Materials for General or Scientific Audiences

Side by side images, taken from a book, show from the beginning and end of an 1860 eclipse show the dark outline of the moon covering the sun. Each image has a ring where the diffuse glow of the solar corona and the brighter spots of solar prominences extend beyond the coverage of the moon. — Brooks, Vincent, lith. *Appearance of phenomena immediately after the beginning of totality; Appearance of phenomena immediately previous to the end of totality*. 1862. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division

The materials listed among the general resources in this guide are divided into several sections by subject in the tabs below:

This guide is an overview of the resources available on the subject of solar eclipses. If you have additional questions about this topic, please Ask a Librarian.

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content, including full digitized books, are included when available. Specific chapters focusing on this topic are noted in the citations.

In the Shadow of the Moon by Anthony Aveni
Call Number: QB541 .A84 2017 CABIN BRANCH
ISBN: 9780300223194
Published/Created: 2017
This work discusses eclipses in history with a section on ancient eclipses as well as several chapters on specific more recent eclipses. The work sets itself apart from others, however, with accessible chapters on the significance of eclipses in cartography and timekeeping, and on zoological observations made during eclipses. It includes chapter notes with bibliographic citations and an index.
Eclipse: History. Science. Awe. by Bryan Brewer
Call Number: QB541 .B74 2017 CABIN BRANCH
ISBN: 9780932898173
Published/Created: 2017
Brewer includes a good deal of historical information, illuminative illustrations and diagrams, references and an index in his overview of eclipses. This third edition has been updated to reference the August 2017 solar eclipse, whereas the previous, second edition focused on that of July 1991.
Eclipse: Journeys to the Dark Side of the Moon by Frank Close
Call Number: QB541 .C56 2017 CABIN BRANCH
ISBN: 9780198795490
Published/Created: 2017
Close presents his personal experiences and observations of eclipses along with his recommendations for viewing the 2017 eclipse. The author is a particle physicist and enthusiastic eclipse chaser, but not an astronomer, which gives his account a different perspective than others. The work includes an index, but no more than brief mentions of eclipses post-2017.
Einstein and the Total Eclipse by Peter Coles
Call Number: QC173.57 .C65 1999 LANDOVR
ISBN: 184046089X
Published/Created: 1999
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity predicts that the space around large bodies such as our sun is curved, and that as a result starlight will bend near the sun. This small work describes how scientists were able to use the opportunity provided by the obscuring of the sun during an eclipse to view the displacement of stars which would otherwise be obscured by the light of the sun. Suggestions for further reading are provided.
Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses, 1986-2035 by Fred Espenak
Call Number: QB542.5 .E87 1987 LANDOVR
Published/Created: 1987
Fred Espenak, a now retired astrophysicist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, performed the calculations to predict eclipses out to at least the year 3000. Here he provides tables of data and maps of eclipse paths for interested observers for eclipses through 2035. An electronic version of this document is available at NASA Eclipse Website.
Total Eclipses: Science, Observations, Myths, and Legends by Serge Koutchmy; Pierre Guillermier
Call Number: QB541 .G85 1999 FT MEADE
ISBN: 1852331607
Published/Created: 1999
This interesting book contains a good deal of information about eclipses and eclipse observations, especially in the twentieth century. It briefly describes observations made by scientists on airplanes, including one in which one of the authors had the opportunity to observe totality for 74 minutes -- by observing from a supersonic Concorde aircraft. The guide contains a bibliography, an index and even a brief computer program, written in BASIC, which calculates eclipse dates.
Babylonian Eclipse Observations from 750 BC to 1 BC by Peter J. Huber, Salvo De Meis
Call Number: QB19 .H83 2004 LANDOVR
ISBN: 8884832136
Published/Created: 2004
Eclipse observations and predictions have fascinated people for thousands of years. This book discusses those made by ancient Babylonians and includes tables and diagrams describing eclipses between 750 BC and 1 BC with observations and predictions drawn from ancient source material.
David Levy's Guide to Eclipses, Transits, and Occultations by David H. Levy
Call Number: QB175 .L48 2010
ISBN: 9780521165518
Published/Created: 2010
Levy’s succinct guide gives an overview of solar eclipses and how to observe them. The author uses his own observations to discuss lunar eclipses, occultations, (when our moon passes in front of a planet or star) and transits, (when a planet crosses the face of the sun or a moon crosses the face of one of the planets). The book includes an index.
Totality: The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024 by Mark Littmann; Fred Espenak
Call Number: QB541 .L694 2017 CABIN BRANCH
ISBN: 9780198795698
Published/Created: 2017
This book, by a respected science author and a renowned authority on eclipses, gives a balanced overview of the science of eclipses and the history behind eclipse observations, before going into detail about observing and photographing the eclipse. Chapters discuss in detail where the eclipse of 2017 was predicted to be visible, and then briefly describe eclipses between 2018 and 2023, before going into detail again over the predicted path for the 2024 eclipse, where the path of totality will once again cross North America. Charts and tables detail upcoming and past eclipses, and there is a bibliography and an index.
