You're listening to lifekit from NPR.
I'm Regina Barbour in from Mario Saguera.
I've never seen a total solar eclipse, and I'm an astrophysicist.
I've only seen partial eclipses where the sun is only partially covered by the moon.
In 2017, there was a total solar eclipse viewed from Oregon to South Carolina.
And I could have driven those 5 hours, but I didn't.
I really see it as my responsibility to push people as much as I can to have this experience.
David Barron is a science writer and author of the book American Eclipse, the nation's epic race to catch the shadow of the moon and win the glory of the world.
He says, I missed an experience of a lifetime, but I'll have another shot this year.
His goal is to get as many people to the total solar eclipse as possible.
To view one, you need to be in the moon shadow.
That's called the umbra.
He calls himself an umbraphile.
An umbraphile is a fancy word for what I am, and that's an eclipse chaser.
It just, it means a shadow lover, and that's what I am.
I love being in the shadow of the moon.
The eclipse that started it all for David was in 1998 in Aruba.
And I went there thinking this would be an interesting astronomical event to watch, and it just absolutely bowled me over.
It changed my life.
It was the most spectacular thing I'd ever seen.