What’s all the hubbub about next Monday’s solar eclipse about? This 1869 image from the The Patrick Montgomery Collection, speaks volumes, as does Annie Dillard’s observation that “What you see in total eclipse is entirely different from what you know.”  

NASA described experiencing a total eclipse this way:

The difference between a 95% eclipse and a 100% eclipse is literally the difference between day and night. With any partial eclipse, you don’t experience the “awesomeness” of totality. It’s hard to put into words, but once you experience a total eclipse, you understand the difference. 

Even though we’ll be experiencing only a partial eclipse where we are, we’ll take it!  To watch, we’ll be picking up a free pair of safe viewing glasses at Warby Parker, our new favorite place to buy glasses.  You can get some great eclipse info (including how to make your own pinhole projector) and find a store near you here.

Fast Company put together a really FAQ out of NASA’s reddit threads.

Vox has a handy interactive toolthat tells you how much of the eclipse you’ll be able to see in your zip code.

Find out how to livestream the eclipse from wherever you are at NASA’s Eclipse Events page.

NASA’s Eclipse 2017 page is full of info.

As for reading, you’ll find a good historical/cultural perspective via Blinded by the Light: Solar Eclipses in Art-Science, Symbolism and Spectacle.  As always Brain Pickings gives deep-meaning focus by extensively delving into Mable Loomis Todd’s Total Eclipses of the Sun, “an unprecedented guide to the history, science and spell-binding surreality of eclipses”…  

…It was there that we found this perfect snippet of an Emily Dickinson poem, that summed it all up.

It sounded as if the streets were running —
And then — the streets stood still —
Eclipse was all we could see at the Window
And Awe — was all we could feel.