A teenager from Wales travelled 4,000 miles to America to watch the total eclipse on his birthday
A teenager from Carmarthenshire travelled almost 4,000 miles to see a solar eclipse after realising it would fall on his birthday. But the coincidences didn't end there, when 17-year-old Evan John Griffiths realised he could watch the phenomenon in a city with the same name, Evansville.
The teen flew to Evansville, Indiana, in the United States, with his mother Cathrin and younger brother Llewellyn to experience the rare solar eclipse. An eclipse of the sun occurs when the moon moves directly between the sun and the Earth.
During a solar eclipse, the Earth is basically in the moon's shadow. Because the moon is much smaller than the Earth, its shadow only covers a small area of the Earth's surface. Any solar eclipse therefore will only be visible from certain parts of the planet.
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Millions of people across America, Mexico and Canada gathered just after lunch time on Monday, April 8, to see the natural sight. Some were treated to a total eclipse where the skies appeared almost night-like, whereas others further away its epicentre simply saw slightly darkened skies.
Evan and his family travelled 3,967 miles between Llandeilo and Evansville. Speaking to local Indiana news station Eyewitness News, he said: "I'm so stoked [to be here], on a level beyond what you could even imagine." Describing how the trip came about he said, "I was looking up eclipses and I thought 'omg on my birthday that's insane' and then in Evansville, what a coincidence."
His mum, Cathrin Edwards, told the BBC that after weeks of deliberating the family decided to make the trip. She said, "After quite a difficult time over the last year we thought it would be a major adventure to come somewhere like Evansville on this day."
As well as enjoying all that Evansville and Indiana has to offer, it seems as though the family have become local celebrities in the area with Evan being interviewed by several television broadcasters. The family said people first came to know about their trip while they collected their special solar eclipse glasses. Evan said: "I've been recognised many times now, I am a local celebrity," he said. "It's probably the most interesting thing that's happened to me."
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