by AAmong the ancient civilizations that viewed solar eclipses as an evil omen, the sight of the cosmic phenomenon would have been a cause for despair. But for many enthusiasts traveling thousands of miles to see the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8, the opposite is true.
“I’m not religious at all. But [the eclipse is] about as close to a religious moment as I think you’ll get,” says Sarah Marwick, a 51-year-old doctor based in the U.K. “It makes you feel huge and tiny at the same time.”
Marwick is an eclipse hunter, or umbraphile – who has seen eclipses over the past 25 years in the Arctic Circle, China, France, Libya, the US, and Zimbabwe. The neologism cannot be found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but the word, which means shadow-lover, is used to describe those who fly around the globe for a chance to see the moon hide the sun . Eclipses occur anywhere from four to seven times a year, according to NASA. But solar eclipses are a much rarer phenomenon than lunar eclipses because they are only visible from a small area of Earth each time they occur.
“If it’s 10 seconds or several minutes, it doesn’t matter. It’s always too short for you,” says Tunç Tezel, a 46-year-old civil engineer from Turkey who has seen 13 solar eclipses and three lunar eclipses since 1999. He is traveling more than 6,000 miles from Istanbul to Houston in last April. “The light comes back on, and then you start thinking, ‘When’s the next one? Where is the next one? I think I need to see another one.”
For many, the obsession with eclipses began in childhood. “Growing up in the late ’90s and early 2000s, one of the big things I remember seeing was our two spectacular comets,” says 35-year-old Aditya Madhavan, who in pursuit of an eclipse since he saw the “big one”. American solar eclipse” in 2017. Others credit science teachers with inspiring their love of space. But for most, the eclipse bug bit soon after they saw their first.
Read more: How Astrologers Are Preparing for the 2024 Solar Eclipse
It’s hard to say how many people identify as an umbraphile. On Facebook, a public group in search of a solar eclipse has almost 21,000 members – an increase of about 13% since March. Not all are enthusiasts – some come in to advertise their product or offer arrangements to view the eclipse – but filmmaker Nelson Quan, a member, says he noticed an explosion of interest after the 2017 eclipse. “Because these eclipses are on these narrow paths and in some parts of the world, you meet the same people,” says Quan, who directed a documentary about the pursuit of the eclipse called Chasing shadows.
In 2023, for example, around 20,000 people traveled to Exmouth, Australia for the eclipse. There was a population of 2,800 in that town. “Take a place like Australia. You think, ‘Australia is a big country?’ Well, yes, it is. But when the eclipse only hits Exmouth, it’s a very small country,” says Mandie Adams, a 59-year-old landlord who works in real estate.
Quan says the first online umbraphile community he remembers was a group on Yahoo called the “solar eclipse mailing list,” which included leaders of the previous generation of eclipse chasers, like astrophysicist Fred Espenak, known as “Mr. . Eclipse;” cartographer Michael Zeiler, creator of GreatAmericanEclipse.com; and Xavier Jubier, the mastermind behind the interactive Google Maps site that details eclipse timing and phases.
Now that the community has grown, Newly recognized eclipse amateurs and seekers are using online platforms to share accommodation plans, seek tips, and recount stories of past trips abroad. Of the ten eclipse watchers TIME spoke to for this story, two traveled only in the United States for the 2017 eclipse and for this year’s astronomical event, six are traveling from other countries to view the April 8 eclipse in the US, and many of them already had plans. to see the next total solar eclipse in 2026, with Spain being the most popular destination. “We’re trying to do anything we can to see these eclipses as long as possible,” says Tezel, a moderator of the Facebook group. “Maybe we’re a little more dedicated or a little crazy. Your own Council.”
Cost may be the most significant obstacle to becoming an eclipse chaser. Atlanta-based Madhavan paid $14,000 to travel to Antarctica by ship for an eclipse in 2021 – and was unable to see that eclipse due to cloud cover. The eclipse tourism industry is gaining traction. This year, Delta Air Lines is marketing flights to eclipse chasers to view the event from the sky and it is expected that states in the 115-mile-wide path will experience a $1.5 billion economic boost.
Read more: Why These Passengers Are Flying Up To 30 Hours To See Four Minutes Of The Eclipse
Olivier Steiger, 65, says he plans his eclipse trips strategically to save costs. To maximize his time, Steiger plans to see other natural phenomena on this trip: he’s going to follow the northern lights for a few nights before heading to the US for the eclipse, and hopefully he some storm chasing and see a tornado there. Texas after that. Steiger says it’s cheaper to travel within Europe, and he can usually find deals depending on where he wants to go. For this trip, he’s driving down from Switzerland to Milan to catch a cheaper flight to Iceland, before flying to Denver and then driving down south.
Marwick, a mother of two, says the cost of traveling with her family dictates her destination, accommodations and time away from work. “If you have a family, there’s a difference between taking a flight to Toronto that costs $400, or a flight that costs $3,000 to Texas, and a much longer distance,” she says.
Read more: Helpful Tips for Planning Your Solar Eclipse Trip
Being frugal has allowed Adams, who is based in England, to backpack through Chicago, Nashville, Austin, and Fort Worth during the four weeks before the eclipse. “I don’t go home for luxury. I don’t go out and buy expensive handbags and clothes,” she says. “I want my money to be for experiences like the eclipse.”
For many umbraphiles, traveling for an eclipse will be their only extended vacation of the year. “It’s kind of an excuse for us to get out of the country and go to places we might not have been before,” says Madhavan. Tunzel, who has a copy of the Canonical Fifty Years of Solar Eclipses, containing maps of eclipse paths through 2035, he jokingly refers to his catalog as his vacation planner.
This year, Madhavan is traveling to Torreon, Mexico for the first time, but he also went to countries like Australia in 2023 for an eclipse that lasted only about a minute. “We traveled half way around the world for [about] 56 seconds in total, which makes it sound crazy,” he says, “but the sun itself and the phenomena we saw around this eclipse were beautiful.”
That moment is never guaranteed, but the prospect is worth it. “It’s like a calling,” says Tezel. “We all come, we meet … that eclipse happens, and then we go back to what we’re doing in our normal lives.” And then the cycle begins again.
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