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CNN Live Event/Special

Total Solar Eclipse is this Year's Grand Stellar Spectacle. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 12, 2026 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Watch this. Actually, let's go to a Clarissa Ward who is on the island of Mallorca, Spain, watching just an awe- inspiring view. The eclipse reaching totality there, roughly two minutes away, Clarissa.

It looks like dusk all around you.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wow, I can't even, honestly, can you hear people cheering? People are cheering. The light is disappearing.

Whether you are into this stuff or not, I defy you. I'm moved by this extraordinary moment. I have full goosebumps.

This is, which are these like really noisy, cricket-like creatures, are very famous throughout the European Universe. Stop. And can you see the light?

It's getting soft, softer, just like people's faces. We have this wonderful. I don't think there is a better way to say it than that.

You can see as it gets darker, people are just. Just seeing an absolute -- wow! I don't know if you guys can hear that.

I'm just letting it kind of play out because it's so magical. It is now. And you can see the silhouette of people looking up at the sky, finally taking their glasses off.

No need for those right now. We do have a little bit of cloud cover at the last minute here, which is breaking some hearts. People have been waiting a really long time for this moment.

But, yes, it is extraordinary. Unlike anything I have ever seen, honestly, guys. I think I've lost IFB. Huh?

OK, I've lost IFB. OK. OK.

Wow. And now you can see, oh, look, yes, I can hear you look at the sky. Look, you can see the sun's coming back again, guys.

The sun is coming back. And it is so beautiful. Wow. Wow, it's just incredible. Yes. And now the light is returning. The light is returning. And I can no longer hear a single cicada. I don't know if you can hear that if you could hear them before. Man, they are so noisy.

And now the only sound I hear are people laughing, sharing this beautiful moment together, being in community. The light is coming back. And everybody feels connected by this sense of sharing something beautiful that is so much bigger than all of us.

The sun 400 times the size of the moon, but the moon 400 times closer. And to be here and witness that rare moment, that rare cosmic coincidence is something very special indeed, guys.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: It's almost, Clarissa, like a sunset becomes a sunrise before it once again will set here. I mean, that's the amazing thing about this particular solar eclipse, is that it is the sunset solar eclipse.

WARD: Yes. And it's so extraordinary because it's exactly as you said, like your whole body just starts to, oh, as the light goes down and then it suddenly comes flooding back. You're like, woof.

[14:35:00]

It's really so unusual, so extraordinary, so beautiful. People have been out in the 96 degree heat, like literally surrounded by, it's really so unusual, so extraordinary, so beautiful. People have been out in the 96 degree heat, like literally surrounded by scrub all day because they wanted to glimpse that 92 seconds, 93 seconds.

And boy, was it worth it. Boy, was it extraordinary. And boy, was it just a reminder.

I think we all need so much right now of how little we are, how small we are and how great our capacity for wonder and awe is.

SANCHEZ: No question about that. And spoken by someone who has experienced some of the darkest periods in humanity in recent years, someone who's frequented war zones, who knows how ugly it can get here on Earth. Obviously, a beautiful moment there, Clarissa, are you hearing how people are reacting around you?

What are they -- what are they saying?

WARD: I think people are honestly saying, how is everybody feeling? It's pretty good. It's pretty epic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

WARD: Worth waiting in the heat all day for? What heat? What heat?

You're not allowed to say that on TV, but given the circumstances, we'll accept it. No, I think honestly, she's French. You know, I think everybody's just like, wow, did that just happen?

Did we just see that? It's still getting brighter and brighter. It's a surreal and beautiful and fleeting, and it is precisely because it is so fleeting that it is so beautiful, which I think for everyone is just a really important reminder of what's important in life and what makes life so beautiful because it is so fleeting.

And, you know, I'm sure to some people at home, it's like, what is she talking about? But I'm telling you, when you're here in community, in the presence of the greatness of our universe like that, it's impossible not to be not to be moved. So, yes, I think everybody's feeling it.

