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You owe it to yourself to experience a total solar eclipse

2,159,241 views | David Baron • TEDxMileHigh

On August 21, 2017, the moon's shadow raced from Oregon to South Carolina in what some consider to be the most awe-inspiring spectacle in all of nature: a total solar eclipse. Umbraphile David Baron chases these rare events across the globe, and in this ode to the bliss of seeing the solar corona, he explains why you owe it to yourself to witness one, too.

On August 21, 2017, the moon's shadow raced from Oregon to South Carolina in what some consider to be the most awe-inspiring spectacle in all of nature: a total solar eclipse. Umbraphile David Baron chases these rare events across the globe, and in this ode to the bliss of seeing the solar corona, he explains why you owe it to yourself to witness one, too.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxMileHigh, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

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About the speaker

David Baron

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David Baron writes about science in books, magazines, newspapers and for public radio. He formerly served as science correspondent for NPR and science editor for PRI’s The World.

Annie Dillard | Book

Teaching a Stone to Talk

This collection of essays includes Dillard’s brilliant "Total Eclipse," which describes her experience of the celestial spectacle near Yakima, Washington, in 1979.

Tyler Nordgren | Book

Sun Moon Earth

Astronomer Nordgren writes eloquently about the influence of eclipses on mythology, religion, and science, from prehistory to modern times.

James Fenimore Cooper | Putnam’s Magazine, September 1869 | Article

"The Eclipse"

In this essay, published posthumously, the famous American novelist remembers a total eclipse he witnessed in 1806, as a teen. Although Cooper interpreted the experience through a religious lens, the emotions he describes are identical to those I have felt at totality.

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxMileHigh, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.