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Eclipse Across North America; Tonight: UConn Vs. Purdue For Men's Championship Game; NCAA Women's Championship Won By South Carolina Over Iowa; Bill Nye Explains What To Expect During Total Solar Eclipse. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired April 08, 2024 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: All right. In the meantime, we are just hours away from a historic total solar eclipse. Coming up next, you will hear from NASA's deputy administrator about what their scientists will be looking for during this celestial phenomenon. Stay tuned for that.
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ACOSTA: Welcome back to CNN special coverage of today's solar eclipse. In just a few hours from now, more than 30 million Americans will get to see a total eclipse.
[10:35:00]
CNN Space Correspondent Kristin Fisher is in Indianapolis, which is in the Path of Totality. I'm jealous of that, Kristin, but you've also got a very knowledgeable guest there to talk about it with you. Tell us more.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: I do, Jim. I'm joined by the deputy administrator of NASA and a former NASA astronaut herself, Pam Melroy. Pam, thank you so much for being with us on this special day. And I know that you were in Washington D.C. for the last total solar eclipse. But you only got to see a partial eclipse. Have you ever seen a total solar eclipse?
PAM MELROY, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, NASA: Hey, good morning, Kristin. It is wonderful to be here with you and 50,000 of our closest friends at the Speedway. No, I have never seen a total solar eclipse. I've seen several partial, but there's something very mysterious about a total solar eclipse when literally day turns to night.
Animals start to behave differently. We're seeing changes in the Earth's atmosphere. It's a mystical, mysterious experience. And I love the thought that millions of Americans will stand together today, looking up into the sky, wearing their glasses.
FISHER: Wearing -- and 50,000 of them, roughly, right here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pam, you've seen so many incredible things in your life. You've been to space multiple times. But this, I imagine, a total solar eclipse has always been on your bucket list. Why? MELROY: Absolutely. I think the science that we see from it is amazing. But also, you have to recognize, this is an extraordinary cosmic coincidence. It just so happens, and we are the only planet in the solar system, that this is true for, that's -- the apparent size of the moon in our sky is the same as the apparent size of the sun in the sky. It's not true anywhere else in the solar system. There's no other situation like this.
FISHER: Sure.
MELROY: We are so lucky and so blessed to have this incredible experience. But we also get the opportunity to see it as a three-body problem. We're going to learn about the sun. We're going to learn about the moon, and we're going to learn about the Earth by that alignment.
FISHER: A cosmic coincidence, I love that. And NASA, of course, doing so many scientific observations during this total solar eclipse, both professional and citizen science, right?
MELROY: That's right. I -- this is such a unique opportunity. A huge swath of the United States will have visible -- will be able to see if -- even if they don't see totality, they will see near totality. So, it gives us the opportunity not just to leverage all the great scientific capabilities that we have in the United States for professionals.
So, we are going to be using all kinds of equipment. We'll have aircraft, kites, balloons, sounding rockets all flying up into the atmosphere to observe. But in addition, we have trained regular citizens, not professional scientists, to use solar telescopes. And we have an app on your phone. We're going to have hundreds of thousands of people taking pictures. And by pulling all that data together, we think we're going to understand the shape of the sun down to within a few kilometers.
FISHER: Wow.
MELROY: So, leveraging the fact that this is an amazing totality that covers so many places across the United States, we're going to get more and better data.
FISHER: Well, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, it has been such a pleasure speaking with you. I hope the sky stays this way and the clouds part so we get to see your first total solar eclipse later today.
Jim, back to you.
ACOSTA: I'm jealous of everybody in the field today. I mean -- you know, earlier Stephanie's in a hot air balloon. You're with somebody from NASA, a top official at NASA, that's the best way to watch a total solar eclipse. Amazing stuff. All right. Kristin and Pam, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.
Still ahead, March Madness is coming to a close tonight. UConn will face Purdue for the men's championship -- oh, that's right. There's a men's championship. We already heard about the women's championship, the real championship. We'll talk about the men's one next.
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[10:43:43]
ACOSTA: There's just one game left in this year's NCAA March Madness Tournament. Tonight, top seeded UConn and Purdue will face off in what's expected to be one of the most highly anticipated national title games in recent years.
