Meet an eclipse chaser who goes to extreme lengths to be in the path of totality
NEW YORK -- A total eclipse has been called the greatest show on Earth, a spectacle not to be missed, and there are people who make sure that they don't.
Umbraphiles are dedicated eclipse chasers who spend time and money, often going to extreme lengths, to be squarely in a path of totality.
CBS New York's Lonnie Quinn spoke to his friend Joe Rao.
"What makes a person an umbraphile?" Quinn asked.
"Well, the 'umbra' is the shadow, the dark shadow of the moon that produces the total eclipse. And a 'phile' is somebody like a lover or fanatic," Rao said.
Rao fits that bill to a T.
"I am somebody who has chased from one corner of the globe to the other to get into the shadow of the moon for a precious few minutes to enjoy a total solar eclipse," he said.
"What is it that is so addictive about this?" Quinn asked.
"You see the great crown, a halo, the corona of the sun become visible, streaming outward, ragged at the edge, streaks running through it ... The sky darkens, the stars and planets are popping out," Rao said. "It's only around for three or four minutes. And then, everything goes right back to daytime."
The day Rao and Quinn met, Rao was imparting his eclipse passion to a group of kids at the Putnam Valley Library.
"I'm hoping that kids 5, 10 years old or whatever, who see this for themselves ... will say, I've got to learn more about this," Rao said. "We may have a whole new generation ... learning all about science and astronomy."
Rao says it was his grandfather who first turned his gaze to the heavens, and he never looked back. His memorabilia mirrors his dedication.
"This is a filter, a little booklet about the 1925 eclipse, and it has a piece of darkened film where you would be able to watch the eclipse of 1925 through that," Rao said.
Rao has commemorative t-shirts from over the years and a "lucky eclipse hat" -- a baseball hat covered in commemorative buttons.
It was the eclipse of 2016 where Rao took his passion to new heights, literally. He called Alaska Airlines to see if they would alter their flight path when he discovered there was an opportunity to see totality on a flight from Anchorage to Honolulu.
"And they said yes, yes, they will do that ... We're going to have a chance to see a total eclipse of the sun from 37,000 feet," Rao said. "It was an amazing, amazing view."
"Have you ever seen anything crazy?" Quinn asked.
"If you listen to people experiencing their first total eclipse? It sounds like an orgy," Rao said. "If you didn't know that it was a total eclipse of the sun, it sounds like, 'Oh! Oh! Oh my goodness.' It is like that."
If you miss Monday's solar eclipse, your next chance to see a total solar eclipse in the Tri-State Area isn't until 2079.
CBS New York has special coverage planned for Eclipse Day. Lonnie Quinn will be live in Lake Placid, and Kristine Johnson will be live from Niagara Falls. Plus, we'll have a team of reporters across New York and New Jersey. Watch our Empire State Eclipse live coverage on Monday, starting at 2 p.m. on our streaming channel CBS News New York.
