North Americans will be cover to a totalsolar eclipseon Monday , April 8 , 2024 . The heavenly phenomenon is fairly rare , occurring justonce every year and a halfon norm . After Monday , the lunar month wo n’t overshadow the sun above the conterminous U.S. again for another 20 days , making the result a once - in - a - life - fourth dimension chance for many . For Laverne Biser of Fort Worth , Texas , it will mark his 13th prison term viewing the lifelike spectacle .
AsKTVT report , the 105 - year - old has been tag eclipses for the retiring 60 years . In 1963 , he witnessed hisfirst total solar eclipseon a visit to Dover - Foxcroft , Maine . After watch the moon in full insure the sun , creating dark skies and a dazzling corona around the satellite , he was hooked for life .
“ You see one , you want to see them all , ” he assure the local newsworthiness outlet . “ They are so pretty . ”
Biser ’s love ofastronomybegan in his mellow schoolscienceclasses . After earning a grade in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University in 1942 , he moved to Fort Worth , Texas , to design aircraft for the Carswell Air Force Base . While he ’s live on in the sphere ever since , his rage for eclipse has exact him around the human beings . He ’s been to the Virgin Islands , Brazil , the Black Sea , and across the U.S. to see them in somebody . In between his change of location , he indulges his hobby by establish his own telescopes . The most telling musical instrument in his collection stand 6 base tall and feature a mirror he ground himself .
After dog occultation around the globe , Biser wo n’t have to travel far than his backyard to live the upcoming show . His nursing home in Texas lessen directly in the path of totality for next calendar week ’s North American occultation . The circumstances are meet for what will be the thirteenth — and possibly last — total solar occultation of his lifetime .
When asked about advice for first - time eclipse viewers , the 105 - year - old shared these impudent words : Keep your solar looking glass on until the bit of entireness . If you ’re preparing to take part in the event on April 8 , here aremore refuge tipsto keep in mind .
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