Show Notes — Ep24: Chasing Totality with Jared Koh

Jared Koh joins Totality Talks to discuss Chasing Totality: The Complete Handbook for the 2026 Total Solar Eclipse, co-written with his father Joe Koh, and their family's eclipse-chasing journey since 2008.

Topics covered:

• 0:33 — Introduction and Jared's eclipse count (4 total, 1 annular)
• 0:54 — First eclipse in 2012 aboard a cruise ship in the Pacific
• 3:56 — The Saros cycle and why "science deepens wonder"
• 4:22 — Common eclipse-chasing mistakes from the book's "Ghost in the Machine" chapter (solar filters, bumped focus, dead batteries, autofocus)
• 7:49 — Camera fails across four eclipses (2012 phone footage, 2017 360 camera, 2024 drone freeze)
• 17:45 — Family background: parents' astronomy/travel passions and the "Beyond Totality" mini-site
• 17:50 — The 2023 "triple diamond ring" eclipse proposal story
• 22:41 — Drone photography, GPS interference, and country-specific drone regulations
• 28:07 — Gear planning with Dad's PADCO framework (Path, Accessibility, Duration, Cloud cover, Outreach)
• 36:24 — Community and outreach at eclipse gatherings
• 41:34 — Jared's favorite part of the book: a photo with his parents at his first eclipse
• 43:38 — The "eclipse pitch deck" and convincing friends/family to join the trip
• 45:40 — Describing totality as a sudden sunset/sunrise
• 52:50 — How technology changes (and might diminish) the eclipse-chasing experience
• 54:47 — Gear rigs and camera automation setups (SetnC solar clip timer)

Mentioned resources:

• Book: Chasing Totality: The Complete Handbook for the 2020 Total Solar Eclipse by Jared and Joe Koh
• Mini-site: chasingtotality.org/beyond ("Beyond Totality")
• Book: Total Addiction and Being in the Shadow by Kate Russo
• 2026 total solar eclipse cruise details (Southampton → Ibiza → La Coruña, Spain
• Jared's Eclipse Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccNnrhExC58b

Leticia Ferrer's site:

https://texassolareclipses.com/

Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
https://www.chotachrome.com/
IG: @chotachrome

Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

In this episode, we chat with Joe Rao — veteran meteorologist, Hayden Planetarium lecturer, and eclipse chaser with 14 total solar eclipses under his belt.

Episode Highlights

• 1:07 — Joe's eclipse journey began at 16, witnessing his first total solar eclipse in Gaspé, Quebec (1972)
• 1:47 — The five airborne eclipses Joe has chased, including flights arranged with the late Dr. Glenn Schneider
• 2:44 — How Joe convinced American Trans Air to delay a 1990 flight by 41 minutes to intercept a total eclipse over the Pacific
• 15:46 — Remembering "Mr. Eclipse" Fred Espenak and the legacy of eclipse calculation pioneer Jean Meeus
• 20:00 — Chasing the 2024 Great North American Eclipse from Plattsburgh, NY — and the brutal traffic home
• 31:37 — Understanding the Saros cycle and the "exeligmos" — why Joe's upcoming August 2026 eclipse completes a 54-year cycle
• 41:32 — Joe's upcoming eclipse cruises: Balearic Sea (2026), Gibraltar (2027), and Australia's Kimberley region (2028)
• 45:06 — The unforgettable 1999 "Ship of Fools" cruise off Nova Scotia that delivered a perfectly clear sunrise eclipse
• 57:01 — The story of convincing American Hawaii Cruises to run an eclipse-themed cruise — and having breakfast with Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins
• 51:24 — Joe's advice for first-time eclipse viewers: put the phone down and just watch

Key Takeaway

Don't photograph your first total eclipse — just absorb it. As Joe puts it, the corona, diamond ring, and shifting sky colors are experiences you can't get through a phone screen.

Leticia Ferrer's site:

https://texassolareclipses.com/

Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
https://www.chotachrome.com/
IG: @chotachrome

Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.

Welcome back to TT! ***(episode updated July 6)***

In this episode we have Anne Buckle and Graham Jones from Timeanddate.com They are the hosts of the eclipse livestreams on Time&Date.com and they join us from Norway. Hope you enjoy are chat with Anna and Graham!

Leticia and Chris interview Anne Buckle and Graham Jones of timeanddate.com about their eclipse resources, astronomy writing, and 10 years of eclipse live streaming. Graham describes a project revisiting the often-quoted “one total solar eclipse per location every 375 years” result by expanding Jean Meeus’s 1982 analysis from 600 to 15,000 years, using latitude bands and major computing power; they found 373 ± 7 years versus Meeus’s 375 ± 16, then extended work to partial eclipses and other patterns. They discuss building a stronger science team, past streams (2017 and 2023 Exmouth with Perth Observatory and government support), and plans for 2026 with teams near León and Mallorca plus partner feeds from Iceland, Greenwich, and Kassel. They cover cloud risks, eclipse “myths” (eclipses aren’t that rare), Earth-rotation delta‑T uncertainty shifting totality paths, solar cycle 25 trending down from max, and Perseids near the August eclipse under new moon.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions
02:33 Timeanddate Tools Shoutout
03:03 Anna and Graham Backgrounds
03:56 Recalculating Eclipse Frequency
09:16 Building the Eclipse Team
10:51 First Livestream Memories
12:30 Plans for 2026 Spain
14:53 Partners for Europe Coverage
17:38 Anna First Totality Story
19:59 2024 Eclipse Split Teams
23:04 2023 Exmouth Livestream
27:15 Favorite Eclipse Moments
29:14 Moon Deadline Mindset
30:47 Math Meets Wonder
32:33 Saros Series Visualized
34:17 Eclipse Patterns Over Millennia
40:34 Sharing Sky Guides
42:44 Midnight Sun and Auroras
44:53 Solar Cycle 25 Update
46:25 Perseids After Totality
49:02 Eclipse Myths Debunked
50:09 Delta T Shifts Totality
56:29 Wrap Up and Thanks

https://www.timeanddate.com/

https://www.timeanddate.com/company/by/anne-buckle

https://www.timeanddate.com/company/by/graham-jones

Saros 126 Animated Gif:

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsarosanimate/126.gif

Saros 126 (72 eclipses 1179CE - 2459CE):

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros126.html

Leticia Ferrer's site:

https://texassolareclipses.com/

Host Chris Chotas Alexander's Site
https://www.chotachrome.com/
IG: @chotachrome

Totality Talks is created by Leticia Ferrer and Chris Chotas Alexander.

Totality Talks is produced by Chris Chotas Alexander.