Fred Espenak | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Astrophysicist |
Years active | 1978–2009 [1] |
Spouse(s) | Patricia Totten |
Website | mreclipse |
Fred Espenak is a retired [1] emeritus [2] American astrophysicist. He worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He is best known for his work on eclipse predictions. [3]
He became interested in astronomy when he was 7–8 years old, and had his first telescope when he was around 9–10 years old. [1] Espenak earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Wagner College, Staten Island, where he worked in the planetarium. His master's degree is from the University of Toledo, based on studies he did at Kitt Peak Observatory of eruptive and flare stars among red dwarfs.[ citation needed ]
He was employed at Goddard Space Flight Center, where he used infrared spectrometers to measure the atmospheres of planets in the Solar System. [3] He provided NASA's eclipse bulletins since 1978. He is the author of several canonical works on eclipse predictions, such as the Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986–2035 and Fifty Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses: 1986–2035, [1] both of which are standard references on eclipses. [3] The first eclipse he saw was the solar eclipse of March 7, 1970, which sparked his interest in eclipses, [3] and he has since seen over 20 eclipses. [1]
Together with Jean Meeus, he published the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses in 2006, which covers all types of solar eclipses (partial, total, annular, or hybrid) from 2000 BCE to AD 3000, [4] and the Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses in 2009, which lists all lunar eclipses (penumbral, partial, or total) in that time span. [5] Later, he published the more compact Thousand Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1501 to 2500, [6] the Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500, [7] and the 21st Century Canon of Solar Eclipses. [8] He is also a co-author (with Mark Littmann and Ken Willcoxof) of Totality: Eclipses of the Sun. [3]
He was the co-investigator of an atmospheric experiment flown on Space Shuttle Discovery. [9]
He is also known as "Mr. Eclipse." [10] He gives public lectures on eclipses and astrophotophy. Astronomical photographs taken by Espenak have been published in National Geographic , Newsweek , Nature , New Scientist , and Ciel et Espace magazines. [3]
He met Patricia Totten while in India in 1995. They married in 2006. [11]
He retired in 2009. [1] Asteroid 14120 Espenak was named in his honor in 2003. [3]
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned with Earth between the other two, which can happen only on the night of a full moon when the Moon is near either lunar node. The type and length of a lunar eclipse depend on the Moon's proximity to the lunar node.
Jean Meeus is a Belgian meteorologist and amateur astronomer specializing in celestial mechanics, spherical astronomy, and mathematical astronomy.
A total solar eclipse occurred on March 29, 2006. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. It was visible from a narrow corridor which traversed half the Earth. The magnitude, that is, the ratio between the apparent sizes of the Moon and that of the Sun, was 1.052, and it was part of Saros 139.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring Earth's view of the Sun, totally or partially. Such an alignment coincides with a new moon, indicating the Moon is closest to the plane of the Earth's orbit. In a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses, only part of the Sun is obscured.
A total lunar eclipse took place on Sunday 16 July 2000, the second of two total lunar eclipses in 2000.
A penumbral lunar eclipse took place on Thursday, 18 August 2016. It was the second of three lunar eclipses in 2016. This was 3.7 days before the Moon reached perigee. There are multiple ways to determine the boundaries of Earth's shadow, so this was a miss according to some sources. The HM National Almanac Office's online canon of eclipses lists this event as the last eclipse on Saros Series 109, while NASA lists August 8, 1998 as the last eclipse of the series, and has this event missing the shadow.
A total lunar eclipse will take place on May 26, 2040. The northern limb of the moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow. This is the second central lunar eclipse of Saros series 131.
A penumbral lunar eclipse will take place on Monday, March 25, 2024. It will be visible to the naked eye as 95.57% of the Moon will be immersed in Earth's penumbral shadow.
A total solar eclipse took place at the Moon's descending node of the orbit on March 8–9, 2016. If viewed from east of the International Date Line, the eclipse took place on March 8th (Tuesday) and elsewhere on March 9th (Wednesday). A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's and the apparent path of the Sun and Moon intersect, blocking all direct sunlight and turning daylight into darkness; the sun appears to be black with a halo around it. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. The eclipse of March 8–9, 2016 had a magnitude of 1.0450 visible across an area of Pacific Ocean, which started in the Indian Ocean, and ended in the northern Pacific Ocean.
A penumbral lunar eclipse will take place on June 15, 2049.
A total lunar eclipse will take place on January 1, 2048. It will be the first recorded lunar eclipse to be visible on New Year's Day. The next such eclipse will occur in 2094.
A partial lunar eclipse will take place on January 22, 2046.
A penumbral lunar eclipse will take place on March 3, 2045.
A partial lunar eclipse will take place on June 26, 2048. The Moon will be strikingly shadowed in this deep partial eclipse lasting 2 hours and 39 minutes, with 63.88% of the Moon in darkness at maximum.
A total lunar eclipse will take place on October 30, 2050.
A total lunar eclipse will take place on May 6, 2069. The eclipse will be a dark one with the southern tip of the moon passing through the center of the Earth's shadow. This is the first central eclipse of Saros series 132.
A total solar eclipse will occur on Friday, April 30, 2060. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide.
A total solar eclipse will occur on Tuesday, May 22, 2096. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. This will be the first eclipse of saros series 139 to exceed series 136 in length of totality. The length of totality for saros 139 is increasing, while that of Saros 136 is decreasing.
A total solar eclipse occurred on February 14, 1934. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality was visible from the Dutch East Indies, North Borneo, and South Pacific Mandate in Japan.
A total solar eclipse will occur on July 13, 2037. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality will pass through the centre of Brisbane and the Gold Coast.