| At one point, Eclipse! takes time off from its primary task--a detailed technical guide to observing and recording eclipses around the globe--to tell the admonitory tale of the pupils of a school in Baltimore, Maryland. These eager and inquisitive children were not only kept in by their teachers during the event (owing to "legal considerations"), they were not even allowed near the windows! Of course, on the list of Things That Are Bound to Ruin Your Eclipse, other people's idiocy comes quite low. The top contenders are usually clouds and bad traffic. Lazy journalists who tell those of us disappointed on the day of an eclipse that this was "our only chance to see an eclipse" only fray our tempers further. This is, of course, nonsense. Eclipses happen all over the world at reasonably frequent intervals, and over the next few years they will be visible from many exciting locations. (Harare, 2001, anyone?) Philip Harrington's handsomely illustrated technical manual (none of your poorly reproduced NASA Web-site maps here) is both a resource for experienced eclipse chasers and an excellent introduction for those bitten by the eclipse bug. As one observer says, "No matter how much totality you've seen, it's never enough. Nicotine, alcohol, gambling, any conventional addiction you can think of; umbral dependence is worse." |