Eclipse chasing

Two United States Air Force colonels inspecting the path of the eclipse of February 25, 1952 in preparation for an expedition to Africa.
An airplane (center-left) chasing the eclipse of August 21, 2017 in Tennessee.

Eclipse chasing is the pursuit of observing solar eclipses when they occur around the Earth.[1] Solar eclipses must occur at least twice and as often as five times a year across the Earth. Total eclipses may occur multiple times every few years.[2]

A person who chases eclipses is known as an umbraphile, meaning shadow lover.[3] Umbraphiles often travel for eclipses and use various tools to help view the Sun including solar viewers also known as eclipse glasses, as well as telescopes.[4][5]

As of 2017, three New Yorkers, Glenn Schneider, Jay Pasachoff, and John Beattie have each seen 33 total solar eclipses, the current record.[6] Donald Liebenberg, professor of astronomy at Clemson University in South Carolina has seen 26 traveling to Turkey, Zambia, China, the Cook Islands and others.[7]

  1. ^ "Rapture Chasers - Every Little Thing by Gimlet Media". gimletmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  2. ^ Kate Russo (1 August 2012). Total Addiction: The Life of an Eclipse Chaser. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-642-30481-1.
  3. ^ Kelly, Pat (2017-07-06). "Umbraphile, Umbraphilia, Umbraphiles, and Umbraphiliacs - Solar Eclipse with the Sol Alliance". Solar Eclipse with the Sol Alliance. Archived from the original on 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  4. ^ "How to View the 2017 Solar Eclipse Safely". eclipse2017.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  5. ^ Wright, Andy (2017-08-16). "Chasing Totality: A Look Into the World of Umbraphiles". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  6. ^ Kersten, Jason (2017-08-28). "The New Yorkers Tied for the Total-Solar-Eclipse Record". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  7. ^ Greenfieldboyce, Nell (8 August 2017). "Go See It, Eclipse Chasers Urge. 'Your First Time Is Always Special'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-08-24.