And probably they're also going to work out how they're going to have to now climb up this hill out of here and get back to their hotels and homes.

KEILAR: The problem, Clarissa, with seeing a total eclipse is that you want to see another one, though, isn't that the problem? And you want everyone that you love to see it with you, because that's really the thing that's missing is you want all your people with you to witness this amazing thing, right?

WARD: Absolutely. And people become addicted, which is why I think it's really amazing that CNN has already promised to send me to Egypt next year for the six minute eclipse. I'm just like, can we get that down on paper right now?

It's going to be six minutes, five or six minutes. So and then there's another one in Australia, apparently. And it's interesting.

We talked to a lot of people who they're eclipse hunters. They travel all over the world. There's 66 eclipses, total eclipses a century.

So what is that one every one and a half years, roughly like I mean, you can make a full time like vacation program out of trying to follow those eclipses all over. I think what made today so special and unique, not just that we're in one of the most stunning locations ever, but also because it was a sunset and it was just so beautiful and like there was no cloud cover except at the very last moment. So, yes, nine out of ten universe.

No notes. Perfection.

KEILAR: Ten out of ten would watch again, would climb through the scrub in 96 degrees Fahrenheit to watch it again. I love the universe sort of dictating where you travel to see this unbelievable sight. Clarissa, so wonderful to watch it with you.

Thank you so, so much.

WARD: Likewise. Thank you, guys. Thank you.

KEILAR: And let's go to Dr. Adam Burgasser, who is there not far from where Clarissa is. You watch this with all of the folks there on this cruise. What was it like?

DR. ADAM BURGASSER, PROFESSOR OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS, UC SAN DIEGO: So we saw at the same time as Clarissa, it was basically the same time, and I was watching it on the feed, and we were watching it here in the real time. We had a beautiful dark sky. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a cloud in front of our sun, but it didn't change the ambience change in the horizon.

We saw the sunset entire horizon around the big circle. We saw Venus come out brilliantly bright like it was the middle of the day. The thing is, it's not.

Oh, still have sunset coming up with a partial eclipse. And so folks have not moved. They are still hanging out because they want to capture that amazing partial eclipse as it sets into the Mediterranean.

[14:40:00]

And fortunately, the sun has actually come out of that cloud. And so I think we're getting a nice clear shot of that end of the day. And you can hear the applause as folks are really excited to see this last moment of this event.

SANCHEZ: And doctor, I wonder, some of the folks that you talked to before, what their reaction was, how they had been feeling, if it was as special as what they were anticipating.

BURGASSER: You know, even though we've had a sunny day, we're still going to have a lot of we didn't get a chance to see that solo Corona because it was behind the cloud, we got the same kind of just sense of awe from everyone around us. People were quiet, they were staring up at the sky, seeing this, you know, magical event happen and just taking the time to enjoy it. So, you know, we talked about, you know, Clarissa should talk about getting off our phones.

Even though folks have their phones and their cameras out, they put them down and they just waited and experienced that moment. And I think that's a really incredible part of this event is to take the time and enjoy nature, enjoy nature's amazing aspects without the digital devices. And once we came out of that dusk and dawn, folks are kind of just reflecting and amazing at it.

And again, we're still going because we still have a partial sun that is above the Mediterranean, it's settling its way down and we're looking forward to the end of the show as it comes to the end here.

KEILAR: Yes, it isn't over, as you said, this is sort of the other side of it. Dr. Bergasser, have you been keeping tabs on, I think it was Mr. Evans and his lovely bride, where they had that beautiful story where they made this plan when she was in recovery from an illness to come and see this. How did they experience it?

Do you know?

BURGASSER: I haven't gotten to them yet and I will go in and check in on how they experienced that. But if they were like most folks here, they were taking time to kind of reflect on everything that's happened in their life. Because when you get to this one singular moment, you know, all of those, the pain of disease, the pain of suffering, you get a chance to kind of rejuvenate from this kind of celestial act.

