IAU Working Group on Eclipses

The members of the Working Group on Eclipses of Commissions 10 and 12 of the International Astronomical Union are: Jay M. Pasachoff (USA), Chair; F. Clette (Belgium), F. Espenak (USA); Iraida Kim (Russia); V. Rusin (Slovakia); Jagdev Singh (India); M. Stavinschi (Romania); Yoshinori Suematsu (Japan); consultant: J. Anderson (Canada).

• Principal scientific results from the past eclipse observation

• Small and large scale theoretical models of coronal structures

• Low temperature structures in coronal environment

• Specific problems of solar eclipse observations

• Instrumental improvement for future observations

• Tasks for Total Solar Eclipse of 11 August 1999

• Public education on eclipses and eye safety

The proceedings from the meeting will be published in 1997 June by Kluwer Academic Publishing (Netherlands) as part of the NATO ASI Series (Z. Mouradian and M. Stavinschi, eds.). For ordering information, please contact:

We plan to set up a new telescope outside the Capital, to complete the observation and data bases of the three observatories of the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy, as well as to built a great Planetarium at Bucharest Observatory, in the immediate vicinity of the Park "Charles the 1st".

Through a system of scholarships and awards, ECLIPSA'99 aims to specially train the staff necessary in the eclipse observation. Naturally, we will not leave out the amateur astronomers in view of the important contribution they have brought to the development of astronomy. Throughout the preparations, ECLIPSA'99 will carry out an ample program of national and international conferences and symposia, the publication of specialized and advertising materials, as well as of its own journal "Eclipsa"; it will also conduct an ample publicity campaign both at home and abroad.

To accomplish its aims ECLIPSA'99 is carrying on collaborations with similar institutions at home and abroad, with specialists in related fields, as well as with agencies and other institutions in the fields of culture, tourism, transport, trade, etc.. The funds of ECLIPSA'99 come from subscriptions, as well as from legacies and donations from home and abroad.

ECLIPSA'99 will not stop its activity after the eclipse. At that time, it will become the International Association ASTRONOMIA 21, whose goal will be to keep alive the interest in this old and, at the same time, modern science. For more information please contact:

This Working Group (WG7) will prompt collaborations between scientific teams coming from European countries and other parts of the world to observe the eclipse, and the local scientific and academic organizations in the path of totality, by gathering and distributing information about existing resources and requirements for the practical organisation of scientific expeditions. Another WG7 project is to disseminate to the general public basic but reliable information about the 1999 event and safe eclipse viewing.

All groups who are planning to set up a scientific eclipse program are invited to join this new community. For more information, contact:

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