Fourth edition of ECLIPSE book is now available to educate and inspire.
In less than two months, the Moon’s shadow will darken a 120-mile-wide swath across North America from Mazatlán to Newfoundland (including parts of 15 states from Texas to Maine). As many as 30 million viewers in the path will have up to four minutes to take in the stunning beauty of the solar corona on Monday, April 8, 2024.
“For those in the path with a clear view, this total solar eclipse will be a truly awesome experience,” says eclipse expert and author Bryan Brewer. “There’s the eerie onset of daytime darkness. Then the sudden swoop of the Moon’s shadow sweeping over you. And for a few brief minutes, you get this spectacular display of the delicate halo around the Sun. There’s nothing else like it.”
Brewer, who has seen five total solar eclipses, recently released the fourth edition of his highly acclaimed popular science book, ECLIPSE: Experience Awe in the Path of Totality. The book has been updated with complete details about the 2024 event, which will be the last total solar eclipse visible in the United States for the next twenty years. The book also includes the foreword to the first edition written by Frank Herbert, author of Dune. The two authors connected over their mutual interests in astronomy in 1978 when Brewer wrote the first edition of ECLIPSE.
The experience of a total solar eclipse—with its focus on the magnificent sight of the solar corona—is literally transcendent and otherworldly. The grand physical scale of the event imparts a visceral understanding of the vastness of time and space. It takes you out of your ordinary day-to-day consciousness and leads you to a place of certain recognition that you are experiencing something larger than yourself. It leaves you in a state of “total awe.”
Recent research has highlighted the benefits of the emotion of awe. In addition to the pleasant and satisfying feelings it engenders, the experience of awe calms the nervous system and promotes prosocial behaviors such as empathy and cooperation. Some eclipse viewers have reported that it “changed their lives.”
It’s no wonder this quest for total awe is motivating thousands of eclipse chasers to travel to locations within the path of totality on eclipse day.
It’s no wonder this quest for total awe is motivating thousands of eclipse chasers to travel to locations within the path of totality on eclipse day.
Brewer emphasizes that you must be within the 120-mile-wide path of totality to witness the magnificent view of the corona. “99% is not good enough. If you get in the path—and are fortunate enough to have clear skies—you will be rewarded with an unforgettable experience,” says the author. “It’s worth doing the research and planning to get the most out of what could be a once-in-a-lifetime event.”
ECLIPSE: Experience Awe in the Path of Totality is generously illustrated in full color with more than 120 photos, maps, diagrams, tables, and illustrations and has been updated for the 2024 eclipse. The content is arranged in self-contained two-page spreads—each on a specific topic—which makes for easy and accessible reading.
The book covers everything you need to know about the history, science, and observation of eclipses and is available for retail purchase at Amazon.com and for wholesale buyers at Ingram.
Author Bryan Brewer has been featured in hundreds of TV, radio, and print appearances promoting eclipses over the years and is available for media interviews. Further details are available at www.EclipseBook.com. (@eclipsebookauthor)
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