From Scientific American
An extraordinarily beautiful book, Glorious Eclipses guides us elegantly through the history of obscurations of the sun and moon - from the ancient Chinese belief that a dragon was devouring the daytime star through current theories and on to celestial events forthcoming in the next six decades. Some of the most startling images come from the days when photography was in its infancy and astronomers still made drawings of eclipses - the one at the right, by Warren de la Rue, is the solar eclipse of July 1860, observed from Spain. Published in time for June's eclipse across southern Africa, the book, by Brunier, former editor of the magazine Ciel et Espace, and Luminet, a research director at CNRS, is translated from the French.
Editors of Scientific American
Book Description
Stargazers who may have missed the last total solar eclipse of the 20th century this past summer have just been given another chance to observe this "once in a lifetime" occurrence. Inside Glorious Eclipses they will find startling images and rich personal accounts that fully capture this event and other recent eclipses. The book will also insure that readers will not miss another eclipse in the next 60 years! Specially designed in a beautiful, large format, the volume portrays eclipses of all kinds--lunar, solar, and those occurring elsewhere in the Solar System and beyond. Brunier and Luminet have gathered together all aspects of eclipses, and carefully selected a host of lavish images. The authors detail the history of eclipses, the celestial mechanics involved, their observation, and scientific interest. Personal accounts of recent eclipses are also included as well as all relevant information about forthcoming eclipses up to 2060. Complete with NASA maps and data, Glorious Eclipses is the ultimate source for all those interested in these remarkable (and rare) celestial events. Serge Brunier is chief editor of the journal Ciel et Espace, a photo-journalist, and the author of many nonfiction books aimed at both specialists and the general public. Jean-Pierre Luminet is an astrophysicist at the Paris-Meudon Observatory and director of research at the Centre pour la Recherche Scientifique. He is the author of many popular astronomy books, including Black Holes (Cambridge University Press, 1992).
