ABSTRACT

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 70-mile-wide path of totality, the Moon will completely cover the Sun’s disk as the landscape is plunged into an eerie twilight, and the solar corona is revealed to naked eye observers for over 2 minutes. A preview of this highly anticipated event will feature maps, photos and weather prospects along the eclipse path based on the speaker’s recent book on the subject. Mr. Espenak will also share some of his eclipse experiences with us through photos and video.

About the Speaker:

Fred Espenak is a retired astrophysicist from the Planetary Systems Branch of Goddard Space Flight Center. His work at Goddard involved infrared spectrometers and the development of radiative transfer software to probe the atmospheres of the planets.

In parallel to this work, he also created the NASA Eclipse Web Site where he posted predictions on every solar and lunar eclipse from 2000 BCE to 3000 CE. He published more than a dozen NASA reference publications each one focusing on a specific upcoming eclipse.

First captivated by a total eclipse in 1970, he has participated in 27 eclipse expeditions taking him to every continent. During this time he has perfected high dynamic range imaging techniques to capture both the fine structure detail and the beauty of the solar corona.

Known popularly as "Mr. Eclipse”, he was honored by the IAU in 2003 when asteroid 14120 was named “Espenak.”