The best places to see August’s Great American Eclipse and why people travel the world to witness ‘totality’
Hongkongers will be among millions travelling to the US next month to witness its first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse for 99 years. We find out what draws them to this cosmic phenomenon and why west should beat east in the viewing stakes
Have you ever seen a total solar eclipse? It is one of the most spectacular things anyone could ever hope to see – but there’s much, much more to one than a brief period of darkness when the moon blocks out the sun.
Most people who think they’ve seen an eclipse have, in fact, only seen a partial eclipse, or perhaps a lunar eclipse, neither of which are nearly as impressive.
The US is currently going crazy about its first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse for 99 years, which happens on 21 August this year.
“The view and the feeling of watching a total solar eclipse is such an out-of-this-world experience that one will not forget it, and want to go to see it again if possible,” says Tommy Tat-fung Tse, a jeweller from Hong Kong who has seen eight total solar eclipses. “My wife and I will always chase the shadow of the moon and go where it takes us around the globe.”
The main draw for eclipse-chasers is the precious few minutes of “totality” when the sun is 100 per cent blocked by the moon. For many, seeing the halo of light created around the edges of the moon is a near-spiritual experience.