The Story of Eclipses: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Story of Eclipses, credited to George F. Chambers, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Story of Eclipses by George F. Chambers. Read in English by LibriVox volunteers. Solar eclipses have both frightened and fascinated humankind for thousands of years. At first believed to be caused by angry gods punishing the people on Earth, we now know that a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and fully or partially covers the Sun. Ever since scientists were able to predict the next solar eclipse, people - at least the less superstitious ones - wanted to go there and see it for themselves. This book, published in 1899, was written for potential spectators of the total eclipse of the Sun on May 28, 1900. It deals with the science behind solar eclipses and their prediction, and lists a number of known historic eclipses from antiquity to the 19th century. Also included are eclipses mentioned in books, strange customs surrounding the eclipses, and how best to watch one. (Summary by Ava)

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Story of Eclipses
• Author credits: George F. Chambers
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 22
• Listed recording duration: 7:02:41

Catalogue topics

• non fiction
• astronomy
• moon
• sun
• eclipse
• observation

Track guide

1. 01 - Preface and Introduction — 7:10
2. 02 - General Ideas — 15:16
3. 03 - The ''Saros'' and the Periodicity of Eclipses — 34:04
4. 04 - Miscellaneous Theoretical Matters Connected With Eclipses of the Sun (Chiefly) — 11:55
5. 05 - What Is Observed During the Earlier Stages of an Eclipse of the Sun — 24:02
6. 06 - What Is Observed During the Total Phase of an Eclipse of the Sun — 22:13
7. 07 - What Is Observed After the Total Phase of an Eclipse is at an End — 3:31
8. 08 - Eclipses of the Sun Mentioned in History - Chinese — 18:10
9. 09 - Are Eclipses Alluded to in the Bible? — 30:49
10. 10 - Eclipses of the Sun Mentioned in History - Classical — 40:13
11. 11 - Eclipses of the Sun Mentioned in History - The Christian Era to the Norman Conquest — 29:45
12. 12 - Eclipses of the Sun Mentioned in History - Mediaeval and Modern — 25:00
13. 13 - Eclipses of the Sun During the Nineteenth Century — 26:53
14. 14 - The Electric Telegraph as Applied to Eclipses of the Sun — 15:27
15. 15 - Eclipses of the Moon - General Principles — 17:15
16. 16 - Eclipses of the Moon Mentioned in History — 33:05
17. 17 - Catalogues of Eclipses: And Their Calculation — 12:28
18. 18 - Strange Eclipse Customs — 10:45
19. 19 - Eclipses in Shakespeare and the Poets — 6:27
20. 20 - Brief Hints To Observers Of Eclipses Of the Sun — 4:16
21. 21 - Transits and Occultations — 6:32
22. 22 - Appendix: The Total Eclipse of the Sun of May 28, 1900 — 27:24

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.