The Sun in Eclipse by Michael Maunder; Patrick Moore
Call Number: QB175 .M45 1998 LANDOVR
ISBN: 3540761462
Published/Created: 1997
This Practical Astronomy series title was written in anticipation of a 1999 eclipse visible over Cornwall, UK, the only eclipse visible in the UK between 1927 and 2090. In addition to a guide as to where to view this eclipse, it contains information on eclipses in general, a chapter on “Eclipse Mishaps and Oddities” and an index.
Canon of Solar Eclipses by Jean Meeus, Carl C. Grosjean and Willy Vanderleen
Call Number: QB541 .M4 1966 FT MEADE
Published/Created: [1966]
In 1887, Professor Theodor Ritter von Oppolzer published the Canon der finsternisse External, or Canon of Eclipses. This work laid out, in a series of tables and maps, the predicted dates, times, locations, durations and characteristics of upcoming eclipses that would occur over the next six hundred years. Meeus, Grosjean and Vanderleen, benefiting from 80 years of refinement of the theories of the motion of the Sun and the Moon, and from early computers, corrected errors in Oppolzer’s work and republished the work in English, covering eclipses from July 1898 to March 2510.
Eclipses of the Sun by Samuel A. Mitchell
Call Number: QB541 .M5 1969
ISBN: 0837119820
Published/Created: [1969, c1951]
Dr. Samuel Alfred Mitchell (1874-1960), the Director of the Leander McCormick Observatory of the University of Virginia, was one of the foremost eclipse experts of the early twentieth century, participating or leading ten expeditions to observe and study eclipses between 1900 and 1937. Dr. Mitchell first wrote Eclipses of the sun, discussing his research in areas such as spectral imaging of the corona in 1923, then updated and republished it four more times, culminating in a 5th edition in 1951. The Library owns several editions of this title under the call number QB541 .M5 as well as several of Mitchell’s other works under Mitchell, S. A. (Samuel Alfred), 1874-1960.
Chasing Shadows: Mathematics, Astronomy, and the Early History of Eclipse Reckoning by Clemency Montelle
Call Number: QB175 .M65 2011 CABIN BRANCH
ISBN: 9780801896910
Published/Created: 2011
This book discusses ancient Mesopotamian, Greek, Indian and Arabic methods of eclipse prediction and the progression of eclipse science and astronomy through time. The work requires knowledge of geometry and mathematical astronomy to fully appreciate, but contains material for those interested in the history of eclipse science as well, a bibliography and an index.
Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses, from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets by Tyler Nordgren
Call Number: QB541 .N67 2016
ISBN: 9780465060924
Published/Created: 2016
Nordgren discusses the history of eclipse observations in this accessible work. While ancient observations are discussed, the chapters on more recent historical observations and how they fit into the broader worlds of astronomy and theoretical physics do more to set the book apart. The author also discusses his own eclipse observations and briefly describes the path of the 2017 eclipse, which, at the time of publication, was still upcoming. He briefly mentions several upcoming eclipses that may be of interest and includes a page of additional resources and an index.
Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon that Changed the Course of History by Duncan Steel; Paul Davies
Call Number: QB541 .S65 2001 FT MEADE
ISBN: 030907438X
Published/Created: 2001
This book gives an account of history and science related to eclipses, interspersing both to create a more unified account. The book describes ancient experiences with eclipses and includes a generic guide to viewing eclipses, but is set apart by accessible chapters on American historical eclipse observations and lesser known eclipse phenomena, such as occultations and transits. The book includes an index.
Observations and Predictions of Eclipse Times by Early Astronomers by John M. Steele
Call Number: QB175 .S83 2000 LANDOVR
ISBN: 0792362985
Published/Created: 2000
The author documents and discusses eclipse records from Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome, the Islamic Near-East, Medieval and Early Renaissance Europe, China and Japan from prior to around 1600 AD when the invention of the telescope began to make records more precise. The work contains an extensive list of resources and subject and source indices, which make it of interest to any researching historical reports of eclipses.
Celestial Shadows: Eclipses, Transits, and Occultations by John Westfall; William Sheehan
Call Number: QB175 .W45 2015 OVERFLOWJ34
ISBN: 9781493915347
Published/Created: 2014
Westfall and Sheehan broadly cover both lunar and solar eclipses, focusing on relevant history and science but providing some information on making observations and upcoming eclipses. The authors also cover eclipses elsewhere in the solar system, and transits and occultations, similar phenomena in which one astronomical body passes between the observer and a second body. They go into particular detail in describing the events surrounding transits of Venus across the face of the sun, as various instances of that transit have inspired a number of expeditions to distant parts of the globe. The authors provide extensive references as well as recommendations of additional resources and an index.
Total Eclipses of the Sun by Jack B. Zirker
Call Number: QB541 .Z57 1995 FT MEADE
ISBN: 0691029520
Published/Created: 1995
After a few chapters of background material, this title focuses on the scientific work done by eclipse-observing researchers in the decades prior to the book's publication. Individual chapters end with references for further reading.

