00:03We've learned a lot about astronomy and space in recent years, thanks due in no small part
00:08to giant leaps in technology. However, back in the 1800s, one woman astronomer's obsession
00:13with eclipses is still providing assistance to astronomers even today. Maria Mitchell
00:18was the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, due in no small
00:22part to her being the first American to ever discover a comet. But her work with eclipses,
00:27specifically her work in tracking the exact time at which they occur, was her most significant
00:32contribution to the sciences. Back then, long before we could see and map Earth from space,
00:37she posited how important the exact time in which the moon passes in front of the sun could be for
00:41verifying longitude. Today, NASA does the legwork for us, and on April 8th, when the total solar
00:46eclipse occurs, you can expect a progressive darkening of the sky in the hour leading up to
00:51the maximum. However, it's not just an eclipse that will be viewable, with protective eclipse
00:55viewing glasses, of course, but also several planets. Since the night sky will effectively
00:59happen in the middle of the day, most of the planets will be lined up invisible with the naked
01:04eye. Mercury will be one of the nearest to the eclipse's iconic ring, which Mitchell wrote more
01:08than 100 years ago, that those wanting to see the planets should acclimate their eyes to the dark
01:13before the eclipse begins.
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