Eclipse mania taking over as watch parties, music planned for rare event

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The world-famous Kronos Quartet rehearsed an original score Saturday at San Francisco's Exploratorium for Monday's rare total solar eclipse.

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The 29-minute composition can be heard Monday on the Exploratorium app and website, and some images from the eclipse will be turned into music.

"The sonic accompaniment will be a surprise. We won't know what we will be hearing until the performance," said Kronos Quartet member David Harrington.

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The Exploratorium will host a viewing party Monday and will hand out some pairs of eclipse viewing glasses on a first come, first serve basis.

"I'm so excited to be here. We'll see stars, and planets, and then we'll see the beautiful corona of the sun," Robyn Higdon with the Exploratorium said. She's with a crew in Casper, Wyoming, in the path of totality where the viewing will be best.

Many stores and websites have sold out of the glasses.

Beware of counterfeit glasses. Experts say only glasses that have a ISO seal, (International standards organization) are considered safe and legitimate.

Ophthalmologists say viewing the eclipse with the naked eye could lead to temporary or permanent retina damage. "The consequences in vision could be anywhere from just a slight distortion of vision, to actual scotomas, or dark spots in your vision," Ophthalmologist Lillie Mosaddegh, M.D. said.

Approximately 7 million Americans are traveling into the path of totality to get the best views of Monday's eclipse.

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What makes this eclipse so rare? These facts and figures answer that and more.

On the day of the eclipse, we'll bring you live coverage on TV and online. Click here for full coverage on this rare event.