KEILAR: Yes, what a beautiful event for them to spend together though. I love their story.

SANCHEZ: I love that, so special for them, so special for everyone on board. Dr. Adam Burgasser, thank you so much for taking us on board with you on that special cruise off the coast of Majorca. These are live images coming from obviously Paris, the Eiffel Tower there.

Much more of our special coverage of this amazing eclipse when we come back.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: If you didn't get a chance to see today's solar eclipse, there's another rare cosmic event you may be able to feast your eyes on.

KEILAR: That is the Perseid meteor shower that's going to be visible tonight and tomorrow morning with the best views from the northern hemisphere. So let's check back in with our pal for this beautiful special coverage, former NASA astronaut and Dr. Jeanette Epps. All right, what did you think about what you saw there as you're thinking just about like how big this is, all the research that's being done and all the spiritual experiences people are having as they watch this?

DR. JEANETTE EPPS, NASA ASTRONAUT (RET.): Well, the spiritual aspect is always there, but all the data and different things that we'll be able to find out about the corona, you know, it is kind of exciting because we're finding out more and more about our solar system. And then as we travel further into space through the Artemis program and potentially onto Mars, we're just going to learn so much more about our solar system and how it works and, you know, how we can operate better in it. But the spiritual side is always unmistakable.

I heard people say they got goosebumps and things like that. You can't help but be impacted by it.

SANCHEZ: Yes, as we look at these images from Palma de Mallorca in Spain, some really incredible views. I wonder, doctor, as you were talking about some of the science that we're learning, a ton of experiments happen in that short window of time as the eclipse was happening. Walk us through some of what is happening.

EPPS: OK, so there's a science group looking at the ionosphere because they're HAME radio operators. So they're looking at how the corona impacts our ionosphere and how it impacts our communications going through. But we also have people who are taking images off of an aircraft and they're actually putting the camera on the outside so that they don't have the obstruction of a window looking at the corona.

So every little bit we find out, we can find out how the corona's magnetic field absorbs and stores energy and releases energy. And all of that can help us understand communications, solar winds, and our solar system.

KEILAR: Yes, and you said we need to understand more about it. Why do we need to understand more?

EPPS: Well you know, I guess I need to know more. I'm an explorer. I want to know everything.

But also, I mean, as we're sending people further and further out into the solar system, we want to know how the environment around them is going to impact communications for them, the materials on the ship that they're navigating through. We want to understand everything, every aspect, to take them there safely and bring them back home safely. So for me, it's about sending people further into space.

[14:50:00]

SANCHEZ: A big day, celestially speaking, because not only are we having this eclipse over parts of Europe and Iceland and Greenland, even parts of Russia that are very remote, but also tonight, we're going to see the Perseid meteor shower late tonight into tomorrow morning. Extremely rare for these events to happen so close together, right?

EPPS: Yes, it's just we are the lucky ones to get to see this. It just so happens that we get a total eclipse and the Perseid meteor shower. We also get what looks like to us and alignment of several planets in a row.

I think we have Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and Uranus. And it'll look like they're all in a line. And it's just beautiful night viewing for us.

KEILAR: Yes, they were saying they could see Venus from that cruise ship, right? Gorgeous, like it was sort of the middle of the night. It is just a reminder, I think.

And you're someone who can speak to this more than most. You've been in space. This is sort of a taste, I think, for everyone of just how small we are.

You get that, you've had that to a remarkable degree.

EPPS: Oh, it's, yes.

KEILAR: But we get that here. Can you talk a little bit about that?

EPPS: It's very humbling to see your planet from that vantage point. It's just extremely humbling in that we are so tiny. When you look at the planet, you can't see people, you can't see anything.

And it's just, we're one small planet and one small solar system and one galaxy of trillions of galaxies. So it just kind of reminds you of how small we are and how we should treat each other as well.

