing right now. You were saying the baileys beads. Describe what they are. Essentially, what i was told before coming out of total
eclipse right now. The baileys beads, im going to put my glasses back on as the sun comes back from behind the moon. But the baileys beads were the reflection, the sun coming off the surface of the moon. Were also seeing planets venus, many, many stars, as if it was the dark of night, craig. And now we are slowly but surely seeing the sun again emerge from behind the moon. I say slowly, but, again, 2,000 miles an hour is how fast this Path Of Totality is, crossing the United States of america right now. Jacob, it would seem as if the crowd thats gathered there, not disappointed at all in this celestial spectacle. Reporter no, let me ask this gentleman right here. Sir, did this meet, exceed or disappoint you, your expectations . No, couldnt prepare for it. Its unlike anything ive ever experienced. Reporter its incredible, isnt it . Yeah. Reporter there is no
objective journalism in watching a total eclipse of the sun, craig. Its really one of the coolest things ive ever seen. And it just it feels truly amazing. And something in a time when, you know, all the other stuff we talk about in and out, day in and day out, on our network and, you know, just amongst our friends, this is something that really is bringing everybody together in this country and its a privilege to be a part of it. Yeah, it is. It is, Jacob Soboroff. Thank you, my friend. I want to come back and maybe spend some time with that woman in the purple. For her, it really did look like it was pretty close to a religious experience. Left side of the screen, again, that is madres, oregon. Four minutes ago. We saw totality there. And, again, this thing is going to be moving east. We are going to were going to be moving east, following it, as it moves east. On the right side of your screen, by the way, thats night vision in madres, oregon. You see folks who are still
looking up, those who are not looking up, dont have their glasses on. So we like to see that. We like to see folks appearing to take the necessary precautions. Gordon petri, solar scientist, with the National Solar observatory in boulder, colorado. He watched the eclipse from salem, oregon. He comes to us now by phone. And gordon, we keep hearing that an event like this is a bonanza for the scientific community. Why is that . The reason is, its the best to observe the lower parts of the solar atmosphere to show the most active and dangerous parts. So this gives us a unique look into the flares of the solar atmosphere that you cant quite engineer with telescopes yet. The eclipse, as you saw it there in salem, describe it for us. Well, it was a beautifully symmetric structure. You saw regions which were dark and then gorgeous streamers coming out the sides. Two on one side, and one on the other. So it looked a bit triangular in appearance. The tails whiisping off into th wind. Youll have to excuse me, im a bit taken aback. It will do it, right . I wasnt expecting that. I had seen video, but its experiencing it live, its its pretty impressive. And its even cooler when youre standing outside. Because, you know, the wind will die down a little bit. The temperature will drop about ten degrees, at least ten degrees. So you get all of your senses going for this experience when youre standing in that Path Of Totality. You know, its a visual youll feel it on your skin when the temperature changes. You hear the crowd go crazy. Because theyre looking at it at
the same time you are. And then this will repeat for the next, you know, couple of hours in communities all across america, it will look exactly like that. Everyone in The Path Of Totality is going to get the show we just saw. But remember, even if youre not in that path, america will get a partial eclipse. So if youre on either side of the dark line we show you on the map, there is still every reason to be excited because youll see at least what looks like that, and a lot of places in america will see that crescent. And when the sun is a crescent, its a totally different thing from the moon. Its just this gorgeous, orange glow. Th