Eclipse chasers: When chasing totality becomes a way of life (1/4)

For some people, eclipse chasing is a family affair.

Jared Kho, 37, has travelled the world to witness total solar eclipses since 2012, following in the footsteps of his parents, Janet Tay and Koh Joo Beng, who have been travelling together to observe eclipses for almost 20 years.

Jared experienced his very first total solar eclipse aboard a ship "somewhere between Tahiti and Australia" in 2012, when he was 23 years old, according to the travel journal his mother keeps to document the family's expeditions and the astronomical phenomena they observe.

"My father and I have been observing eclipses together for years," Jared told FRANCE 24.

His father has witnessed 14 total solar eclipses to date, while Jared has seen four. The August 12 eclipse, which will cross parts of Greenland, Iceland and Spain, will be his fifth. Once again, he plans to watch it from a ship.

Their vessel will sail off La Coruña, in Spain's northwestern Galicia region. Watching from the sea allows them to avoid many of the logistical challenges expected on land, including heavy traffic, scarce accommodation and crowded viewing sites.

"Cruise ships can usually get close to the centre line of the eclipse path," Jared said.

The open horizon at sea also offers a clear view of the Sun, which will sit only about 10 degrees above the horizon shortly before sunset.

"Because the August eclipse takes place very late in the day, Spain presents a beautiful but unique challenge. Without carefully planning your observing location, a row of trees or the roof of a hotel could block your view," Jared wrote in a Facebook group dedicated to the eclipse.

Jared and his father have also published Chasing Totality: The Complete Handbook for the 2026 Total Solar Eclipse, a guide designed to help eclipse chasers identify the best viewing locations within Spain's path of totality.

The advice Jared offers today comes after years of travelling to eclipses – and learning from beginner mistakes.

"During my first eclipse – before smartphones could take good-quality photos – I wasted quite a bit of time trying to photograph the solar corona with my old Nokia," he recalled.

"I regretted it. I should simply have enjoyed the eclipse for what it was, especially because it's impossible for a phone to capture what the human eye can actually see."

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'Dad loves astronomy, Mum loves travelling'

Like many eclipse chasers, the family's passion exists alongside careers far removed from astronomy.

Jared designs and delivers training programmes for managers in Singapore's public healthcare system.

His retired parents worked as an electrical engineer and an accountant respectively, although his father later returned to university to pursue a master's degree in astronomy after retiring.

Veteran eclipse chaser Fred Espenak, who said he had witnessed total solar eclipses from every continent, including Antarctica, once described eclipses as "a wonderful way to see the world".

Jared said that description fits his family perfectly.

"Dad loves astronomy, Mum loves travelling. Eclipse chasing is the natural marriage of their passions," he said.

Having inherited that passion, Jared describes himself as a "second-generation eclipse chaser".

His mother begins planning each expedition around two years in advance, booking flights and accommodation for stays lasting one or two weeks.

"Eclipse chasing is an expensive hobby," Jared said, estimating that each trip costs the family more than $3,000 per person.

His father is responsible for the equipment, packing several cameras, lenses and solar filters to photograph each eclipse. The family also carries 360-degree cameras and drones to film the surrounding landscape.

The South Pacific in 2012. Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 2017. Exmouth, Australia, in 2023. Kerrville, Texas, in 2024. Although every total solar eclipse follows the same sequence of events, Jared said no two experiences have ever felt the same.

"The locations make all the difference," he said.

His comments echoed an account his mother wrote after observing the 2024 eclipse in Texas.

"Mother Nature laid on her own special weather: strong winds, big billowing clouds, heavy rain in places. We were spared the rain but got the wind and the clouds."

"Totality seemed beyond our grasp – teased by glimpses of bright sun between first and second contact, then, as totality came, the clouds raced in and gave us a peek-a-boo totality."

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A sense of awe

"The only thing that stays the same, wherever you are, is the sequence of the eclipse itself," Jared said.

"There's always a period of waiting and anticipation as the Sun becomes more and more obscured, followed by an explosion of excitement when totality arrives."

That shared sense of awe has increasingly attracted the attention of researchers studying how eclipses affect human emotions, social behaviour and people's relationship with science.

A study involving more than 1,300 people during the 2024 total solar eclipse found participants reported exceptionally high levels of awe, with many still describing those feelings several months later. Some recalled crying, falling silent or struggling to put the experience into words.

Another study, published in The Journal of Positive Psychology in 2025, found that people who experienced totality as part of a group reported stronger positive emotions, greater feelings of awe and a deeper sense of connection with others than those who watched alone.

"An eclipse is an event on a cosmic scale: the alignment of celestial bodies reminds us how small we humans are on this Earth, which itself is just a rock hurtling through space," Jared said.

"Seen from that perspective, it becomes obvious to me that what I value most is the limited time I have on this planet."

This article was translated from the original in French.