This solar eclipse preparation book is unlike any other solar eclipse book you will find! It is the ultimate preparation resource for the 2024 solar eclipse. If you read this book, and use my Solar Eclipse Timer timing app for the eclipse, you have no better way to be prepared!
I write the specific techniques for eclipse observation and photography that I use. This is a "how to do it" book; it is a conversation with the reader. It is not a book of generic recommendations. If you are an eclipse novice and follow my examples, you should be wildly successful.
It is based on my experience of five successful eclipse expeditions and thoughtful analysis of the entire eclipse experience. I am also the developer of the Solar Eclipse Timer mobile app that became the number one eclipse guide app for the 2017 U.S. solar eclipse. It was also used during the 2019 and 2020 eclipses.
In the first section, the book's chapters are organized in the order of the progression of events that happen on eclipse day, from arriving at your observing site to leaving at the end of the eclipse. I have divided eclipse day into 28 stages, each of which is a chapter. Each chapter then covers everything you need to know about that stage of the eclipse: preparation, observation, photography, videography, astronomy, and science. This is a unique organization for an eclipse book.
Over 100 of my actual eclipse photos are in the book, and the exposure settings accompany every eclipse photo so you can figure out how to use your gear to reproduce the exposure. I teach you how to assess the performance of your equipment for eclipse photography. In addition, there are over 140 other photos that support eclipse education.
More than 225 Illustrations in the book, including detailed explanations of how to use the interactive internet maps for planning, will guide you through planning your "eclipse day" and give clarity to all of the unique science and phenomena that embody the eclipse experience.
Photography, videography, and observation tips are emphasized throughout the book, with over 175 concise, single-statement, color-coded dialogue boxes.
A list of “Important Take Away Points" is found at the end of the 28 chapters of the book's first section.
This book is a multimedia experience, providing 10 embedded videos, 12 image galleries, and 18 audio files. Where relevant, there are hyperlinks to my YouTube videos on eclipse subjects and hyperlinks to other important eclipse videos and resources.
I've written four helpful PDF documents, and links to them are provided. Print these out for your convenience: Eclipse Day Check List, Partial Phase Image Sequence Worksheet, Photographer's Master Stop Chart, and Travel Eclipse Decision Matrix Worksheet.
There is no other book available that explains, in such detail, the wonderful phenomena that occur during the partial phases of the eclipse, including simple experiments that students can perform. Links to my detailed YouTube videos about these phenomena are provided
The second section of the book is more like a standard eclipse book, with chapters on basic eclipse astronomy, photography, and videography. The eclipse photography chapter outlines a "6 Step" process to succeed at your first eclipse. Data for using different types of solar filters are included.
A unique chapter called "Mistakes I Have Made” briefly outlines every photography error I have made at eclipses so you can learn from my mistakes and not repeat them.
