It’s Monday, the day that long-time eclipse junkies and newcomer viewers alike have all been waiting for. Hundreds of thousands of visitors and Kerrville residents will gather to watch as the moon appears to swallow the sun whole.

Of course, this isn’t actually happening. It’s simply an optical illusion created by a total solar eclipse during its totality — the duration of time when the moon is in exact alignment with the sun.

Kerrville is poised to have roughly four minutes and 24 seconds of totality, beginning at 1:32 p.m.

“During totality, you can see stars in the night sky that you normally cannot see at that time of year because you can see past the sun,” said Dr. Aimee Bichler, an earth and planetary science lecturer at the University of Houston.

According to Bichler, those attending Kerrville’s Eclipse Festival or viewing it from other locations in the city could expect to see a variety of changes in the color of the sky before it goes from blue to black.

Although a total solar eclipse can be different every time, one of Bichler’s colleagues said his first was a “life-changing” experience for him — as many do — because the sky turned blood orange before getting dark. Once totality ended, it was bright orange.

“He said the sky looked like somebody took a paintbrush and started painting all these funky colors,” Bichler added. “So, you might see things like that. The sky might be more than just blue, gray and black.”

What will be seen could depend on how the weather holds up throughout the day, and unfortunately, meteorologists are not presenting a very promising forecast for the Hill Country.

If it is cloudy, and reports indicate 75 percent to 85 percent of possible cloud coverage, Bichler said spectators won’t be able to see the stars normally positioned behind the sun. However, if an eclipse fanatic or first-time viewer is looking for a slightly spookier experience, the cloud coverage may work to their advantage.

“If there are a lot more clouds, it’s going to look even darker in totality like somebody shut every bit of light you could have in the sky out,” Bichler said. "It’ll be cool but creepy.”

What’s possibly more ominous than that? The silence. The crowds could prevent those attending the larger-scale city events from experiencing this, but those watching from less-populated areas should be ready for widespread quiet.

“There is a very, very strong relationship between humans and animals—everything with the sun and the eclipse—and animals’ responses to these natural processes that we don’t even notice are happening around us,” Bichler said.

“Our eyes are in tune to the sun, and it’s a circadian rhythm, and when that turns off for animals whose bodies are locked into that, you can expect some animals to go dormant,” she added. “A lot stop moving around, some animals sleep because they think it is nighttime, and crickets stop making their cricket noises. A lot of forests go quiet, essentially.”

Some migratory birds may stop migrating or reverse course, and animals in mating season could become more aggressive.

To see all the possible occurrences throughout Monday’s eclipse, Bichler reiterated that those wanting to look directly at the eclipse need to have the proper protective eyewear. She had two students in one of her previous classes, a brother and sister, whose mother burned her eyes while looking at last year’s annular eclipse.

“What’ll happen is you’ll get these little brown or black spots. They can be permanent or last six months or a couple of years, and some people do major damage,” Bichler said. “It’s a real thing. It’s not overhyped."