From scouting the optimal location to securing the right equipment, many details go into eclipse chasing. Here's how to make sure you find yourself in the right place at the right time.

On 8 April 2024, I sat atop a grassy hill in Imperial, Missouri, waiting for the Sun to disappear. A solar eclipse was coming, and I was in the path of 99% totality.

I was anxious, but exhilarated; I'd missed the frenzy of the American solar eclipse in 2017 and vowed I wouldn't miss the next. On the hilltop, my family and I played with shadows, each of us donning the flimsy solar viewing glasses that would help us witness the phases of the eclipse as the Moon's shadow grew closer to the Sun. We ate round sweets – Oreos and Moon Pies – to mark the occasion.

Gradually, the sky darkened, the birds fell silent and a chill settled in the air. A pair of deer stood at the edge of the forest, unmoving. Our hilltop was now enveloped by blackness; utterly frozen in time and space.

Then, the sky brightened, and the world was back just as quickly as it had disappeared. I was awestruck. All was as it had been, but I knew I was forever changed.

My experience is hardly unique; that day, I was just one of many modern eclipse hunters, chasing after what is truly a once-in-a-blue-moon experience. Case in point: between 2026 and 2030, there will be just a few total solar eclipses, giving astro-curious travellers limited opportunities to experience the path of totality, so preparation – from scouting optimal locations to booking accommodation – is essential. And with total solar eclipses set to sweep across Iceland, Spain, Egypt and North Africa in 2026 and 2027, astronomers and space travel specialists say now's the time to start. Here's how.

Humans have marvelled at eclipses for millennia, from Mesopotamian sky-watchers to 19th-Century eclipse chasers. But it was the 1970 eclipse across the US East Coast and the first eclipse-chasing cruise two years later that transformed these celestial events into global travel events.

Today, eclipse tourism has gone mainstream, exploding into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Nasa reported more than 300,000 attendees at official events during the 2024 North American eclipse, while eclipse-focused tours are selling out in a matter of weeks.

Did you know?

There are two types of eclipses. A lunar eclipse takes place during the full Moon when the Earth's shadow blocks the Moon; a solar eclipse occurs at the new Moon phase when the Moon's shadow blocks the entire Sun. Due to the narrow path of totality during a solar eclipse, caused by the Moon's small shadow, a solar eclipse is visible from a much narrower strip of Earth than a lunar eclipse.

"For those keen to travel to witness a total solar eclipse, it is important to book as soon as possible," said Kevin Currie, director of New Scientist Discovery Tours, which runs eclipse trips. "This is primarily to ensure that you can secure a place on the best tours or, if organising it independently, in the best accommodation, ie, in a location near to the line of totality."

Astronomer Martin Griffiths links the increased fascination to the pandemic, commenting that during lockdown, "the only thing people could do was go outside and look at the night sky".

Solar eclipses don't just envelop the Earth in darkness; the environment completely transforms for those precious minutes. During previous eclipse-viewing experiences, Leah Crane, features editor at New Scientist, noted........

© BBC