Fred Espenak

Last updated

Fred Espenak
Espenak.jpg
Fred Espenak in 2017
Born (1953-08-01) August 1, 1953 (age 70)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation Astrophysicist
Years active1978–2009 [1]
SpousePatricia Totten
Website mreclipse.com

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]

Contents

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 ]

Espenak with his solar telescope Dr. Fred Espenak (3724033305).jpg
Espenak with his solar telescope

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 starting in 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 astrophotography. Astronomical photographs taken by Espenak have been published in National Geographic , Newsweek , Nature , New Scientist , and Ciel et Espace  [ fr ] 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]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar eclipse</span> Astronomical event

A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth's orbit.

Jean Meeus is a Belgian meteorologist and amateur astronomer specializing in celestial mechanics, spherical astronomy, and mathematical astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of March 29, 2006</span> Total eclipse

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of November 23, 2003</span> Total eclipse

A total solar eclipse took place on Sunday, November 23, 2003, with a magnitude of 1.0379. 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 corridor in the Antarctic region. A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including the southern tip of South America and most of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of June 21, 2001</span> Total eclipse

A total solar eclipse took place on June 21, 2001, with a magnitude of 1.0495. It was the first solar eclipse of the 21st century. 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. Occurring 2.2 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse</span> Natural phenomenon wherein the Sun is obscured by the Moon

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season in its new moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of 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. Unlike a lunar eclipse, which may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth, a solar eclipse can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world. As such, although total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every 18 months on average, they recur at any given place only once every 360 to 410 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July 2000 lunar eclipse</span> Central lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse took place on Sunday 16 July 2000, the second of two total lunar eclipses in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2016 lunar eclipse</span> Extremely short lunar eclipse

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 took place on Tuesday, July 6, 1982, the second of three total lunar eclipses in 1982, and the only one that was in the descending node. A dramatic total eclipse lasting 1 hour and 46 minutes plunged the full Moon into deep darkness, as it passed right through the centre of the Earth's umbral shadow. While the visual effect of a total eclipse is variable, the Moon may have been stained a deep orange or red colour at maximum eclipse. This was a great spectacle for everyone who saw it. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 56 minutes in total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016</span> Total eclipse

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 8 (Tuesday) and elsewhere on March 9 (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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May 2069 lunar eclipse</span> Central lunar eclipse

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of December 25, 2000</span> 20th-century partial solar eclipse

A partial solar eclipse occurred on December 25, 2000, also known as the "Christmas 2000 Solar Eclipse". 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 partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth. It is also the last solar eclipse of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of February 26, 1998</span> Total eclipse

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of the orbit on Thursday, February 26, 1998. 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 in the Galápagos Islands, Panama, Colombia, the Paraguaná Peninsula in northwestern Venezuela, all of Aruba, most of Curaçao and the northwestern tip of Bonaire, all of Montserrat, Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of April 30, 2060</span> Total eclipse

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of May 22, 2096</span> Total eclipse

A total solar eclipse will occur on Monday and Tuesday, May 21–22, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of February 14, 1934</span> Total eclipse

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 the South Seas Mandate of Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of 22 July 2028</span> Total eclipse

A total solar eclipse will occur on Saturday, 22 July 2028. The central line of the path of the eclipse will cross the Australian continent from the Kimberley region in the north-west and continue in a south-easterly direction through Western Australia, the Northern Territory, south-west Queensland and New South Wales, close to the towns of Wyndham, Kununurra, Tennant Creek, Birdsville, Bourke and Dubbo, and continuing on through the centre of Sydney, where the eclipse will have a duration of over three minutes. It will also cross Queenstown and Dunedin, New Zealand. Totality will also be viewable from two of Australia's external territories: Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of August 3, 2073</span> Total eclipse

A total solar eclipse will occur on Thursday, August 3, 2073. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of August 15, 2091</span> Total eclipse

A total solar eclipse will occur on August 15, 2091. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar eclipse of June 22, 2085</span> Future annular solar eclipse

An annular solar eclipse will occur on June 22, 2085. 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. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "NASA's 'Mr. Eclipse' Retires but Still Chasing Shadows". NASA. 20 September 2009. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Bio – Fred Espenak". Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "TWAN Bio for Fred Espenak". Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000" . Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000" . Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Thousand Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1501 to 2500" . Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500" . Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "21st Century Canon of Solar Eclipses" . Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Fred Espenak". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mr Eclipse" . Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Joyce Lee and Spencer Bakalar, “He Met His True Love While Chasing Eclipses. Now They Chase Them Together”, “Time”, August 17, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.