The Sun by David Alexander
Call Number: QB521.4 .A44 2009 FT MEADE
ISBN: 9780313340772
Published/Created: 2009
Alexander briefly discusses cultural history associated with the sun, but then focuses on scientific topics related to the sun, including magnetism, sunspots, the solar atmosphere, solar wind, solar storms and space weather. Individual chapters conclude with recommendations for further reading and short lists of relevant websites and the work itself contains an index and an annotated bibliography.
Myths, Symbols and Legends of Solar System Bodies by Rachel Alexander
Call Number: QB501.2 .A44 2014 CABIN BRANCH
ISBN: 9781461470663
Published/Created: 2014
This Practical Astronomy series entry covers beliefs, folklore and symbolism regarding the major solar system bodies from cultures all over the world. Chapters cover the sun, the earth and the moon as well as each of the other planets of the solar system. The entry concludes with a bibliography and index.
Our Explosive Sun: A Visual Feast of Our Source of Light and Life by Pal Brekke
Call Number: QB521 .B827 2012 OVERFLOWJ34
ISBN: 9781461405702
Published/Created: 2011
Brekke, writing for a lay audience, explains the science behind the sun and space weather. The book includes a number of simple experiments that can be used with included visuals to illustrate various scientific concepts, accessible explanations of some of the ongoing research on the sun, a list of useful resources and an index.
Our Sun: Biography of a Star by Christopher Cooper; Madhulika Guhathakurta (Preface by); David Spergel (Foreword by)
Call Number: QB521.4 .C66 2013
ISBN: 9781937994198
Published/Created: 2013
This well-illustrated “biography” discusses the history of and the basic science behind the sun, along with observers and the scientists who have studied it. It recounts the significance of the sun to the evolution of humanity and human culture.
The Planets by Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff
Call Number: QB601 .C683 2014
ISBN: 1465424644
Published/Created: 2014
Thoroughly eye-catching, this visual guide to the solar system includes information on the sun and the moon in addition to the planets. It includes information on missions to both bodies arranged graphically as well as a page on solar eclipses.
The Sun, the Earth, and Near-Earth Space: A Guide to the Sun-Earth System by John A. Eddy; National Aeronautics and Space Administration Staff (Compiled by)
Call Number: QB539.T4 E339 2009 FT MEADE
ISBN: 9780160838071
Published/Created: 2009
This work discusses the sun, the solar wind and solar variability and their changing effects on the earth, its atmosphere, climate and weather and on human life. It lists several sources for further information and includes an index.
The Solar Corona by Leon Golub; Jay M. Pasachoff
Call Number: QB529 .G65 2010
ISBN: 9780521882019
Published/Created: 2009
In this graduate student level work, the authors discuss the physics of the corona, an outer region of the sun. Phenomena in this region affect the Earth in the form of space weather. Light from the corona is normally obscured by much brighter light from deeper within the sun. During an eclipse, however, the moon obscures the brighter light and the corona briefly becomes visible. Thus, prior to the development of the coronagraph, eclipse observations were used to study the corona. This volume discusses those observations and includes an index and list of resources.
The Book of the Moon by Rick Stroud
Call Number: QB581.9 .S77 2009b LANDOVR
ISBN: 9780385613866
Published/Created: 2009
Stroud creates a diverse collection of often-esoteric facts on various subjects related to the moon. Subjects covered range from basic scientific information and the history of lunar exploration to moon mapping, mythology, literary quotations and the occult. The book has a short bibliography and an index.
The Sun: A User's Manual by Claudio Vita-Finzi
Call Number: QB521 .V58 2008 FT MEADE
ISBN: 9781402068805
Published/Created: 2008
This short guide discusses the history of human involvement with the sun from ancient beliefs to modern satellite observations. Only briefly covering the mechanisms of the sun itself, the book discusses the sun’s effect on climate, life in general and human health. It concludes with short discussions of space weather and solar energy, references and an index.

