Fred Espenak, Mr. Eclipse, dies at 73

Probably no one will be able to top the number of eclipses Fred Espenak has viewed, but, unfortunately, he will never be able to add more to his list. Espenak, known as Mr. Eclipse, succumbed to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (chronic, progressive lung disease) on June 1, 2025.

Known as Mr Eclipse, for his viewing 52 solar eclipses – 31 of which were total – through his 50-year observing history, Espenak wrote several books about them, including co-writing 2006’s ”Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses” with meteorologist Jean Meeus; he also was responsible for four websites devoted to celestial statistics, including MrEclipse.com.

For many of us who have seen a total solar eclipse, we can very much agree with Mr. Espenak who, on seeing his first as a teenager in 1970: “You will realize for the first time what the meaning of awesome is.” Fred Espenak was 73.