The
United States has not seen a total solar eclipse sail from sea to
shining sea in nearly a century. That means that next Monday, when the moon engulfs the sun in the sky, a new generation will experience a celestial extravaganza unlike anything else.
If
you are one of these millions, prepare to feel changed forever. So say
the eclipse chasers who venture great distances and go to extreme
lengths to witness the ethereal occurrence.
“This
is the most awesome astronomical event there is, period,” said Mike
Kentrianakis, a veteran eclipse chaser. “You’ll never ever forget it.”
Mr.
Kentrianakis has spent his life in pursuit of totality, the fleeting
moment when the moon aligns perfectly with the sun and throws everything
into darkness.
His obsession has led him to a jungle in Mikongo, Gabon, the top of a mountain in Tianhuangping, China, and to the frigid wilderness of Svalbard, Norway (that last one in a wheelchair, no less).
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He
was so excited about the Great American Eclipse that he hit the road in
2015, traveling the 3,000-mile path of the coming eclipse as part of
his work with the American Astronomical Society.
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The
purpose of his trip was as much to inspire people as it was to warn
them of the inevitable and overwhelming crowds that would flood their
towns, as he has seen happen numerous times before.
“This
is two years out. They didn’t know what was coming,” Mr. Kentrianakis
said. “We knew. No one can predict the future, except for an eclipse
chaser.”
Here’s what he and his fellow eclipse aficionados say we should expect.
That First Eclipse
Wherever
they come from, eclipse chasers often share a similar origin story that
involves the first time they witnessed totality.
Kate Russo,
a clinical psychologist and eclipse chaser who lives in Northern
Ireland, saw her first eclipse on the coast of France in 1999.
“I thought this was my chance to see a total solar eclipse and take it off my bucket list,” she said. “How wrong I was.”
She
has since written three books on eclipses, but the roller coaster of
emotions she experienced the first time is still with her.
“Everyone
sensed something was coming,” she said. “The world held its breath. It
was eerie and quite frightening and so dramatic, and then suddenly
you’re plunged into darkness.”
She was hooked, and in 2001 she traveled to Madagascar to catch her next total solar eclipse.
“That’s
when I thought, ‘I’m an eclipse chaser,’” Dr. Russo said. “That’s when I
discovered a map that had the paths of totality for all future
eclipses. I saw that map and I thought: ‘This is the structure of my
life for the next 20 years. This is where I’m going to be.’”
The
chase led her to South Australia in 2002, on a Galápagos Islands cruise
in 2005, Turkey in 2006, Mongolia in 2008, China in 2009, Australia
again in 2012, the Faroe Islands in 2015 and Indonesia last year.
For all those eclipses and all that travel, she has spent just 22 minutes in all beneath totality.
“The endorphins kick in,” she said. “There’s an element to it that’s addictive.”
For Mr. Kentrianakis, the opportunity to see his first total solar eclipse was pure chance.
One
day in 1978, when he was 14 and living on Long Island, he came across
an article in his local paper about researchers preparing an expedition
to Manitoba, Canada, to observe an eclipse on Feb. 26, 1979. The last
line in the article announced that the team had one seat available.
His
parents let him call the researchers, who invited him to join the
expedition. That February they arrived in Lundar, Manitoba, and trekked
through 18 inches of snow to the field where they would observe the
event.
On the day of the eclipse, one of the researchers, Fred Hess, shouted the countdown to totality. He announced every minute until the sun disappeared and a shining diamond ring appeared.
“He’s reading it out and he’s losing control,” Mr. Kentrianakis said. “He goes, ‘Look! Look! Look! Look!’”
Mr. Kentrianakis was overwhelmed by the sight, too, and for two minutes and 47 seconds he witnessed totality. (In a recording, you can hear him and the group shouting.)
Guide: How to Watch a Solar Eclipse
“I’m looking at this corona in the sky and thinking, ‘Wow, this is really strange and beautiful,’” he said.
Get to Totality
One of Mr. Kentrianakis’s mentors, Jay Pasachoff, has experienced 65 solar eclipses. But he prefers not to be called an eclipse chaser.
