The beloved science educator talks about the exciting natural phenomenon as well as his viral 'TimeOut' shoot.
Bill Nye has one key piece of advice for those looking forward to the 2024 solar eclipse on Monday: "Don't look at the sun during the eclipse!"
ET's Kevin Frazier chatted with the Bill Nye the Science Guy star at the Planetary Society Eclipse-O-Rama in Fredericksburg, Texas, where the science educator broke down the natural phenomenon in which the moon's position between the Earth and sun casts a shadow on North America. That shadow, or umbra, will travel along the surface from west to east at more than 1,500 miles per hour along the path of totality.
Millions more people will have the chance to witness the total solar eclipse this year than during the last total solar eclipse, which was visible from the U.S. in 2017.
Nye tells ET, "The remarkable thing about living here on Earth and our solar system is the moon blocks exactly the same width of sky as the sun, so these two quarters appear as one quarter and it blocks the sun completely."
While the CEO of The Planetary Society understands that "human nature being what it is," everyone will be tempted to use their naked eye or regular sunglasses to check out the eclipse, but he cautions viewers against doing so.
"We encourage everyone to get approved eclipse glasses such as [those] from the Planetary Society. Even though they are cardboard and mylar plastic, they are completely effective," he says. "You can look right at the sun with these things... They're not like sunglasses, it's a much more effective form of eye protection."
For those unable to get a pair of eclipse sunglasses in time, Nye suggests a classic pinhole viewer. Either way, the 68-year-old science educator encourages everyone to get a glimpse if they can. "It's [an] amazing, beautiful thing and if you are in the path [of totality] as we are here at the Eclipse-O-Rama, you can take your glasses off here 'cause it's dark, like, night for those four minutes."
The eclipse's peak will mean something different for cities within the path of totality and for those outside. Within the path of totality, darkness will fall for a few minutes. The longest will last more than four minutes, but most places will see between 3.5 and four minutes of totality. In cities experiencing a partial eclipse, a percentage of the sun will be obscured for more than two hours.
Although Nye says he understands the urge to take pictures of the eclipse, he strongly advocates for being "in the moment" and being "present."
"I'm very hopeful that everybody -- could be as many as 40 million of us -- could be with other citizens of Earth and have a shared experience," he shares. "It's really remarkable! So, look at the sky with your protective glasses for a little bit and then look around where you are. In my experience, people at first [become] very quiet when it starts to go to totality, completely dark. And then people start cheering because it's just such a remarkable event."
"This really is a remarkable time for humankind to know more about the cosmos and our place in space," he adds.
The next total solar eclipse visible from parts of the U.S. won't happen until Aug. 23, 2044.
Nye has recently been making headlines for more than his science know-how. When TimeOut released its photoshoot with the Masked Singer alum for its April cover story, social media went wild for Nye's bold streetwear looks.
Although Nye plays bashful when asked about the cover shoot, he jokes that it's his time to pivot to modeling.
"That TimeOut thing was me as a performer -- you might call [it] your inner monologue or what's motivating you," he shares.
When it comes to motivation, Nye says he is constantly inspired by his own curiosity.
"We wanna know what we're doing here or how we [came] to be on this planet with this remarkable situation [when] the sun blocks the moon, and we happen to find a way to get in the path of it. [That] is just, to me, inspirational because it's about what makes humans different from [animals]," Nye tells ET.
"I spent a lot of time with cats, I've spoken with them, I've spoken with dogs [and] to the extent possible, dolphins. But I don't think they appreciate what’s gonna happen today in the same way we do as humans with this analytic ability," he adds.
The total solar eclipse will begin in Mexico at 11:07 a.m. PT and leave continental North America at 5:16 p.m. NT. From the time the partial eclipse first appears on Earth to its final glimpses before disappearing thousands of miles away, the celestial show will dazzle viewers for about five hours, according to timeanddate.com.
The length of the total solar eclipse at points along the path depends on the viewing location. The longest will be four minutes and 28 seconds, northwest of Torreón, Mexico. Near the center of the path, totality takes place for the longest periods of time, according to NASA.
Spectators will observe totality for much longer today than during the 2017 eclipse, when the longest stretch of totality was two minutes and 32 seconds.
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