The Texas man recalls his previous 12 eclipse-watching experiences and sums them up in the most beautiful way.
Umbra is a Latin word which means “shadow.” So umbraphiles, a.k.a. “eclipse chasers,” are literally “lovers of shadows.” There is a man who has been witnessing eclipses for more than a century. From feeling fascinated by the Milky Way to chasing his 13th eclipse, 105-year-old Laverne Biser has come a long way on a journey that uplifts his spirit like nothing else. Witnessing eclipses is his longstanding muse and he has dedicated his life to it.
Biser’s penchant for eclipses has led him to travel the globe in search of these phenomenal celestial spectacles. As the glittering skies get shadowed by darkness, Biser finds beauty in these cosmic sights. "You see one, you want to see them all and will do everything you can to see them. They're so beautiful," Biser, currently living in Fort Worth, Texas, told Fox Weather.
Biser has witnessed twelve eclipses till now. "1963, 1972, ‘79, ’84, ‘88, ’91, ‘94, ’98, '99, 2012, 2017, 2023," he recites. Among these, one of his favorite memories was a total solar eclipse he photographed on February 26, 1979, in Williston, North Dakota. He says he will witness his 13th total solar eclipse alongside his daughter and granddaughter in Plano, Texas.
According to NASA, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada on April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely forming a shadow over the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as in a dawn or dusk. Texas will have nearly 4 minutes of near darkness.
Biser is an astronomy buff and has worked as a mechanical engineer for an Arms industry company, General Dynamics, for over 40 years. There, he was highly regarded for his operations analysis of the B-36 and F-16 programs. Today, Biser spends his days in a woodworking shop inside his home, preparing and working on cameras for his upcoming adventure. He has even designed three sophisticated telescopes with which he relishes the galactic sights.
Witnessing an eclipse is dreamlike, slightly eerie, but overall a surreal experience. According to Atlas Obscura, a freelance computer programmer who runs Eclipse-Chasers.com, Bill Kramer describes the experience in beautiful words: “The total solar eclipse...it’s like the eye of God is staring down on you from the sky.”
A clinical psychologist and author of three books about the psychology of eclipse chasers, Kate Russo says, “There’s a whole roller coaster of emotions that happen and these emotions are quite intense. Awe is at the central part of the eclipse experience, but there’s something I’ve termed ‘primal fear,’ this eerie feeling in the environment. The primitive parts of our bodies are picking up that things aren’t quite right in the natural order of the world.”
Eclipses trigger a range of physical responses in viewers, according to Russo, including weeping, crying, goosebumps and chills. Perhaps this fairly accounts for why Biser’s eclipse-chasing experiences have been extraordinary for him.
Share on Facebook