“I’m an eclipse preceder,” he said. “We get there before the eclipse.”
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Dr.
Pasachoff is an astronomer at Williams College who has used totality as
an opportunity to probe the mysteries of the sun. He has set foot on
every continent except Antarctica in pursuit of the phenomenon (though
he has watched it in a plane above Antarctica).
He and his wife, Naomi, who has seen 39 eclipses, even witnessed a total solar eclipse on their honeymoon in 1974.
“I
think there’s a primal feeling of excitement to see the universe darken
at a time when it’s not usually supposed to,” he said.
Dr.
Pasachoff advises that first-timers try to get within the middle of the
path of totality rather than on the edges, just to make sure they see
it. And he encourages them to make it a family event.
“Take a kid to the eclipse,” he said. “It can be inspirational to a new generation of students.”
He added that people shouldn’t worry about snapping the perfect picture with their phones.
“If
it’s your first eclipse, don’t try to take any pictures,” he said.
“Just enjoy yourself. Just watch all of the phenomenon and relax about
it.”
Most
important, leave early for it, he advised, to avoid being stuck in a
traffic jam outside the path. Try to get into totality the night before.
That advice is echoed by Hakeem Oluseyi,
an astrophysicist at Florida Institute of Technology who has chased
eclipses in Ghana, Australia and the island of Mangaia in the South
Pacific. His journey to Cairns, Australia, in 2012 was featured in the
documentary “Black Suns: An Astrophysics Adventure.”
“The
difference between being off the line of totality and on it is like the
difference between seeing a lightning bug and lightning,” Dr. Oluseyi
said.
Weather Woes
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For
solar researchers like Dr. Pasachoff and Dr. Oluseyi, the eclipses are
times for serious scientific work. But the weather can be a
roulette-wheel spin. Sometimes it’s clear blue skies. Other times, it’s
overcast.
“In
the South Pacific, clouds had completely covered two minutes before
totality and uncovered three minutes after,” Dr. Oluseyi said. “That was
like a cruel joke.”
Mr.
Kentrianakis has also found clouds to be a recurring adversary in his
adventures, spoiling or nearly spoiling some eclipse trips. In 1998 he
traveled to Aruba for his second total solar eclipse, but it was
overcast on his part of the tiny tropical island.
“I thought, ‘How often does it rain in Aruba?’” he said.
When
possible, he suggested, it’s a good idea to stay mobile on eclipse day
in case the thick clouds move in and you need to relocate. That’s what
he did in Aruba, getting into his car and racing to the other side of
the island.
He made it just in time to see the blue and violet sky turn black.
But
he advised that people not obsess over weather forecasts in the weeks
and days leading up to an eclipse, saying that the stress isn’t worth
it. Now, his most sacred rule is that he does not talk about weather in
the days leading up to an eclipse.
‘Questions and Curiosities’
One way eclipse chasers ensure that the weather doesn’t dampen their plans is to get above the clouds.
In
2016, Mr. Kentrianakis joined other eclipse chasers aboard an Alaska
Airlines plane as it journeyed from Anchorage to Honolulu. The plane
altered its flight plan to cross the path of totality.
His excitement, which is practically contagious, was captured on video that went viral online.
“Oh my God! Corona, there it is!” he shouted. “Baily’s beads! Diamond ring! Look at that! Corona! Totality! Totality!”
But
whether you end up tens of thousands of feet in the air or standing on
the ground, eclipse chasers want you to know that the journey you take
to see the total solar eclipse will be well worth your time and effort.
“I
think every single person I’ve ever interviewed about their first
eclipse experience says the same thing: ‘Why didn’t you tell me it would
be so good?’” Dr. Russo said. “People don’t get it until after they
experience it.”
To
Dr. Oluseyi, the eclipse has the potential to affect the nation in the
same way that these cosmic spectacles have had an impact on him.
“There
are all these questions and curiosities that are inspired by these
experiences,” he said. “Perhaps new eclipse chasers will be born out of
this event.”
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