CNN's Coy Wire is live in Glendale, Arizona. Coy, I thought they already had the national championship. South Carolina, they beat Iowa. Oh, that's right. The guys still have to play.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, we'll get to that one in the second, Jim. Look, these two one seeds, UConn and Purdue, they have been on a collision course all season long. Pieces of history on the line tonight. UConn could become the first back-to-back champ since Florida in 2007. They are on a record streak of 11 straight tournament wins by double digits, and this team lost five of its top eight scorers from last season.
Now, Purdue, they've never won a title. And listen to this. they're playing, for one, on solar eclipse day. And home state Indiana is in the Path of Totality. The only other time they played for a title was 1969 when Purdue alum, Neil Armstrong, walked on the moon. Basketball is like religion in Indiana, apparently, astronomy too. And Coach Matt Painter wants to bring home one of these titles for his fans. Listen.
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MATT PAINTER, PURDUE HEAD COACH: It would be great for our fans. It would be great for our players, our former players. You know, Coach Katie, Bruce Weber, you know, all the people that have helped me be in this position. And they deserve it. You know, you see a lot of people, you know, on the back nine of their lives.
[10:45:00]
And I guess it's a big thing that they have stayed with us and supported us and they want to be able to see it.
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WIRE: All right. Two massive players will make massive differences in this one. Purdue's 7'4" Zach Edey facing off UConn 7'2" Donovan Clingan. UConn Coach Dan Hurley called them Kling Kong and Godzilla. I caught up with coach and asked him what nickname he would give himself. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN HURLEY, UCONN HEAD COACH: Batman for me, you know, because I don't really have any special, gift. I've got to be -- I got to use my brain and, you know, I got to be that grimy superhero, you know. And I can't fly. I couldn't jump. I've got short arms. I'm bald. I'm aging rapidly. I got to use my brain, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Jim, you would make a heck of a Batman, and you've got a great head of hair, too. You can watch UConn and Purdue for the national title tonight on CBS. Also streaming on Max. Pregame begins at 7:00 eastern, with the game tipping off just after 9:00.
Now let's talk about last night's Iowa's Caitlin Clark. Dawn Staley, South Carolina facing off for the women's title, both driving forces behind the boom of women's sports. Clark breaking another record. Her 18 points in the first were the most in a quarter in NCAA tournament history. She finished with 30, but the Gamecocks were just too much. Their bench alone scored 37 points while Iowa scored zero. Dawn Staley, South Carolina finished their perfect season 38 and zero, winning a third title in seven years. Incredible stuff, Jim.
Now, tonight, we have no Path of Totality here in Arizona, but UConn and Purdue will certainly be lights out. Plenty of blockage in this one, too. And that match-up between seven footers Edey and Clingan can't wait, Jim.
ACOSTA: Oh, yes. Just a path to the championship. We'll all be watching. Coy Wire, thank you very much. Great to see you. Appreciate it.
Coming up, there he is. Beloved science guy Bill Nye. It looks a little cloudy there. Hope it's OK. Bill's going to break down all things totally eclipse, next, stay with us. We'll be right back.
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[10:52:05]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL NYE, SCIENCE EDUCATOR: You need a pair of special eclipse glasses like these. Ah, totality.
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ACOSTA: Now, if there's one person who knows a thing or two about a total solar eclipse, it is Bill Nye "The Science Guy". He's been educating children and adults alike about this exciting celestial event and the science behind it. We're lucky to have the man himself with us right now. Bill Nye joins us now from Fredericksburg, Texas, at the Planetary Society's Eclipse-O-Rama event. The peak time for stargazers there is about 2:32 p.m. eastern time.
Bill, great to see you. I see you have the glasses there. I've got my glasses here -- I mean, I don't know. If I put them on, I can't really read the teleprompter. But hey, let's just wing it here. Tell us about what you are going to be expecting to see where you are. It looks a little cloudy behind you. I'm a little worried about your perspective there, Bill.
NYE: Well, it's a little cloudy, but it is, as we say in sailing, burning off.
ACOSTA: Good.
