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Worldwide eclipse chaser chooses East Tennessee to view eclipse

Gordon Telepun plans to use his newly launched app to time the eclipse in Madisonville.

An Alabama eclipse chaser has his sights set on East Tennessee to view the eclipse on August 21.

Doctor Gordon Telepun travels around the globe to capture eclipses. This time he doesn’t have to go too far from home. After scouting out six different spots from Missouri to Tennessee, Telepun decided Tsali Notch Vineyard in Madisonville will have the best view of the spectacular event. Weather permitting, that is where he'll be to watch the eclipse.

Telepun was first introduced to astronomy as a six-year-old boy, when a partial solar eclipse passed over his family’s New Jersey vacation spot.

RELATED: Total Solar Eclipse: Best places to see it

“Once you go to one eclipse and see a totality, you really do get hooked,” Telepun said.

In 2001, Telepun traveled to Zambia, Africa to see his first total eclipse. In 2002, he watched totality from Zimbabwe and in 2006, from a cruise ship in the Mediterranean.

"The excitement of the crowd as it begins to get dark, the beauty of the eclipse itself when you watch it with naked eye, it's just wonderful," he said.

The hobby photographer said he wasn’t prepared to capture his first eclipse.

"When you get to the final minutes before totality, the whole ambient area is so overwhelming, the change in lighting, the drop in temperature, the crickets starting to go crazy, the energy of the crowd, you lose your focus," Telepun said.

The darkness made it difficult for him to even find his camera.

RELATED: Solar Eclipse 2017: How to Take the Best Photos

"I realized right then that somebody had to develop a timer specifically designed for eclipses," he said.

Telepun spent the last several years perfecting a solar eclipse timer app.

"It speaks the times to you, it speaks the countdown to you. So, if you're doing photography, you can be listening to the timer,” he said.

The app even tells you when it's safe to take off your protective glasses.

"For the average family, it helps them get through the eclipse on time and safely," he said.

The app is available now for Android and Apple devices in the app store.

Come August 21, Telepun plans to use it as he lectures in front of a Tsali Notch audience. He said he scouted that spot for a reason. When the eclipse ends, Telepun wants to be able to look to the mountains.

RELATED: Sweetwater to have prime view of total solar eclipse

"You will have about a minute to see the shadow racing toward the mountains and going over the mountains and that could be spectacular," he said.

The moon’s shadow will make its way to the Great Smoky Mountains, Telepun said, creating a view only those in East Tennessee will see.

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