Fred Espenak: Great American Eclipse of 2017

By: The Editors of Sky & Telescope April 13, 2016 0

Get ready for the great American eclipse of 2017 with expert advice from "Mr. Eclipse", Fred Espenak.

On August 21, 2017, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from the contiguous United States for the first time since 1979. The track of the Moon’s shadow cuts diagonally across the nation from Oregon to South Carolina. Inside the 68-mile-wide path of totality, the Moon will completely cover the Sun as the landscape is plunged into an eerie twilight, and the Sun’s glorious corona is revealed for over 2 minutes.

Espenak presents a detailed preview of this exciting event with maps, photos and weather prospects along the eclipse path based on his recent book on the same subject. He will also share some of his eclipse experiences with us through photos and video. Find out what it’s like to stand in the Moon’s shadow and get ready for 2017.

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About Fred Espenak

Fred Espenak is a retired NASA astrophysicist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where he worked with infrared spectrometers to probe the atmospheres of the planets. He is also known as “Mr. Eclipse” because of his work on predicting and observing solar eclipses. He has written more than a dozen books on eclipses, including his most recent, “Eclipse Bulletin: Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 August 21.”

Espenak also runs 3 web sites on eclipse prediction, eclipse photography, and astrophotography. Over the past 45 years, he has witnessed 26 total eclipses of the Sun. In 2003 the International Astronomical Union honored Espenak by naming asteroid 14120 after him. Espenak now lives in Portal, Arizona, where he operates Bifrost Astronomical Observatory.

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