The Sun and How to Observe It by Jamey L. Jenkins
Call Number: QB521 .J35 2009 FT MEADE
ISBN: 9780387094977
Published/Created: 2009
This guide for amateur astronomers details how to observe the sun via telescope. It is divided into sections on observing the “white light sun” – viewing the sun as it would be seen with the human eye, and sections on the “monochromatic sun” – filtering the view to focus on a particular narrow wavelength of light. The author discusses what features might be seen under these conditions and includes a section on solar photography and an index.
Solar Observing Techniques by Chris Kitchin
Call Number: QB521 .K65 2001 LANDOVR
ISBN: 185233035X
Published/Created: 2001
A part of the Practical Astronomy series, this title discusses practical ways an amateur astronomer may use to view the sun and solar eclipses, most especially via telescope. The text covers several safety concerns as well as how to record observations and includes a bibliography and index.
Total Solar Eclipses and How to Observe Them by Martin Mobberley
Call Number: QB541 .M63 2007 FT MEADE
ISBN: 9780387698274
Published/Created: 2007
This book includes general information about eclipses, with more specific information for eclipses through 2028, as well as information on digital photography and useful websites, some of which are no longer quite up to date. However, what sets this book apart are the author’s advice and tips for eclipse chasing based on his own experiences, and his profiles of several of the more well-known eclipse chasers of recent times. The book includes an index and a list of resources.
The Cambridge Eclipse Photography Guide by Jay M. Pasachoff; Michael A. Covington
Call Number: QB121 .C69 1993 LANDOVR
ISBN: 0521456517
Published/Created: 1993
Much of the information in this guide is out of date as it only covers eclipses of the 1990s. However, it does include several vivid color images which illustrate the memorable sight of an eclipse and demonstrate the potential of eclipse photography.
Sun Observer's Guide by Pam Spence
Call Number: QB521 .S675 2004 FT MEADE
ISBN: 1552979415
Published/Created: 2004
Meant for amateur sun observers, this guide includes a special section on analyzing observations along with sections on solar eclipses and professional astronomy, a reference list and an index.
New Eyes on the Sun: A Guide to Satellite Images and Amateur Observation by John Wilkinson
Call Number: QB521.4 .W55 2012 OVERFLOWA5S
ISBN: 9783642228384
Published/Created: 2012
This guide describes the science behind various features of the sun. Some of the focuses of this work are the use of the Hydrogen alpha telescope, a telescope which allows amateur viewing of a particular wavelength of light in which solar prominences appear distinctly, and satellite imagery. To that end, the work goes into more detail about the various probes and satellites imaging the sun and where information from them can be found. The book includes an index.

