A 105-year-old man is set to witness his 13th total solar eclipse.
A total solar eclipse can be a very special thing to witness, as the Moon completely obscures the Sun temporarily.
While total solar eclipse do happen fairly frequently, about once every 18 months according to the Museum of Natural History in the UK, that doesn’t mean that they are visible from every spot on Earth.
In fact, a total solar eclipse will only be visible along a specific line on the Earth’s surface where the angle is just right for the eclipse to happen.
The Moon’s shadow will move along this line, blocking out the Sun for anyone watching from it.
And if you’re not on that line specifically, then you won’t see the eclipse properly.
So it’s mightily impressive that LaVerne Biser, 105, is now set to witness his 13th total solar eclipse, while many people haven’t even seen one.
LaVerne Biser will witness his 13th total solar eclipse today. WFAA
Biser saw his first eclipse with his wife back in 1963, and has since made it his mission to see as many of them as possible.
Given how eclipses work, this has meant that Biser has had to lay some impressive travel plans to make sure he’s in the right place to see the eclipse.
This has included travels to New Mexico, North Dakota and Nebraska to make sure he was in the right place to see the astronomical event.
The strip of ground where you can see an eclipse is called the path of totality.
While eclipses do happen regularly, for them to be visible to us they have to happen over land, and preferably land which is accessible.
Biser had seen 12 eclipses with his wife, and this is the first without her. WFAA
So it’s no good if one appears over the middle of the ocean, or in a remote part of the world.
Biser urged people to go and witness a total solar eclipse if they are fortunate enough to be within reach of its path of totality.
He said: “If you’re close to the path of totality, be sure to drive in there and see it.”
Up until today, Biser had always gone to view the eclipses with his wife.
Sadly, this one will be the first one that he will witness without her after she passed away last year.
He told WFAA: “I miss her a lot. We were always together.”
The solar eclipse today will pass over a significant portion of the eastern United States, drawing a line across from Texas at 1.40pm CDT all the way up the Maine, ending at 3.34pm EDT there.
