TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Fred Espenak, an astrophysicist that Astronomy magazine dubbed "Earth's premiere authority on solar eclipses," died Sunday, June 1, at his home in Portal, Ariz. He was 71 years old.
Espenak spent more than 30 years studying the infrared spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres at Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland, according to the bio on his website, mreclipse.com.
He also served as NASA's eclipse expert, the bio said, publishing multiple books and articles on eclipse predictions.
Born in New York City, Espenak studied astronomy briefly at the University of Arizona before transferring to Wagner University for physics, and then the University of Toledo for graduate school, according to a first-person testimonial on another one of his websites, astropixels.com.
He spent some time making photometric observations at Kitt Peak National Observatory, about 55 miles west of Tucson, before landing at NASA, his bio said. He retired from NASA in 2009, and made the move to rural Cochise County.
Espenak witnessed his first total solar eclipse in 1970, his bio said. Over the years, he participated in 34 eclipse expeditions around the world, including in Antarctica.
In 2003, the International Astronomical Union honored Espenak by naming an asteroid after him.
Espenak posted on his Facebook page in April that he had been diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis five years prior, but that his health had rapidly deteriorated over the last year.
At the time, he said that he was entering hospice care.
"I cannot complain," he wrote in the post. "I have had a marvelous life of eclipses, astronomy, a NASA career, and my wonderful wife Pat, the greatest love of my life. I wish those I leave behind many more years of clear eclipses and awe for the heavens."
