Seattle author of eclipse book shares insights ahead of Aug. 21st total solar eclipse

Bryan Brewer of Seattle has traveled the world to see four total solar eclipses.  His interest started a year before the 1979 eclipse when he was trying to plan a college reunion to coincide with the big event.

“I started researching and one thing led to another,” he said.  “I couldn't find a good book on the subject, so I wrote it.”

Brewer authored ECLIPSE. and he fell in love with the phenomenon.  His passion inspired him to lead tour groups to view total solar eclipses in Brazil (1994), the Caribbean (1998), and Germany (1999).

“When the shadow gets over you and it gets dark,” he said.  “It's an eerie kind of darkness.”

His research uncovered fascinating stuff, like that an eclipse in 1923 was the first empirical proof of Einstein's theory of relativity.

“They realized one way to test it is to see if starlight is bent by the sun,” he said.  “And the only time you can detect that is a total solar eclipse.”

And in his book Brewer writes about how an eclipse ended a war in 585 B.C.

"Two middle eastern armies were having a battle," he said.  "They didn't know it in advance, but they were in the path of a total solar eclipse.  And when the moon came in front of the sun and it got dark, they thought it was a sign they should do something so they made peace right on the spot."

Oregon and Idaho are the closest places in the path of totality to Western Washington where you'll see the moon totally cover the sun on August 21st.  Brewer says the map is very accurate within seconds and within a few hundred yards.  He says the sense of euphoria in crowds that see the eclipse lasts for at least 30 minutes.

And with all the issues dividing our country he says the timing is great.

“This may be a way for people to come together around this,” Brewer said.  “In fact it's already happening online. You can see all the people getting excited about the eclipse.”

Cox Media Group