NYE: If you look -- well, I can't look at it right now. The disk of the sun is there with a little partial cloud cover between us and the sun, but it's fine. it's going to be a great experience. I've been in a total solar eclipse in 2002 when it was a little cloudy. It's still amazing, you guys. This -- it goes dark. It turns to night in a few moments.
And you talked about the eclipse glasses. They are -- even though these are cardboard with mylar lenses --
ACOSTA: Right.
NYE: -- they are completely effective. And you can stare right at the sun with them. Regular sunglasses do not work, everybody. Do not do it. And as I say all the time, we have all looked at the sun. If you've ever played the outfield and there's a fly ball, you look at the sun for a moment. But these glasses are so much darker. And --
ACOSTA: They're so much darker, Bill. I mean --
NYE: -- I encourage everybody --
ACOSTA: And you can't mess --
NYE: -- if you have a cellphone flashlight --
ACOSTA: -- with mother nature here, right?
NYE: No, you can't.
ACOSTA: Yes.
NYE: And just think what it was like in ancient times when people didn't know what was going on.
ACOSTA: Yes.
NYE: You know, whereas now modern astronomers can predict it within less than a hundredth of a second.
ACOSTA: Yes --
NYE: It's remarkable.
ACOSTA: Yes, and we've seen some notable folks out there try to look up during an eclipse. You really shouldn't do that no matter what anybody tells you. Just don't do that. But, Bill, I also wanted to ask you, what about our little pets and animals that we have in our lives? What happens with those little guys? I've got my dog Duke. I'm worried about what -- I want to take him outside to watch it but I suppose does he need his glasses too? What's the deal with that?
NYE: Well, I've spent time with dogs. I've spoken at least two dogs quite a bit. They -- if it's night, they do their night thing. If it's day, they do their day thing. I think Duke will be fine. I think if you try to get Duke to wear the eclipse glasses, I'm predicting you won't have much success. I mean, you can try it but --
[10:55:00]
ACOSTA: I will -- well, he's a beagle. So, I definitely will not have any success.
NYE: I know Duke. He's an extraordinary dog. He's far above other dogs, I understand that. But --
ACOSTA: Yes.
Bye: -- he may not get the whole eclipse thing right away.
ACOSTA: I barely have success putting them on myself. And just talk about if you can, Bill, I mean, this is going to be such an amazing event that we're all going to watch as a nation, which, you know, there aren't many things like that anymore that bring us together in a positive way. Talk about that. Why this is so special. Why this is so important.
NYE: Well, we are unique in the solar system and we're probably unique in the galaxy. In situation where our moon blocks the same width of sky as our sun. There's no place else in the solar system where that happens, but it happens here. It probably doesn't happen any other place nearby, galactically, and so appreciate it. It's a remarkable thing where this -- it goes completely dark when you are in the path underneath the shadow.
And you can see the sun has come out here, and I'm pretty hopeful it will be out all day. And instead of -- the thing is, it's amazing We all want to stare at it.
ACOSTA: Yes.
NYE: Look at it and enjoy it, but the other thing, everybody --
ACOSTA: That's right.
NYE: -- what do we all do all the time now? Everybody's got a phone, everybody wants to take pictures, want to take selfies.
ACOSTA: Yes.
NYE: Obsessed with taking pictures. OK. But just take these few minutes and be present.
ACOSTA: That's it.
NYE: Be in the moment and look up --
ACOSTA: Wonderful.
NYE: -- with your glasses on, enjoy that when it goes completely dark. If you're in the path, you can take them off. But also --
ACOSTA: Perfect.
NYE: -- look around because I'm hoping that everybody, the 30 -- maybe even 40 million people who experienced this --
ACOSTA: Yes.
NYE: -- will be with others.
ACOSTA: That's it.
NYE: Other citizens of Earth.
ACOSTA: That's right. We're all going to experience it together.
NYE: And so, we'll have the shared experience.
ACOSTA: That's right.
NYE: Yes, it's wonderful.
ACOSTA: Such a wonderful sentiment there, Bill. I got to go, but thanks so much for doing this. Really appreciate it. We'll put our glasses on one last time and I'll thank you for joining us and thank everybody out there for joining us. Enjoy the eclipse for everybody. And Wolf Blitzer here in the "CNN Newsroom" starts after a short break. Happy eclipse day, everybody. Have a great day.
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