Eclipse Chasers

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By: Nick Lomb, Toner Stevenson

eBook - March 2023 - eRetailers

Discover the drama and beauty of total solar eclipses, the science and their fascinating history.

Witnessing a total solar eclipse is a wondrous and unforgettable event! + Full description

Eclipse Chasers is a guide to past and future Australian total solar eclipses, exploring historical and cultural knowledge, as well as featuring five upcoming eclipses that will be visible in Australia.

The science of eclipses is explained, as well as how to prepare for an eclipse and view it safely. For upcoming eclipses the best locations to view each one are revealed, alongside tips for taking photographs.

The book also reveals untold stories of how past Australian astronomers observed the total eclipses that have occurred since European settlement, and how these eclipses were celebrated in popular culture, poetry and art. It explores the great significance of solar eclipses for First Nations peoples, and their observations and cultural meanings.

Eclipse Chasers showcases the drama and beauty of total solar eclipses and is essential for anyone fascinated by these amazing events.

- Short description

News

Read more on our blog:
Discover the drama and beauty of total solar eclipses in Eclipse Chasers and get chasing yourself with the next eclipse coming in April 2023: Eclipse Chasers: It’s time to get chasing

Recent and Upcoming Total Solar Eclipses in Australia:

April 2023
July 2028
November 2030
July 2037
December 2038

Reviews

"This is an attractive and an attractively priced thoroughly readable book, and will be enjoyed by all eclipse chasers"
Professor Wayne Orchiston, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage 26(1), March 2023

"This fascinating book takes us behind the scenes for the solar eclipse observations by professionals, amateurs, and tourists in Australia for the last 100 years or so. It also prepares the reader for the forthcoming total eclipses visible from Australia, starting with 2023 and 2028. It explains the eclipse observations to be made and why. It even has a couple of pages of recommended activities for teachers to arrange. Everybody in Australia and those world citizens interested in solar eclipses should have a copy."
Jay Pasachoff; Chair, International Astronomical Union Working Group on Eclipses; Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy, Williams College, USA; A veteran of at least 36 total eclipses and 75 partial eclipses as you read this.

"Eclipse Chasers is an intriguing book about eclipses providing great insight to what an eclipse is as well as tips on how to become an eclipse chaser.
What this book does is remind the read that there is much more to what’s happening in the skies above, it’s asking you to be aware of your surroundings, the stillness, the darkness, and the chance to see 'the diamond ring' in the sky."
Deanne Fitzgerald, Western Australian Museum, 11 October 2022

"An excellent read with a wonderful balance between the complexity of technology and the complexity of people."
Southern Astronomical Society, January 2023

"There will be five total eclipses over Australia between 2023 and 2035, and this book will enable you to discuss, observe, understand, and worry about them."
Cosmos, January 2023

"Umbraphiles who are planning an eclipse trip to this extraordinary part of the world will enjoy this book, I am sure. Historians of astronomy will find a lot to interest them, too."
Mike Frost, British Astronomical Association, April 2023

Details

Paperback | March 2023 | $ 39.99
ISBN: 9781486317073 | 216 pages | 234 x 152 mm
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
B&W photographs, Colour photographs, Illustrations, Maps

ePDF | March 2023
ISBN: 9781486317080
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

ePUB | March 2023
ISBN: 9781486317097
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

Features

An easy-to-understand guide to the science of a solar eclipse.
Reveals inspiring stories about total eclipses in Australia, including stories of women and their often-unacknowledged involvement in science.
Features First Nations observations and cultural meanings of total solar eclipses from a First Nations Elder and cultural astronomy expert.
Includes locations and times to safely view a series of total solar eclipses coming up over the next two decades in Australia: April 2023, July 2028, Nov 2030, July 2037 and December 2038.
Includes advice on total solar eclipse photography.
With a Foreword by Fred Watson, AM.
The book includes information for teachers, and free downloadable Teacher Notes have been developed to support the use of the book in the classroom.

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Preface
About the authors and contributors
Cultural sensitivity warning

1: Why observe eclipses?
2: Solar eclipses in First Nations traditions
3: Early advances in observing eclipses
4: Tracking the Sun with mirrors
5: Proving Einstein’s general theory of relativity
6: Viewing eclipses from land and air
7: Chasing eclipses
8: Planning an eclipse adventure

Glossary
Index

View the full table of contents (PDF, 187 KB)

Authors

Astronomy Professor Dr Nick Lomb has guided Australians in all things astronomical for decades. Nick was the Powerhouse Museum/Sydney Observatory Astronomy curator for 30 years, and is the author of the annual Australasian Sky Guide.

Dr Toner Stevenson is an honorary History affiliate at the University of Sydney, and has over 30 years’ experience working in museums and heritage sites in Australia and the UK.

Contributors:
Nick Lomb, Toner Stevenson, Duane Hamacher, Uncle Ghillar Michael Anderson, Melissa Hulbert, Kirsten Banks, Geoffrey Wyatt.