I'm Katrina Miller, a New York Times reporter covering space, physics, and the intersection of science and society. In 2023, I earned my Ph.D. in particle physics from the University of Chicago. I reported the "ring of fire" eclipse in October from Richfield, Utah. Leading up to the event on Monday, I've spoken to residents in the crossroads of the 2017 and 2024 solar eclipses, created a guide for how to have the best experience under totality, covered the science of eclipses, and more. I'll be down in Carbondale, Illinois on April 8, and it'll be the first total solar eclipse I get to experience in person.

I'm Patricia Reiff, a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the founding Director of the Rice Space Institute at Rice University. My research focuses on space plasma physics, mostly in the area of magnetospheric physics: "space weather," which I've been covering for 50 years. I am also a partner of the NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team, and have created immersive educational clips for use in planetarium domes. I recently released a show called MAGNETISM and another called Totality! and have created eleven educational clips on solar and lunar eclipses.

Ask us anything about the significance of the solar eclipse and physics. We'll start answering questions at 2 p.m. ET (18 UT).

Usernames: /u/thenewyorktimes, /u/Doctor_Pat