FILE - A total solar eclipse is seen from an aircraft over Patna, India, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Shreya Sahai, File)

With the April 8 total solar eclipse just about a month away, solar eclipse expert, David Baron, said areas in the path of totality are in for a very rare day.

Author of the book “American Eclipse: A Nation’s Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World”, Baron is an avid chaser of eclipses, calling them “the most dazzling, awe-inspiring thing in nature.”

“It’s also something that is very rare for your area,” Baron said. “It’s like hitting the powerball. Assuming the skies are clear it’s the most spectacular thing.”

From where he lives in Colorado, the total solar eclipse will not happen again until 2772.

Baron said the total solar eclipse is something everyone should experience, but is also not something to look at with the naked eye until it reaches the point of totality.

“On April 8 the eclipse will begin with a partial eclipse at about two in the afternoon,” Baron said. “You will need to make sure you have your eclipse glasses. Once the moon fully covers the sun it is like being transported to another planet. It will be like twilight and at that point you can and should take off your glasses.”

At that point, Baron said the sky will be like nothing anyone has seen before. The sun will just be visible as a ring in the sky and there is the potential to see five of the planets revolving around the sun. This is expected to be at about 3 p.m.

Baron’s book focuses on the eclipse of 1878. He described this as a time when eclipses were really important for science, especially for scientific experiments. As total solar eclipses often happen in places that are hard to get to, scientists would take off on expeditions to be able to sit in the path of totality and do their experiments for the two or three minutes that the totality would last.

“The solar eclipse would answer some fundamental questions in the 19th century,” Baron said. “The 1878 total solar eclipse was in the Wild West. It was a time where the United States was trying to prove itself in the scientific world. Like the moon landing it showed the world what we could accomplish in science.”

The 1878 total solar eclipse was also in the time where America was not taken seriously by Europe intellectually, according to Baron. His book focuses specifically on three different scientists in the US who took the expedition west to be in the path of totality. These scientists were: Thomas Edison — who was looking to show he was more than an inventor –, James Craig Watson — a scientist at the time who thought another planet existed between Mercury and the Sun, the planet he called Vulcan, and thought the total solar eclipse might help him see it –, and Maria Mitchell who taught astronomy at a women’s college. This was during a time where a book was published saying higher education was harmful to a woman’s health, including making them barren.

“This caused a panic so Mitchell set out to prove the book was ridiculous, and she assembled an all female expedition to Denver,” Baron said.

Many of the scientific questions of 1878 did not all turn out the way these scientists wanted. Specifically, Baron said that Watson thought he found the planet Vulcan but got it wrong, even though for a while the headlines claimed he found it. Edison invented a new machine to help study eclipses, which eventually turned out to be a flop but did discover that the solar corona also gives off heat instead of just light. While the eclipse of 1878 did not really make a scientific difference, Baron said it made a social one, including getting the US excited about science and helping them to compete scientifically with Europe.

These days, scientists know more and while the total solar eclipse can still be used to help scientists learn about the sun, often it is seen more as a spectacle instead.

On April 8, Baron said to be prepared for a crazy day.

“Depending on where you are you will see more tourists and a lot of crazy traffic,” Baron said. “You do not want to have to drive far on that day. Take the day off if you can. Take your kids out of school if they don’t already have the day off and make it a family event. It’s something you will remember for the rest of your life, so make it a fun day.”

The best viewing spots would be at the lakeshore, out in a field or on a roof, Baron said, adding to make sure you get a comfortable place and to make sure to buy the eclipse glasses early.

During the beginning of the eclipse when it is only a partial solar eclipse, Baron said that is when people will need to wear the glasses or they can also potentially make a pinhole projector. For the pinhole projector, Baron emphasized that you do not look through the pinhole itself but let it reflect on the ground where the light coming through the hole will look like a crescent. He added you can do something similar with a kitchen colander or with the light shining through the trees.

Once it is safe to take the glasses off, the end of the eclipse is shown by a tiny, brilliant point of light, and at that time Baron said viewers should put their glasses back on. After that, normal daylight will return in a matter of seconds.

Baron encouraged everyone to watch the total solar eclipse on April 8, and to invite others to as well.

“People in the path of totality are exceptionally lucky,” Baron said. “If you know people who live outside the path, like in Pittsburgh, where they’ll only see a deep partial eclipse, which is interesting but not as mindblowing, you should invite them to come. Encourage people to come visit and see the total solar eclipse for themselves.”