Lover of lights: Palm Beacher Bill Bone heads to Arkansas for eclipse, just saw aurora borealis
Palm Beacher Bill Bone loves "celestial wonder," and the awe of seeing nature in all its glory never gets old for him.
Bone, an attorney with offices in West Palm Beach, returned home Tuesday from viewing the aurora borealis outside Fairbanks, Alaska, and on Sunday he'll be on a flight to Little Rock, Arkansas, in preparation for Monday's eclipse.
A delayed flight and full day of activity once he got back to town Tuesday could not dampen the thrill in Bone's voice as he spoke with the Daily News about seeing the northern lights.
People often think they have to go somewhere exotic like Sweden or Norway to experience the phenomenon, Bone said, but it can be seen in the United States.
The lights were spectacular, he said, noting that increased solar activity and good weather — no snow or clouds — boosted the appearance of the aurora borealis on the days he saw it.
Determined to see the natural wonder, Bone committed three days to doing a tour run by professional aurora borealis "chasers," who employ equipment and technology to increase of the odds of a sighting. He was lucky enough to see the lights on two of the three nights.
His tip for viewing the northern lights in the Fairbanks area: Go in winter or spring.
Bone is ready for his next skyward adventure — the total eclipse, when the moon will align to completely block out the sun when viewed from areas that lie in the so-called "path of totality," including parts of Arkansas.
Bone's fascination with celestial light shows began when he was a child and a partial eclipse passed over Florida. "I got the little glasses. and I thought this is so special to see something like this."
Years later, he began in earnest his quest to see eclipses somewhere along their paths of totality.
Monday's event will be his fourth. He previously has traveled to Argentina, Antarctica and elsewhere in the U.S. for the totality experience.
"I’m already planning for the next one," he said, referring to an eclipse that will occur on Aug. 12, 2026.
In that event, a total solar eclipse will be visible in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small area of Portugal, while a partial eclipse will be visible in Europe, Africa, North America and over the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans, according to NASA.
In deciding to travel for Monday's eclipse, Bone said the difficult part was gambling on where to see it: The swath of totality is as much as 100 miles wide, and the best place for viewing is one that gets the longest period of darkness.
"You want to be where the totality is. I’m expecting to get at least two minutes of total eclipse, total darkness," he said.
He looked at Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York and Maine.
He chose Arkansas because the event will occur in the middle of the day and besides, he has never been to Little Rock. "Once I land, I'm going to begin immediately. My college roommate will get there a day before and will scout out viewing points.
"I'll most likely see it from the town of Russellville or Atkins."
He and his former roommate expect to drive an hour on Monday to get to the center point of the path. Bone will return home Tuesday.
The goal is to find an uncrowded area — ideally on a hill away from ambient lights — to experience maximum darkness, he said, because streetlights that are triggered by dusk will come on once it gets dark.
"One of the coolest things is to watch the shadow of the moon fall across the land. Everything gets eerie and shaky, Birds act differently; it feels cooler. The animals know something weird is happening," Bone said.
As with viewing the aurora borealis, a clear sky is essential for seeing the eclipse, he said, noting that one could get to the path of totality and not see anything if there's cloud cover. He's hoping that won't be an issue.
"You fully appreciate the majesty and wonder of our universe. Something like this is completely natural and has been happening since the beginning of time," Bone said of seeing a total eclipse.
He added that he likes to put himself in the mind of prehistoric people and how they viewed the phenomenon.
An avid traveler, Bone said: "I'm very curious. That's why I travel.
"I’m so lucky, so blessed to be able to witness these events."
Carol Rose is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at crose@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today .
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach resident heads to Arkansas for 2024 total solar eclipse
