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I'm Regina Barber in from Area

I'm Regina Barber in from Ariosigera.

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 five 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

umbra file. An umbra file 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 pulled me over it

...