It’s a total solar eclipse in the dark! Eager eclipse hunters flock to viewing parties at stargazing hotspots (despite clouds and thunderstorms that will spoil the celebrations)

Wealthy “eclipse chasers” are not discouraged by recent weather forecasts that clouds could obscure Monday’s solar eclipse.

Instead, plans for their extravagant solar eclipse parties and festivals continue apace. Eclipse hunters continue to move south into Texas for favorable viewing conditions.

There will be a ‘total’ solar eclipse on Monday, which occurs when the moon and sun are perfectly aligned. The moon obscures the sun from the sky and the world is temporarily drowned in shadows.

The last solar eclipse occurred in December 2021, and the last visible solar eclipse in America occurred in August 2017.

Although the newly announced forecasts are ominous and suggest thunderstorms and cloud cover that could limit visibility, thrill seekers with deep pockets are not discouraged.

Bill Perkins, the founder and managing partner of Skylar Capital, a Houston-based hedge fund, will host 200 people at his lake house in Austin to commemorate the solar energy phenomenon.

Rain and lightning forecasts didn’t stop the hedge fund manager from throwing his lavish party, which included a petting zoo, astronomy lessons and state-of-the-art telescopes.

The private bash will also feature live music performances for participants. Sofi Tukker, Ryan Tedder, the frontman of OneRepublic, and Yassin Bey, the rapper formerly known as Mos Def, will all perform.

Perkins told the San Francisco Standard that he was “always looking for a reason to throw a party.”

Perkins invoked Carl Sagan, noting that the solar eclipse was “one of those things that reminds us that we are on a little blue ball, with a sun, spinning through space.”

On Monday, the total solar eclipse will be visible along a “path of totality,” starting in Mexico and continuing through Texas, where it continues into New England and ends in Canada.

At each location along the path of totality, people will see a partial solar eclipse, followed by the total solar eclipse, and then another partial solar eclipse.

Whatever your location on the path of totality, the total solar eclipse should be visible for about four minutes.

Totality starts around 1:40 PM in Dallas and lasts until 1:44 PM CDT.

Sheel Mohnot, general partner at Better Tomorrow Ventures, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, told the Standard that he would watch the eclipse from his friend’s farm in Dallas. They will be camping and they have installed additional bathrooms to accommodate their group of 45 people.

And Joshua Baer, ​​the founder of venture capital firm Capital Factory, is planning an extremely extravagant celebration, with famous physicists addressing the crowd of 200.

Baer also arranged for a team of paratroopers, waving American flags, to jump from planes at the last moment of totality.

But many eclipse chasers head to Burnet, 90 minutes outside of Austin.

Burnet will host the ‘Texas Eclipse Festival’, an event that has been likened to the burning of man.

The festival, which continues Tuesday, features concerts, astronaut speeches and art installations.

It also offers participants yoga, exercise and mindfulness classes.

The festival’s website calls the event “once-in-a-lifetime” and ticket prices start at $249.

Drone footage on TikTok showed the town of Burnet being taken over by the festival. In the video, tents are crammed together in narrow rows. The parking lots are full of cars.

It seems the desire to watch the eclipse hasn’t been dampened by gloomy weather forecasts.

Another TikToker posted a video showing a Texas highway choked with traffic due to the influx of tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse.

Within the path of totality, the cities that will receive the most visitors are Austin and Indianapolis, followed by Cleveland, Dallas and Montreal.

Most travelers come from New York City or Mexico City.

The solar eclipse – which briefly darkens the outside world during the day – will be visible to an estimated 32 million people along a narrow strip of North and Central America.

Parts of Texas, including Dallas, are facing an increased risk of thunderstorms that will obscure visibility.

And apart from unfavorable weather, there will also be an increase in traffic.

During the 2017 solar eclipse, there was a significant increase in traffic risks, according to CNN.

But tourists seem undeterred. The next solar eclipse of this magnitude won’t happen again until 2079, making Monday’s event a unique experience for many.

Dr. Greg Brown, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline: ‘For observers in North America, this is the best chance to see a total solar eclipse this decade.

“Nothing compares to day turning into night as a result of a total solar eclipse.”