Eclipse!: The What, Where, When, Why, and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses

Harrington, Philip S.

ISBN 10: 162045632X / ISBN 13: 9781620456323

Published by Wiley, 1997

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Eclipse!: The What, Where, When, Why, and ...

Publisher: Wiley

Publication Date: 1997

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis:

The most complete guide to viewing eclipses-including details on every solar and lunar eclipse through 2017

Want to observe the most fleeting eclipse phenomena, take dramatic photos, and keep a detailed record of the experience? Now you can be prepared. This comprehensive one-stop resource covers everything you need to know about solar and lunar eclipses-why they happen, how to view them, how to photograph them, even when and where they will occur through the year 2017. Here's where to turn for:
* Detailed explanations of eclipse mechanics and dynamics, viewing techniques, and what to look for, both in the sky and all around you
* Extended discussions of eclipse photography and videography-film selection and developing, filter requirements, special care of equipment, and more
* Intriguing individual and group activities you can carry out during an eclipse to heighten your enjoyment and deepen your understanding of the event
* Detailed maps and discussions on how and where to best view each eclipse, plus travel considerations, likely weather conditions, and equipment recommendations

Whether you're a backyard astronomer, a dedicated eclipse chaser, or a teacher guiding students through their first eclipse experience, Eclipse! provides the in-depth, detailed, practical information you need to make the most of these thrilling celestial marvels of nature.

Review:

At one point, Eclipse! takes time off from its primary task--a detailed technical guide to observing and recording eclipses around the globe--to tell the admonitory tale of the pupils of a school in Baltimore, Maryland. These eager and inquisitive children were not only kept in by their teachers during the event (owing to "legal considerations"), they were not even allowed near the windows! Of course, on the list of Things That Are Bound to Ruin Your Eclipse, other people's idiocy comes quite low. The top contenders are usually clouds and bad traffic. Lazy journalists who tell those of us disappointed on the day of an eclipse that this was "our only chance to see an eclipse" only fray our tempers further. This is, of course, nonsense. Eclipses happen all over the world at reasonably frequent intervals, and over the next few years they will be visible from many exciting locations. (Harare, 2001, anyone?) Philip Harrington's handsomely illustrated technical manual (none of your poorly reproduced NASA Web-site maps here) is both a resource for experienced eclipse chasers and an excellent introduction for those bitten by the eclipse bug. As one observer says, "No matter how much totality you've seen, it's never enough. Nicotine, alcohol, gambling, any conventional addiction you can think of; umbral dependence is worse." --Simon Ings, Amazon.co.uk