On August 21, 2017, the shadow of a total solar eclipse crossed the continental United States, covering thirteen states in little over 93 minutes. The "Great American Eclipse" was the first trans-continental eclipse in nearly a century and, as such, provided an unprecedented natural pathway to raise the profile of Sun-Earth System science and the public awareness of the same. Indeed, it is anticipated that over 100 million Americans and international visitors traveled to the path of totality for the event.

This total solar eclipse provided the perfect opportunity to showcase the science of how the Sun and Earth connect in near real-time and the ideal to perform truly cross-disciplinary research.

With this Frontiers Research Topic, we seek original research articles that span the gamut of events related to the August, 2017 total solar eclipse, from the solar atmosphere through the earth's upper atmosphere and to the realm of most eclipse observers in the troposphere.

Keywords: eclipse, earth, ionosphere, Sun, thermosphere, troposphere, corona, magnetism

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.