Usually most have seen a partial eclipse of the Sun or perhaps a total eclipse of the Moon. But to see the Sun turn into darkness at midday is the closest we can come to seeing our familiar planet transformed into an alien world. Partial eclipses bear little relation to a total eclipse. No other experience can prepare the mind for it. Even pictures, still or moving, cannot do it.
Virtual reality fails too.
Once every three hundred years or so, the Moon's shadow will pass over a given city. Most will never experience the Sun in total eclipse unless one is willing to travel to sometimes distant places. But for those who witness the chill of the Moon's shadow passing by, it will be as though their souls have been cleansed by Nature's most glorious and spiritual event. No two total eclipses are the same. The Sun's activity, the positions of the Moon and Earth, time of day, weather and location all transpire to make each eclipse unique.