At 3:06 pm on April 8, I, with a crowd of thousands, watched the sky go dark over Indianapolis’ White River State Park. For three minutes and 47 seconds, the sun was no more, replaced by a shimmering ring about as bright as a full moon. It was beautiful.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun, obscuring it completely. It is a very rare and stunning sight. It only happens once every one to three years, and only in a narrow strip of the Earth’s surface. The last one visible in the contiguous United States was on Aug. 21, 2017; the next will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

Both 2017 and 2024 were only partial eclipses here in Oak Park, and both times my family planned far ahead to get to the totality. We saw the 2017 eclipse on the plains of Wyoming, and almost immediately afterward, vowed that we would see the one in 2024. This year, we decided on driving down to Indianapolis, the nearest major city in the path of totality, booking a hotel room more than eight months in advance.

The morning of the eclipse, we woke up to the huge relief of a clear blue sky. We walked to a local park, where a major eclipse-viewing event was being held, and waited for the big moment to arrive.

There are no words that can truly describe what it feels like to sit in the shadow of the moon. All I can say is, it’s something everyone should experience at least once in their life. Start planning for 2044!