Predicting the Eclipse:
A Multimillennium Tale of Computation

Total eclipses of the Sun are rare and dramatic—and on April 8, 2024, one will cross the US. But when exactly will it happen? In this short but richly illustrated book, prominent scientist and computation pioneer Stephen Wolfram tells the triumphant and hard-won story—spanning more than two thousand years—of how science, mathematics and computation have brought us to the point where we can now predict the time of the eclipse to within one second. Learn how the problem of eclipses brought us some of the earliest exact science, the first known computer, contributions from many of the all-time greats of mathematics and physics, and critical technology for the space program. See how all this provides a clear, modern understanding of a phenomenon that has surprised and amazed throughout human history.

Information and Media Inquiries

January 28, 2024 Publication
Publicity and Interviews: sw-media@wolfram.com
Translation Rights Requests: info@dropcap.com
Trim Size: 6" x 9"
Non-Fiction: Science/Astronomy

Distribution by Ingram

Contents

• Preparing for April 8, 2024
• It's an Old Business
• Why Do Eclipses Happen?
• Ancient History
• The Dawn of Modern Science
• The Three-Body Problem
• The Math Gets More Serious
• Can the Three-Body Problem Be Solved?
• Approaching Modern Times
• Why Not Just Solve It?
• The Real Earth-Moon-Sun Problem
• How It's Really Done
• Where Will the Eclipse Be?
• When Will the Eclipse Arrive?
• Eclipse Experiences

• The Basics
• Lots of Eclipses
• The Eclipse from First Principles

• The 2017 Eclipse
• My First Eclipse

About the Author

Stephen Wolfram is an award-winning scientist and bestselling author, and the creator of some of the world's most respected software systems—Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and Wolfram Language. For more than 35 years, he has been CEO of the global technology company Wolfram Research, as well as responsible for a series of groundbreaking advances in basic science, including the recent Wolfram Physics Project.

Other Books by Stephen Wolfram

• What Is ChatGPT Doing ... and Why Does It Work?
• The Second Law: Resolving the Mystery of the Second Law of Thermodynamics
• Metamathematics: Foundations & Physicalization
• Twenty Years of A New Kind of Science
• Combinators: A Centennial View
• A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics
• Adventures of a Computational Explorer
• Idea Makers: Personal Perspectives on the Lives & Ideas of Some Notable People
• An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language
• A New Kind of Science