#mizzoueclipse

Here in Columbia, Missouri, we are directly in the path of totality for the solar eclipse that will pass over most of the United States on August 21. In order to celebrate, we've gone into our collections to find documentation of past eclipses and books on astronomy that can help us put this historic event into perspective. We'll be sharing selections here, or check out exhibits.lib.missouri.edu to see what else we found!⠀ ⠀ 

This book, Sphaera, is by Johannes de Sacrobosco, one of the leading astronomers, educators, and science communicators of the Middle Ages. Using compelling visuals and simple language, Sphaera was a beginning astronomy textbook that taught generations of people to think about the basic math and science that underlay their experience of the natural world. This particular diagram illustrates a solar eclipse.⠀ ⠀ 

The totality of my love for these sleeves has eclipsed any considerations of practicality.