LIVE OAK — A remarkable natural coincidence will lead to a remarkable experience across the country on Monday.

Dr. Jaydeep Mukherjee, the Director of the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium at the University of Central Florida, explained to a full meeting room Thursday at the Live Oak Public Library that the total solar eclipse that will be visible throughout the continental United States on Monday will have the potential to be life-altering.

“If you ever talk to any astronaut, what they say is when they go up and they look down and see the Earth, everything changes for them,” Mukherjee said. “Every astronaut we have met has said the same thing.

“The total eclipse, when you see that, you will be moved.”

Mukherjee has served as the Director of the Florida Space Institute from 2006-2011 at the Kennedy Space Center, the administrator of the NASA FSGC at the University of Florida and the chairman of the Southeast Regional Space Grant Region from 2006-2014.

But Monday’s stunning view — the path of totality is projected to cut a swath across the country from Oregon through South Carolina that is 150 miles wide — is only possible because of what Mukherjee deemed a “remarkable coincidence.”

Live Oak and North Florida are expected to see around 88 percent of the eclipse. In Live Oak, the partial eclipse is projected to start at 1:13 p.m. and last until 4:09 p.m. The maximum eclipse locally is expected to occur at 2:45 p.m.

The total eclipse, which occurs when the moon’s orbit around the Earth intersects with the Earth’s orbit around the sun and casts a shadow, is only possible because although the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun it is also 400 times closer to the Earth.

“If you didn’t have this, you wouldn’t have eclipses like this,” he said. “We know why we’re having it but it’s a remarkable coincidence. And it comes from one of nature’s most remarkable coincidences, the total eclipse.”

That coincidence has also allowed astronomers the opportunity to learn about the sun. During eclipses, when the majority of the sun’s light is blocked, scientists are able to see portions of the sun that are not normally visible — such as the corona and prominences.

But even with the majority of the sun’s light being blocked out — or completely for a few minutes in the path of totality — Mukherjee warned about the potential for eye damage.

He urged those in the audience to make certain any solar glasses they purchased were ISO certified.

Even then, he expressed concern for the viewing audience’s safety.

“I’m very concerned this year with blindness all across the United States,” he said, adding that even with the glasses to only look at the sun for a short period of time, around a minute, before looking away. “With this eclipse, you have so much social media, everyone is talking about it and everyone is going to look at it.

“During the totality part, it’s OK. During the totality, you can look at it with your eyes. But otherwise, you look at it, you will be blind.

“So be very, very careful.”

Locally, with the eclipse only being at 88 percent, the eclipse can’t be viewed directly without wearing the glasses.

But even without a total eclipse, Mukherjee said it will still be a special occasion for the area.

“The partial eclipse is not heart-stopping but it’s also not boring because you should think about what’s happening,” he said.