Dylan Dreyer Dropped Eclipse Knowledge on Her Today Show Colleagues Leading Up to the Big Event: I 'Nerd Out on This'

Dylan Dreyer was geeked to tell her The Today Show costars everything she knew about eclipses as they waited together to see the moon pass over the sun.

As the NBC show's cast gathered at The American Museum of Natural History in New York City to watch the Great North American Solar Eclipse on April 8, the meteorologist exclusively told PEOPLE about how she took on the job of answering her colleagues' questions about the astrological phenomenon.

Dreyer, 42, explained that she had long lost dreams of becoming an astronaut and working for NASA, which is why she was so fascinated by the solar eclipse.

"So the fact that we are just these beings on this random planet and all of a sudden you look up and the moon is actually out there blocking the sun from our view," she shared. "I mean, it just makes you feel so small and it's magical in a way."

The broadcaster noted that there was a time when the eclipse couldn't be explained and marveled about how the natural occurrence brought people together to experience it collectively.

"I could nerd out on this," she added.

Her Today costar Sheinelle Jones also gave "kudos" to Dreyer and "her fellow nerdettes" for answering their many queries about what would go down when the moon moved directly in front of the sun.

"I was getting a bunch of questions because everybody thought it would get totally dark, but it's only 90 percent covered." Dryer recalled. "So where it's up at totality, it's a hundred percent dark. But around here it's like I knew I would just feel different. The lighting would feel different and everybody's like, 'Is it happening now?' Everybody's teasing me up until the moment."

Marking the first total solar eclipse since 2017, the phenomenon took place across North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada, per NASA. 

As the government agency states, a total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely obscuring the face of the Sun. As a result, people in the path of the eclipse will experience a darkened sky (as if it were dawn or dusk). 

While there are several different types of eclipses, total solar eclipses in the United States are especially rare and the next one won't occur for another 20 years.

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Reflecting on the special occasion, fellow Today cast member Carson Daly shared with PEOPLE his belief that the solar eclipse helped bring society together.

"What's cool is that you always hear about how divided our country is and how no one even talks to each other if you go into a Starbucks. That was the biggest takeaway for me was the sea of humanity, sort of all doing one thing at the same time and everybody loved it," Daly, 50, said at the April 8 event. "So that part is cool."

Today airs weekdays on NBC (check local listings).