KEILAR: I love that.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and what a gift it is to have this place, right? I want to share with our viewers a view of the eclipse from the ISS. This is from NASA.

Wow. Oh, that's the ISS on the moon. I see that tiny dot there.

EPPS: As it transitions across the sun, yes.

SANCHEZ: That's some real estate that you are familiar with, Jeanette. Tell us more about what it was like to witness an eclipse from space and what it's like when you see this image.

EPPS: Well, you can see how tiny it is, but that is our home. It's bigger than, you know, living there. You realize there's a lot of space there.

Nine people aboard the space station was not crowded, but it was a tiny community, very tiny community. And our planet is a tiny community on top of that. So, wow, it's humbling, right?

Knowing that there are seven, six, yes, seven people aboard the space station right now living and working, and we've had people in space continuously since 2000. So it is extremely a privilege to get to see, number one, an eclipse from the space station and experience that, but also living and working there. And that's just an amazing shot.

KEILAR: It's such a cool shot.

EPPS: Amazing shot.

KEILAR: I was thinking about how Clarissa said a lot of people, you know, they end up kind of being these like, it's not the endless summer, it's like the endless eclipse, right? They're following the eclipse and they're letting the eclipse, the next eclipse, take them to a new place around the world, which, you know, if they're privileged enough to be able to do that, it's unbelievable. But it's in a way, it's sort of, that's how they're prioritizing their adventure in life.

Do you understand why people might do that? Why there's sort of like a randomness and a rhythm to it, but it's an amazing way to go places and see something incredible. What do you think about that?

EPPS: It's that feeling. It's like wanting to become an astronaut too, and to get the chance to live and work off planet and see the world from that vantage point. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it in the end.

And so even with traveling everywhere, just to get a glimpse of that and just to get a feel for that. And you kind of realize that, hey, I'm living in, on this planet. I wonder what it is like on another planet.

Will we ever get there to Mars, to other places?

KEILAR: Dr. Jeanette Epps, it's been amazing to be with you for this. And we thank you so much for being our voice of expertise.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: It's been an awe-inspiring couple of hours here as we have followed this eclipse. So let's take a look at the most incredible moments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing natural wonders. We're here in Iceland. We also have...

KEILAR: Yes, I know it looks like you're in Game of Thrones right now.

SANCHEZ: Watch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To give you a sense of the spot, people are facing the horizon.

SANCHEZ: To see an incredible moment. I was just realizing we were talking to Clarissa.

KEILAR: OK, so this is the Galician coast. So this is North. It's so amazing.

Let's go back to --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pigeons and other smaller birds. So probably thinking it's nighttime and they --

SANCHEZ: Get these images. On the upper left hand, you've got Norway there. The bottom left, London.

WARD: People in the U.S. from California, Washington, Colorado. I mean --

EPPS: The Corona is so interesting because it actually projects out into our solar system. Affects the solar winds.

SANCHEZ: Astronaut. Someone who's very steeped in the science of this as well. Tell us what --

WARD: And now we have a moment where we can look at the sky together.

[14:55:00]

KEILAR: Lobato. And we see people watching in Arija, Spain.

WARD: Extraordinary moment, I have full goosebumps. Just an absolute --

Wow. I don't know if you guys can hear that. I'm just letting it kind of play out because it's so magical.

Wow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Some incredible views. Some unforgettable memories and a lot to look forward to. We're getting another eclipse fairly soon in Spain.

They're getting three in the next 500 days or so.

KEILAR: Yes, that's the place to go, right? But the next one -- what was this?

Two minutes 18 for the max areas of totality. Seven minutes 51 seconds in some areas in February 2027.

SANCHEZ: We've enjoyed watching this alongside you. This has been our special coverage of the total solar eclipse. We look forward to that one coming up in the Middle East in a few years.

We still have another hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL to get you though. We'll be right back after a quick break. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END