How a Total Eclipse Alters Your Psyche

Millions of people are preparing to bathe in the dramatic midday darkness of the total solar eclipse on April 8. We experience the cosmic rhythm of light and dark, the spinning and whirling of celestial bodies to their own beat, on a daily basis. Why are humans so awed by an eclipse, that seemingly rare, brief dip of the daytime sun behind the moon?

Solar eclipses have played a powerful role in human history: They have inspired numerous , and in at least one case, according to the ancient historian Herodotus, even . Many who, and animals , even before the sun has vanished. And during totality—when the moon covers the full disc of the sun—the visual spectacle is mind-bending: A crimson sunset-like band looms over the horizon in every direction, bright stars dot the midday sky, and the , its outermost atmosphere, reveals itself.