Fred Espenak - Wikipedia

Fred Espenak, Astrophysicist. 1952-2025. #FredEspenak

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Es...

Fred Espenak, “Mr. Eclipse”: el legado imborrable del hombre que iluminó las sombras Mr. Eclipse, quien dedicó su vida a estudiar eclipses falleció el 1 de junio, su legado transformó la astronomía y la manera en que vemos el cielo.

#Astronomía 🔭

👨‍🔬 #FredEspenak #MrEclipse: el legado imborrable del #Hombre que iluminó las sombras 🌒

@cdrzeus.bsky.social  tiene la información en. ⏬

Smiling woman on the left, and smiling man on the right, in split-screen view.

EarthSky's Deborah Byrd spoke yesterday with eclipse chaser and author Michael Zeiler about his friend and writing partner, #FredEspenak, aka Mr. Eclipse. Fred was a hero in the community of people who love eclipses, the alignment of the sun, moon and you. ☀️🌑🔭
buff.ly/yWhI33u

📸 EarthSky.org.

2 people using a telescope to look at a bright round spot in the sky. Bold white text in blue rectangle says 'Farewell, Mr. Eclipse.'

If you watched the April 8, 2024, total #solareclipse in North America, your experience was in part due to the work of #FredEspenak. Join us today at 12:15 p.m. CDT as we share stories and memories of Fred from his friend and writing partner, Michael Zeiler. #RIP 🔭

buff.ly/yWhI33u

📸 EarthSky.

Farewell, Mr. Eclipse: Fred Espenak dies at 71 NASA astrophysicist and Earth’s premiere authority on solar eclipses, Fred Espenak, died June 1, 2025.

#FredEspenak, Earth’s premiere authority on solar eclipses dies at 71

Your home for an affordable $30 full-length forever obituary is obitsonline.net

#science #astronomy #moon #sun #RIPFredEspenak

2 images side-by-side, one of a younger man with a checkered sweater standing next to a telescope and the other of an older man with sunglasses sitting next to a telescope. An eclipsed sun is in the sky between them and the name Fred Espenak is in bold text at the top. Text at the bottom says '"I wish those I leave behind many more years of clear eclipses and awe for the heavens." Aug 1, 1953 - June 1, 2025.'

RIP #FredEspenak. Fred was a life-long #eclipse calculator, chaser, photographer and popularizer. He taught the rest of us so much. We will miss him. 😔🔭

EarthSky will be presenting stories and memories of Fred from his writing partner and friend Michael Zeiler on YouTube tomorrow.

📸 Jordan Rhone.

Farewell, Mr. Eclipse: Fred Espenak dies at 71 Fred Espenak. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Flickr, CC BY 2.0) On April 15, many of us in the eclipse community received this message from Fred Espenak, the man who for years was affectionately referred to as Mr. Eclipse: > _Dear Friends. > > I want to share some sad news. > > I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) five years ago. I did not have any significant symptoms until last year. That changed dramatically in 2025 and my health has rapidly deteriorated. > > I have spent the last two weeks in a Phoenix hospital undergoing exhaustive testing to determine whether I am a candidate for a lung transplant. Unfortunately, my IPF has progressed too far for a transplant. > > I expect to be placed into hospice care tomorrow and will probably be gone in a few days or less. > > But I cannot complain. I have had a marvelous life of eclipses, astronomy, a NASA career, and my wonderful wife Pat, the greatest love of my life. > > I have made so many good friends through eclipse chasing. > > I wish those I leave behind many more years of clear eclipses and awe for the heavens. > > Farewell, > > Fred_ Fred passed away peacefully June 1 in hospice at their home in Portal, Arizona. This is, of course, incredibly sad for those of us who knew him. He was an indefatigable promoter of eclipses, which he considered nature’s grandest phenomena. His websites AstroPixels.com, MrEclipse.com, and EclipseWise.com remain invaluable resources with extensive information about numerous celestial phenomena, including detailed maps and timing of past and future lunar and solar eclipses. ## Inspired by eclipses The first total solar eclipse Fred observed occurred March 7, 1970. That was also my first solar eclipse. And though we viewed it from different locations, we occasionally compared memories about the event. He was fun to talk to, but intense when it came to eclipses. Starting in 1978, and continuing through 2010, Fred produced the “NASA Eclipse Bulletin,” a detailed report of the top upcoming eclipse for that year. These publications included timings, usually for hundreds of cities, predictions for what the Moon’s edge would look like, and maps that showed the path of totality. I was working in the planetarium field at the time, and I found the data in these bulletins invaluable. I asked Fred to put me on the “send immediately upon release to …” list, which he kindly did. But it wasn’t just Fred’s research, it was also his outreach — the talks he gave about eclipses through the years — that inspired many people who became serious eclipse chasers. I don’t think anyone has had a greater impact in this area than Fred. Fred worked as an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center until he retired in 2009. He married his wife, Patricia Totten, in 2006. Farewell, my friend. I’m certain you passed behind the Moon one last time on your way to the Great Beyond.

Farewell, Mr. Eclipse: Fred Espenak dies at 71

Earth’s premiere authority on solar eclipses is gone.

www.astronomy.com/observing/fred-espenak-d... via @astronomymag

#astronomy #eclipse #tse #fredespenak

Farewell, Mr. Eclipse: Fred Espenak dies at 71 NASA astrophysicist and Earth’s premiere authority on solar eclipses, Fred Espenak, died June 1, 2025.

Farewell, Mr. Eclipse: Fred Espenak dies at 71

Earth’s premiere authority on solar eclipses is gone.

www.astronomy.com/observing/fr... via @astronomymag.bsky.social

#astronomy #eclipse #tse #fredespenak

Fred Espenak (1953–2025)

The renowned eclipse chaser and popularizer passed away in Arizona after a life of adventure.

skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/fred-espe... via Sky and Telescope

#astronomy #eclipse #fredespenak #tse

So very sad to hear that #FredEspenak, the Patron Saint of #SolarEclipse chasers, has died.

A stunning time-lapse composite image of a total solar eclipse, captured above a silhouetted acacia tree in Africa. The sequence shows the moon gradually obscuring the sun, culminating in a breathtaking moment of totality. The image was taken by astronomer Fred Espenak in 2001 and depicts the celestial event from beginning to end.

Astronomy Picture from 03/12/2002

Eclipse Over Acacia

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap021203.html


#SolarEclipse #AfricaEclipse #TotalSolarEclipse #Astronomy #Eclipse2024 #Space #Cosmology #CelestialEvent #AfricanSky #Nature #Science #2024Eclipse #FredEspenak #Timelapse