‘Like a hole in the sky’
Eclipse chasers urge others to prepare for April 8 big one that will cut across wide swath of North America
Some people chase fire trucks. Some pursue tornadoes. But Santa Fe’s Michael Zeiler and Polly White track a different kind of phenomena — a total solar eclipse. One is due to cut a wide swath in the skies above North America on April 8, ranging from the Pacific coast of Mexico, through parts of Texas and then northeast to Maine and Newfoundland.
Zeiler and White will be chasing the eclipse next week from a vantage point near Fredericksburg, Texas, smack dab in the path of totality of the eclipse — the area where the moon will totally obscure the sun. It’s expected to last about four and a half minutes.
“A total solar eclipse simply is the most beautiful thing you will ever see,” Zeiler, a retired mapmaker, said in an interview. “It is, for a few minutes, like standing on another planet.”
Zeiler, 68, has seen total solar eclipses 11 times; White has seen seven. They occur about every 18 months, though many are over oceans and not easily viewed. There won’t be another over the contiguous United States until 2044.
The phenomena — and the interest a total solar eclipse brings — are real. Zeiler and White operate a website, greatamericaneclipse.com, as a vehicle for showcasing eclipse maps, tips, glasses and other paraphernalia while teaching people about the wonder of eclipses.
They say that while each total solar eclipse is different in terms of duration, shape and look, the reaction is usually the same.
“People have the same visceral, emotional
“A total solar eclipse simply is the most beautiful thing you will ever see.” Michael Zeiler, a retired cartographer and co-owner of Great American Eclipse
response — they cry,” White said.
A total solar eclipse means the moon completely blocks out the sun, leaving what Zeiler called an “ominous” sense of foreboding for anywhere from a matter of seconds to minutes. That’s one reason, he said, early humans probably felt the world was coming to an end when they saw one.
“Where the moon is silhouetted against the sun’s corona it looks like a hole in the sky,” he said. “It’s incredibly black.”
The couple, who have lived in Santa Fe for more than 40 years, did not grow up engaged in a love affair with eclipses.
Zeiler, originally from California, said his background in mapmaking based on data, a process known as geographic information systems, helped foster an amateur interest in astronomy.
But he said he did not fathom the emotional and visual impact a total solar eclipse could have until 1991. That’s when he traveled to the Mexican state of Baja California to see his first event.
“I was hooked from then on,” he said. As time went on and more eclipse-watching opportunities came up, he realized there were not enough good maps on the phenomena for his liking. “So I decided to make my own,” he said. His maps became popular with others, and in 2014 he and White, whose background is in business and management, launched the eclipse website.
White and Zeiler had just packed up more than 200 ready-to-mail orders for customers and had a waiting list of another 500-plus online on a recent weekday morning. Whatever the postal service doesn’t come by to pick up, they lug down to various mail delivery agencies around town to ship out.
The path of totality will pass southwest to northeast through Texas. The city of Eagle Pass will be the first landfall of the shadow of the moon in the U.S. Notable
Texas cities fully in the path include Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Austin, Waco, Dallas and Fort Worth.
Based on data he has studied for years regarding eclipse attendance, Zeiler is estimating 4 million people will travel — primarily by vehicle — to reach the totality path of the April 8 eclipse. He figures 1 million will head to Texas.
That figure does not take into account the number of people who already live within the eclipse’s path. NASA in a recent article estimated about 31.6 million people
fall into that category, with another 150 million people living within 200 miles of the event.
There’s two ways to view an eclipse, Zeiler said — alone, making it a “me-clipse,” or with a large group of people, making it a “we-clipse.”
With a “me-clipse,” he said, “you feel very close to nature. It’s the only time you can really feel the solar system in motion. It’s a deep connection with nature.”
A we-clipse is a different animal. People often feel “an emotional connection with thousands of people around you,” he said. “It’s like the moment when someone scores the winning run at a World Series game or the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl. It’s that kind of connection with the other fans.”
For Santa Feans, there may be some obvious dimming of the sun’s light on April 8, but in general, it will be nothing like being in the heart of the eclipse, Zeiler said.
The bane of all eclipse watchers, Zeiler said, is cloudy weather. He advised those who want to see the event to check weather reports in advance and be ready to head elsewhere.
White said eclipse hunters always bid one other goodbye or sign off messages, emails and phone calls with the phrase: “Clear skies.”
“Because that’s all you need,” she said. “That and a pair of eclipse glasses.”