American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World by David Baron
Call Number: Q127.U6 B2755 2017 CABIN BRANCH
ISBN: 9781631490163
Published/Created: 2017
In a portrait of historical eclipse chasing, Baron tells the story of the “American Eclipse” of 1878, and of the various expeditions which travelled into the mountain west to view it, led by scientific luminaries of the time, such as Thomas Edison and Maria Mitchell. The book contains a select bibliography, which includes references drawn from the Manuscript Collections of the Library of Congress, and an index.
Empire and the Sun: Victorian Solar Eclipse Expeditions by Alex Soojung Kim Pang
Call Number: QB541 .P36 2002 FT MEADE
ISBN: 0804739250
Published/Created: 2002
This work examines the records of eclipse expeditions undertaken from Britain during the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, mostly by the Royal Society, Royal Astronomical Society, or both together. It draws upon detailed records to describe eclipse chasing and the practice’s place in astronomy and Victorian science in general. The book includes an index.

Observations from both expeditions to distant lands and those astronomers fortunate enough to view an eclipse closer to home have been compiled in observation reports, detailing what was seen. The Library of Congress collections include many of these reports. The following are examples from the larger collection:

Total Solar Eclipse of June 19, 1936: Report of Soviet Expeditions by Academy of Sciences of USSR ; [editor-in-chief S.J. Beljavsky]
Call Number: QB544.36 .A52
Published/Created: 1939-1941
The Academy of Sciences of the USSR formed an Eclipse Committee which coordinated 28 expeditions from various Soviet institutions and an education campaign for the June 1936 eclipse. This report details some of the observations made and includes photographs and a number of academic papers derived from observations of the eclipse.
Eclipse Meteorology and Allied Problems ... by Frank H. Bigelow
Call Number: QB544.OO B6
Published/Created: 1902
United States Weather Bureau personnel accompanied an expedition to Newberry, SC to view a solar eclipse on May 28, 1900. They monitored the weather conditions as the eclipse passed overhead and noted any variations. They combined their observations with those from numerous weather stations along the path of totality and produced a report on their observations, methods and findings. Available online from HathiTrust External
Observations of the Total Solar Eclipse of January 24, 1925 by Electric companies affiliated with the Consolidated Gas Company of New York.
Call Number: QB544.25C6
Published/Created: [c1925]
During the solar eclipse of January 24, 1925, the path of totality passed over New York City. The southern edge of the path of totality was predicted to pass over the center of Central Park. Observers from the New York Edison Company lined up atop buildings facing the Hudson River to determine the actual southern edge of the path and the accuracy of the prediction. In the meantime, the Edison Company and other local power companies monitored the electrical grid to examine the eclipse’s effect on the electrical load. The observations on both issues were summed up in this report.
Report of the South Australian Expedition to Observe the Total Solar Eclipse of September 21st, 1922, at Cordillo Downs, in the Far North-East of South Australia by G. F. Dodwell and Kerr Grant
Call Number: QB544.22 .D63
Published/Created: 1926
The September 1922 eclipse was viewed by teams of observers spread across Australia and at Christmas Island. One team journeyed by camel to a sheep station in the South Australian Outback to see the eclipse and subsequently submitted this report.
Chasing Eclipses; The Total Solar Eclipses of 1905, 1914, 1925 by Rebecca R. Joslin
Call Number: QB541 .J6
Published/Created: [c1929]
An interesting travelogue, this is the account of the author’s attempts, having been inspired by a 1900 eclipse, to see another as well as an example of some of the pitfalls that might waylay an expedition. The author travels from Boston to Spain for a 1905 eclipse, only to be stymied by a cloud passing overhead at the wrong moment. A trip to view a 1914 eclipse in Norway is derailed by the sudden outbreak of World War One. After all of that, the author is finally able to view the 1925 New York eclipse from Norwalk, Connecticut, not far from her Massachusetts home.
The Indian Eclipse, 1898: Report of the Expeditions Organized by the British Astronomical Association to Observe the Total Solar Eclipse of 1898 January 22 by E. Walter Maunder, editor
Call Number: QB543.98 I53 1899
Published/Created: 1899
