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," Jar...