Eclipse chasing
Eclipse chasing is the pursuit of observing solar eclipses when they occur around the Earth. Solar eclipses must occur at least twice and as often as five time a year across the Earth. Total eclipses may occur multiple times every few years.
A person who chases eclipses is known as a umbraphile, meaning shadow lover. 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.
As of 2017, three New Yorkers, Glenn Schneider, Jay Pasachoff, and John Beattie have each seen 33 solar eclipses, the current record. Donald Liebenberg, professor of astronomy at Clemson University in South Carolina has seen 26 traveling to Turkey, Zambia, China, Pukapuka and others.History
In the 19th century, Mabel Loomis Todd, an American editor and writer, and her husband David Peck Todd, a professor of astronomy at Amherst College, traveled around the world to view solar eclipses. During the solar eclipse of June 30, 1973, Donald Liebenberg and a group of eclipse experts observed the eclipse on board the Concorde and experienced 74 minutes of totality.
