Australian psychologist Kate Russo has observed 13 total solar eclipses since 1999.
Kate Russo saw her first total solar eclipse 25 years ago.
The Australian psychologist was living in Northern Ireland at the time and had always wanted to witness the scene firsthand.
In 1999, while she was in her 20s and in between her master's and PhD studies, a total road happened to cross near the southern coast of France.
“I thought this would be my first and only solar eclipse experience,” Russo said. “When I actually try something I've never experienced before, I think, “That's really cool.''
Rather, what she saw that day changed her life forever and started a lifelong journey to study and chase solar eclipses around the world.
On Monday, Russo will observe his 14th total solar eclipse, this time in Uvalde, Texas. She is one of many eclipse chasers to arrive in North America in recent days.
Experts estimate that more than 1 million people from North America and abroad will pursue the path to wholeness.
Many of them have combined their love of astronomy, exploration, science, and travel with a mission to see as many solar eclipses as possible in their lifetime.
Some people are driven by a love of space and a desire to understand the universe around them. Some, like Russo, seek out the indescribable feeling that comes from looking directly at a total solar eclipse.
The 51-year-old recalled how “immersive and emotional” it was to stand in the moon's shadow for the first time.
A total solar eclipse, by definition, occurs when the moon's shadow completely covers the sun's rays, plunging people in the shadow's path into darkness for several minutes.
But Russo said the experience was so much more than that.
She said the temperature had dropped and the wind felt stronger, as if a storm was approaching. She also noticed that the surrounding colors faded away as the sun's light disappeared, except for an orange, reddish glow around the horizon and a thin ring of light in the sky, also known as the corona. .
“It's the moment right before you see the sun,” she said of the moment the eclipse begins. “Right now there's just a hole in the sky where the sun should be. It's like everything has been turned upside down.”
Russo said the experience inspired her to study people's emotional reactions when witnessing a total solar eclipse.
She says that for the most part, there is a predictable order in which people embrace solar eclipses. It begins with a sense of being wrong and a primal fear, followed by a sense of connection and meaninglessness. After that, a feeling of euphoria arises and a desire to repeat that feeling again.
She found that even people with a more scientific mindset can't help but stare at a solar eclipse in awe.
“Regardless of culture or language, people are having the same experience, and that makes them feel like they're part of something bigger.”
It's a feeling that David Makepeace, another eclipse chaser from Toronto, Canada, knows all too well.
Ms Makepeace, 61, who is about to see her 19th solar eclipse, said the experience raises existential questions.
“How can we live in such a beautiful solar system? Does it have such an emotional punch?” he wondered. “How is that possible?”
Paul Maley, 76, a former data analyst and flight control specialist who worked for NASA for 41 years, says the desire to chase eclipses is like an addiction.
“When you see something this unique, you want to see more,” he says.
image source, Patrick Poitevin
Photo taken by Patrick Poitevin during a total solar eclipse in Indonesia in March 2016
Maley, who lives in Arizona, has observed 83 solar eclipses in 42 countries since 1970, including annual, partial, and total solar eclipses.
His love of chasing them inspired him to start a tourism company that takes dozens of people on trips to see solar eclipses around the world. Some of the guests are veterans. Others are capturing a solar eclipse for the first time.
To commemorate the April 8 event, Mayley launched a boat cruise off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, carrying about 200 passengers.
Being on the water will give you mobility in case cloud cover changes, giving you the best chance of catching a spectacular solar eclipse, he said.
British eclipse tracker and former materials scientist Patrick Poitevin is also on his way to Mexico, hoping to capture the 26th total solar eclipse.
Mr Poitebin, who lives in Derbyshire, said he often tries to combine scientific innovation with his love of astronomy when chasing solar eclipses. He says that every time he captures a solar eclipse, he challenges himself with a different project or perspective.
But for the upcoming solar eclipse, he said he plans to sit and watch it with just a pair of binoculars.
Poitevin pointed out how this particular eclipse is scheduled to last four and a half minutes in Mexico. This will give him and others a chance to view the landscape, he said, and perhaps discover some planets, stars and even comets.
For those watching the solar eclipse for the first time this year, veteran trackers had one piece of advice. It means putting the camera away and enjoying the moment.
Makepeace said fiddling around with things like cameras and cell phones diminishes the experience.
“The best thing in the world is happening right above your head, and you're busy doing something else.”
