Preface ....................................................... vii
Acknowledgements ............................................... ix
Part I Eclipse Mechanisms, Statistics and Tracks
Chapter 1 Why Do Eclipses Occur? ................................ 3
A Remarkable Moon ............................................ 3
The Origin of the Moon ....................................... 5
Enjoy Eclipses While They Last ............................... 6
Defining the Lunar Orbit ..................................... 7
Elliptical Orbits ............................................ 8
The Five Degree Tilt ........................................ 10
Orbital Nodes ............................................... 11
The Perigee-Apogee Cycle .................................... 14
The Saros ................................................... 15
Refining the Prediction ..................................... 17
Chapter 2 The Solar Atmosphere ................................. 20
The Photosphere ............................................. 20
Prominences ................................................. 22
The Chromosphere and Spectral Lines ......................... 23
The Solar Corona ............................................ 25
The 11-Year Cycle ........................................... 27
Chapter 3 The Shadow of the Moon ............................... 29
Umbra and Penumbra .......................................... 29
The Shadow on the Ground .................................... 30
The Twilight Sky ............................................ 31
Visualizing the Shadow ...................................... 33
All Manner of Curved Tracks ................................. 35
Anticipating the Umbra ...................................... 35
A Magnificent Aircraft ...................................... 36
The Annular Antumbra ........................................ 38
Chapter 4 The Rugged Lunar Limb ................................ 39
Librations .................................................. 39
Watts Charts Predictions .................................... 40
Hybrids and the Lunar Radius ................................ 41
Chapter 5 Shadow Bands and Other Phenomena ..................... 44
Shadow Band Evidence ........................................ 44
Weighing up the Evidence .................................... 46
Lenses and Wind Speeds ...................................... 48
The Eclipse Micro-Climate ................................... 49
Sharpening Shadows and Changing Colours ..................... 50
The Green Flash ............................................. 51
Seriously Confused Wildlife ................................. 52
Chapter 6 Eclipses and Tracks 2008-2028 ........................ 53
Total and Hybrid Eclipses 2008-2027 ......................... 53
The Pick of the Bunch ....................................... 55
1 August 2008 Total Eclipse ................................. 56
22 July 2009 Total Eclipse .................................. 59
11 July 2010 Total Eclipse .................................. 62
13 November 2012 Total Eclipse .............................. 65
3 November 2013 Hybrid Eclipse .............................. 66
20 March 2015 Total Eclipse ................................. 68
9 March 2016 Total Eclipse .................................. 70
21 August 2017 Total Eclipse ................................ 72
2 July 2019 Total Eclipse ................................... 74
14 December 2020 Total Eclipse .............................. 76
4 December 2021 Total Eclipse ............................... 77
20 April 2023 Hybrid Eclipse ................................ 77
8 April 2024 Total Eclipse .................................. 78
12 August 2026 Total Eclipse ................................ 79
2 August 2027 Total Eclipse ................................. 80
Annular Eclipses 2009-2028 .................................. 81
26 January 2009 ............................................. 82
15 January 2010 ............................................. 83
20 May 2012 ................................................. 83
10 May 2013 ................................................. 84
29 April 2014 ............................................... 84
1 September 2016 ............................................ 85
26 February 2017 ............................................ 86
26 December 2019 ............................................ 86
21 June 2020 ................................................ 87
10 June 2021 ................................................ 87
14 October 2023 ............................................. 88
2 October 2024 .............................................. 88
17 February 2026 ............................................ 89
6 February 2027 ............................................. 89
26 January 2028 ............................................. 89
Part II Observing and Travelling to Total Solar Eclipses
Chapter 7 Safety First ......................................... 93
Naked Eye Filters ........................................... 94
Projecting the Sun .......................................... 97
Telescope Filters ........................................... 98
Chapter 8 Eclipse Trips - The Real Experience ................. 101
Some Unique Individuals .................................... 103
Some Unique Countries ...................................... 105
Cruising Along ............................................. 109
Buses and Bus Drivers ...................................... 110
Dehydrate or Risk Your Bladder Bursting? ................... 1ll
Chapter 9 Checklists and Travel Plans ......................... 113
The Big Day ................................................ 113
If It Can Go Wrong ......................................... 115
Baggage Allowance .......................................... 117
Checklists ................................................. 118
Chapter 10 Video, Sketch and Savour the View .................. 123
Sit Back and Enjoy the Spectacle ........................... 123
Camcorders ................................................. 126
Camcorder Science - Measuring the Solar Radius ............. 130
Chapter 11 DSLRs and Digital Eclipse Photography .............. 133
The New Digital Era ........................................ 134
Digital SLRs ............................................... 136
Focal Lengths, Fields of View and Resolution ............... 138
The Best Camera Lenses ..................................... 140
Refractors and Maksutovs ................................... 143
Capturing the Corona ....................................... 147
Older Corona Techniques .................................... 151
Practical Coronal Processing ............................... 153
Exposure Times ............................................. 157
Multi-Sun Exposures ........................................ 160
Capturing the Shadow with a Fish-Eye Lens .................. 161
Flash Spectrum Photography ................................. 162
Automating the Photography ................................. 164
Commercial/Freeware Solutions .............................. 165
Custom Solutions ........................................... 166
Simply Making Life Easier .................................. 168
Daytime Polar Alignment .................................... 173
Chapter 12 Some Very Keen Eclipse Chasers ..................... 175
Keenest of the Keen ........................................ 176
Umbraphile Recluses? ....................................... 179
British Eclipse Chasers .................................... 182
Chapter 13 The H-Alpha Revolution ............................. 187
H-Alpha Viewing ............................................ 187
Complex Technology ......................................... 188
H-Alpha Imaging ............................................ 190
Appendix
Useful Eclipse Websites, Software and Books ................ 195
General Eclipse Chaser Sites ............................... 195
Travel Companies Specialising in Eclipse Travel ............ 195
Eclipse Prediction/Camera Software ......................... 196
Camera Adaptors ............................................ 196
Solar Filters .............................................. 196
Miscellaneous .............................................. 196
Eclipse Paintings .......................................... 196
Bibliography .................................................. 197
Index ......................................................... 199
|