This book details the preparations, observations, experiments and conclusions of one of the Victorian eclipse expeditions, compiled and published by one of the participants. The book includes contributions from several female members of the expedition, marking their contributions and is illustrated with photographs, sketches, diagrams and spectrographic images. It includes an index. Available online from HathiTrust External.
National Geographic Society - U.S. Navy Solar Eclipse Expedition of 1937 to Canton Island by National Geographic Society (U.S.)
Call Number: QB544.37N3
Published/Created: 1939
Totality in the solar eclipse of June 1937 occurred along a path across the Pacific Ocean with few suitable observation points. The National Geographic Society, however, managed to arrange transportation and support from the U.S. Navy for an expedition to Canton Island, a remote atoll in what is now Kiribati. After their return, the society published a technical paper sharing their observations, complete with photographs, and reprints of relevant articles produced for National Geographic Magazine.
Eclipse Over Siberia: A Russian Odyssey to the July 31, 1981 Total Solar Eclipse by Ernest W. Piini
Call Number: QB544.81 .P55 1983 LANDOVR
Published/Created: c1983
A group of eclipse chasers and amateur astronomers travelled to what was then the Soviet Union, visiting a variety of historical sites and attractions. Observing the July 1981 eclipse from near Bratsk, in Siberia, they deployed several home-built experiments and made observations. The author then wrote this work to document both the trip and the eclipse.

The Story of Eclipses Simply Told for General Readers, with Especial Reference to the Total Eclipse of the Sun of May 28, 1900 by By George F. Chambers
Call Number: QB541 .C44
Published/Created: 1900
The majority of this book consists of a guide to the history of eclipses in general, though the book does include chapters on biblical allusions to eclipses and “strange eclipse customs.” The appendices, however, do contain information on viewing the eclipse of May 28, 1900. Interestingly the English author included only viewing information for Portugal and Spain. Though the eclipse was also visible from New Orleans to Norfolk, and the book published in New York, the publisher simply inserted a note referring Americans to “the Director of the National Observatory at Washington.” The book includes an index. Available at HathiTrustExternal.
Southern Africa's 2002 Eclipse: The Day the Moon Ate the Sun by Kim Curtis, Brian Jones
Call Number: QB545.02 .C87 2002
Published/Created: 2002
This guide describes a then-upcoming eclipse that was visible in southern Africa on December 4, 2002 with totality occurring along a path from Angola, roughly down the border of Botswana and Zimbabwe, through the northeastern corner of South Africa to Mozambique.
Darkness at Noon; Or, the Great Solar Eclipse, of the 16th of June, 1806, Described and Represented in Every Particular.
Call Number: QB543.O6 D3
Published/Created: May, 1806
An example of older eclipse literature, this guide was published, according to the author, hastily, at the suggestion of a gentlemen of the author’s acquaintance, to describe an upcoming eclipse. It contains a description of what a viewer should see in Boston and the surrounding area during the eclipse of June 1806, advice about how to observe the eclipse, an explanation of eclipses complete with a suggested demonstration using a ball on a string and a candle, brief mentions of several upcoming eclipses and a list of significant eclipses in history.
Eclipse Total de Sol en México, 1991 by Julieta Fierro Gossman, Jesús Galindo Trejo, Daniel Flores Gutiérrez
Call Number: QB544.91 .F54 1991 LANDOVR
ISBN: 9683617611
Published/Created: 1991
This Spanish language guide discusses eclipses in the context of an eclipse that was predicted to occur on July 11, 1991. Although during that eclipse totality was visible along a line from Hawaii, through central Mexico and down into Brazil, the guide only discusses viewing locations and likely weather conditions in Mexico.
Solar Eclipse of June 30, 1973: General Information by Mauritania Secrétariat Général à l'Artisanat et au Tourisme
Call Number: QB544.73 .M38 1973 LANDOVR
Published/Created: [1972 or 3]
This brief guide describes the conditions in Mauritania ahead of a six minute June 1973 eclipse. It was intended for international travelers rather than locals.
Observations to Accompany the Map of the Shadow-Path Thrown by the Total Eclipse of the Sun on the 18 July, 1860 by Charles [Blacker] Vignoles
Call Number: QB543.60V
Published/Created: 1860
This English language travel guide was written to accompany a map identifying locations in Spain where a July 1860 eclipse would be visible. It includes tips on specific locations as well as appendices with memoirs of previous eclipses drawn from the Royal Astronomical Society and instructions on viewing the eclipse from the Royal Astronomer.

