Author: John Dvorak
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1681773856
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
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Book Description
They have been thought of as harbingers of evil as well as a sign of the divine. Eclipses—one of the rarest and most stunning celestial events we can witness here on Earth—have shaped the course of human history and thought since humans first turned their eyes to the sky. What do Virginia Woolf, the rotation of hurricanes, Babylonian kings and Einstein’s General Theory Relativity all have in common? Eclipses. Always spectacular and, today, precisely predicable, eclipses have allowed us to know when the first Olympic games were played and, long before the first space probe, that the Moon was covered by dust. Eclipses have stunned, frightened, emboldened and mesmerized people for thousands of years. They were recorded on ancient turtle shells discovered in the Wastes of Yin in China, on clay tablets from Mesopotamia and on the Mayan “Dresden Codex." They are mentioned in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and at least eight times in the Bible. Columbus used them to trick people, while Renaissance painter Taddeo Gaddi was blinded by one. Sorcery was banished within the Catholic Church after astrologers used an eclipse to predict a pope’s death. In Mask of the Sun, acclaimed writer John Dvorak the importance of the number 177 and why the ancient Romans thought it was bad to have sexual intercourse during an eclipse (whereas other cultures thought it would be good luck). Even today, pregnant women in Mexico wear safety pins on their underwear during an eclipse. Eclipses are an amazing phenomena—unique to Earth—that have provided the key to much of what we now know and understand about the sun, our moon, gravity, and the workings of the universe. Both entertaining and authoritative, Mask of the Sun reveals the humanism behind the science of both lunar and solar eclipses. With insightful detail and vividly accessible prose, Dvorak provides explanations as to how and why eclipses occur—as well as insight into the forthcoming eclipse of 2017 that will be visible across North America.
Author: Mabel Loomis Todd
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Solar eclipses
Languages : en
Pages : 276
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Book Description
Author: Mark Littmann
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191579947
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 359
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Book Description
A total eclipse of the Sun is the most awesome sight in the heavens. Totality: Eclipses of the Sun takes you to eclipses of the past, present, and future, and lets you see - and feel - why people travel to the ends of the Earth to observe them. Totality: Eclipses of the Sun is the best guide and reference book on solar eclipses ever written. It explains: how to observe them; how to photograph and videotape them; why they occur; their history and mythology; and future eclipses - when and where to see them Totality also tells the remarkable story of how eclipses shocked scientists, revealed the workings of the Sun, and made Einstein famous. And the book shares the experiences and advice of many veteran eclipse observers. Totality: Eclipses of the Sun is profusely illustrated with stunning photographs (many in color) and more than a hundred maps and diagrams. It can be read by lay people and astronomers with ease and enjoyment.
Author: S[amuel] Alfred Mitchell (astrophysicien).)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Solar eclipses
Languages : en
Pages : 574
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Book Description
Author: Ruth Owen
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
ISBN: 1448881846
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 34
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Book Description
Solar and lunar eclipses have both frightened and fascinated humans for thousands of years. Perhaps its because they are one of the few events in the universe that can be seen so dramatically from Earth. This exciting and informative book describes what happens during an eclipse and why. Readers will delight in the clear, easy-to-understand text and vibrant photographs.
Author: Samuel Alfred Mitchell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Solar eclipses
Languages : en
Pages : 572
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Book Description
Author: Thomas Crump
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268
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Book Description
Published in preparation for the total eclip se of the sun due on 11 August 1999, this book sets out the rules of motion of planets and their moons and describes the influence of solar eclipses on people and their actions. '
Author: Michael Maunder
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 144710529X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208
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Book Description
This book contains everything the amateur astronomer needs to know about eclipses, including: what to look for, when and how to observe, what equipment is needed, and even how to mount an eclipse expedition.
Author: Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804739269
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Book Description
Astronomy was a popular and important part of Victorian sciences, and British astronomers carried telescopes to remote areas in India, North America, and Caribbean and Pacific islands to watch solar eclipses. This book tells the full story of these expeditions: the long periods of planning and financing, and the day-to-day work of getting to field sites, setting up camp, and preparing, observing, and recording eclipses.
Author: United States Naval Observatory
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Solar eclipses
Languages : en
Pages : 274
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Book Description
