Carbondale, Illinois — a college town of 26,000 — has spent the past three years gearing up for 2 minutes and 38 seconds on Monday, when the moon will slip completely in front of the sun, enveloping the region in the darkness of a total solar eclipse. The Great American Eclipse‘s totality phase will be longer in this rural Midwestern town than nearly anywhere else in the nation.

Southern Illinois University’s Saluki Stadium, the primary viewing location in town, will pack in 15,000 locals, visitors, scientists and students to watch the rare astronomical event unfold. Still more eclipse enthusiasts will spill out onto sidewalks, congregating in the downtown square, outside of city hall, and everywhere in between.

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