Despite being a space reporter, this total solar eclipse completely freaked me out

It's really difficult to explain what I just saw. 

I'm a space reporter. I know the science: The moon moved in front of the sun from Earth's perspective, blotting out our nearest star's light and plunging us into an eerie twilight here in Lenoir City, Tennessee. 

I get it. That's what happened. Still. The feeling of experiencing this event is something that I'm going to be parsing out for a long time to come.  

My family and I got here at around 8 a.m. ET, fearful of traffic and other snags that might hold us up from making it to our appointed spot in Lenoir City before totality would occur, at 2:33 p.m. ET.  Read more...