Synopses & Reviews
Eclipses have captured attention and sparked curiosity about the cosmos since the first appearance of humankind. Having been blamed for everything from natural disasters to the fall of kings, they are now invaluable tools for understanding many celestial as well as terrestrial phenomena. This clear, easy-to-understand guide explains what causes total eclipses and how they can be used in experiments to examine everything from the dust between the planets to general relativity. A new chapter has been added on the eclipse of July 11, 1991 (the great Hawaiian eclipse).
Originally published in 1995.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Review
"A succinctly written, up-to-date summary of the scientific return from the eclipse experiment. The book is recommended for the advanced amateur and the professional astronomer."--Science
Review
"One of the most fascinating aspects of eclipse science is the opportunity to test a prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity. In his book Dr. Zirker gives one of the best introductions to these experiments we have ever seen."--Mercury
Synopsis
"Jack Zirker's work on eclipses is the prime book on the subject that everybody should read. His unique combination of knowledgeable discussion of the science along with anecdotes and description of the eclipse phenomena makes a book that is fun to read as well as educationally useful."
--Jay M. Pasachoff, Williams College
Table of Contents
| Preface to the Paperback Edition | |
| Preface | |
1 | Thirty Centuries of Eclipse Watching | 1 |
2 | Eclipses Explained | 28 |
3 | Time, Tide, and Gravity | 41 |
4 | The Chromosphere | 56 |
5 | The Solar Corona | 76 |
6 | Interplanetary Dust | 106 |
7 | The Earth's Atmosphere | 129 |
8 | Waves in the Earth's Atmosphere | 148 |
9 | A Test of General Relativity | 166 |
10 | "I Got Rhythm, You Got Rhythm" | 183 |
11 | Future Experiments: Is the Sun Shrinking? | 190 |
12 | The Great Hawaiian Eclipse | 197 |
| Postscript | 213 |
| Glossary | 215 |
| Index | 219 |