The 2017 edition of Totality: eclipses of the sun is listed under the Eclipse tab. However, the first edition of the guide was produced by Mark Littman and Ken Willcox for a July 1991 eclipse where the path of totality passed directly over the Big Island of Hawaii, then crossed Mexico, continued down Central America through Colombia and into Brazil. Fred Espenak was added as a contributer for the second edition, which was released in conjunction with a 1999 eclipse that crossed Europe, the Middle East and India. The third edition, out in 2008, added new chapters on eclipses between 2008 and 2010 as well as a chapter on the 2017 “All-American” eclipse. It was followed, in 2009, by an “updated” third edition which pulled the chapter on a now-passed 2008 eclipse for one covering 2012 to 2016. If one is curious to trace the modern practice of eclipse chasing, examining these evolving versions of Totality may prove interesting.

Totality: Eclipses of the Sun by Mark Littmann; Ken Willcox
Call Number: QB541 .L69 1991 FT MEADE
ISBN: 0824813715
Published/Created: 1991
Totality: Eclipses of the Sun by Mark Littmann; Fred Willcox; Fred Espenak; Ken Willcox
Call Number: QB541 .L69 1999 LANDOVR
ISBN: 0195131789
Published/Created: 1999
Totality: Eclipses of the Sun by Mark Littmann; Ken Willcox; Fred Espenak
Call Number: QB541 .L69 2008 LANDOVR
ISBN: 0199532095
Published/Created: 2008
Totality: Eclipses of Sun: Updated with Guides to Total Eclipses from 2009 through 2017 by Mark Littmann; Fred Espenak; Ken Willcox
Call Number: QB541 .L69 2009 FT MEADE
ISBN: 9780199565528
Published/Created: 2009

Bibliographies focused on Solar Eclipses

American Journal of Physics
Call Number: QC1 .A47
Resource Letter OSE-1: Observing Solar Eclipses. Jay M. Pasachoff & Andrew Fraknoi. American Journal of Physics. v. 85 (7), July 2017: 485-494.
Article text is available at: https://sites.williams.edu/iau-eclipses/files/2012/01/pdf_archive_AJPIAS_vol_85_iss_7_485_1.pdf External. [PDF format: 4.2MB / 10 pp.]

Pasachoff and Fraknoi list almost 150 resources, some focused on the 2017 eclipse, but many on eclipses in general. They include links to materials for educators, librarians, children and citizen scientists. Material on solar science appears, as do links to videos, podcasts, and maps. References include both recent and older books.

Solar Eclipses: A Reference Guide

Science & Technical Reports: Ask a Librarian

Materials for General or Scientific Audiences

Bibliographies focused on Solar Eclipses