--- ---  # Why Neil deGrasse Tyson Says You Should Put Down Your Phone During the Solar Eclipse by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Aug 21, 2017 4:23 PM UTC  Michael Campanella—2017 Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Aug 21, 2017 4:23 PM UTC Famed astrophysicist [Neil deGrasse Tyson](http://time.com/4761305/neil-degrasse-tyson-book-2017/) is urging skygazers to put down their phones during Monday’s [total solar eclipse](http://time.com/4907357/total-solar-eclipse-2017-america/?xid=homepage). During an appearance last week at the American Museum of Natural History, Tyson said eclipse watchers should take in the rare and short-lived phenomenon without the distraction of their devices. “Experience this one emotionally, psychologically, physically,” Tyson said, according to the [Associated Press](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlllrY%5F2IVo). “I get it — you want to look at it later. But then you would not have experienced it in the moment.” **_NEXT:_** [**_Watch the Whole Total Solar Eclipse in 4 Minutes_**](http://time.com/4900280/total-solar-eclipse-2017-video-watch/) Tyson, the head of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, said missing the moment “would be to not live as full a life as you could have.” And watching a video later is not the same as truly experiencing it, he added. The eclipse will bring sudden darkness to parts of 14 states within its path of totality. Oregon will be the first to witness the phenomenon at 10:16 a.m. PST and South Carolina will be the last about 2:44 p.m. EDT. Solar Eclipse: Neil deGrasse Tyson Says to Put Down Phone ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4909154/solar-eclipse-neil-degrasse-tyson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4909154/solar-eclipse-neil-degrasse-tyson/"},"headline":"Why Neil deGrasse Tyson Says You Should Put Down Your Phone During the Solar Eclipse","datePublished":"2017-08-21T16:23:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:05:35.721Z","description":"\"Experience this one emotionally, psychologically, physically\"","url":"https://time.com/4909154/solar-eclipse-neil-degrasse-tyson/","keywords":["Eclipse","Space","onetime","space 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt007722f16fe595e5/6988da7b656a3fdff3bd15d9/neil-degrasse-tyson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt007722f16fe595e5/6988da7b656a3fdff3bd15d9/neil-degrasse-tyson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Neil-deGrasse-Tyson","caption":"","creditText":"Michael Campanella—2017 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/eclipse/","name":"Eclipse"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4909154/solar-eclipse-neil-degrasse-tyson/","name":"Why Neil deGrasse Tyson Says You Should Put Down Your Phone During the Solar Eclipse"}}]}] ```