Anyone who has been following our solar eclipse coverage ahead of the total solar eclipse on April 8 will undoubtedly be familiar with the name Jamie Carter. After all, he is our ‘go-to’ eclipse expert and a valuable contributor to Space.com, having written over 35 articles in total. solar eclipse Pieces from the last few months exclusively for Space.com.
We are thrilled to announce that the hard work he has done for us and other news organizations like Forbes has paid off as Carter has been awarded the Solar Physics Division (SPD) 2023 Popular Media Award.
SPD Popular Media Awards Committee on 11 April announced the awards A journalist and a scientist award were made for 2023.
Carter won the journalist award “for work preparing the public for the 2024 eclipse. Numerous articles in Forbes and Space.com throughout 2023.” according to the announcement. Scientist award, “My Corona” (song and video)
Relating to: The most important total solar eclipses to watch out for in the next decade
We talked to Jamie about how it felt to win the award and asked him about his plans for future Eclipse content.
Were you surprised when you found out you won?
Definitely! When I look back at the articles I’ve written about total solar eclipses, it’s almost a shame because I can’t even begin to count them. I think it was around 400 last year, but it could be more. By mid-2023, eclipses had transitioned from something I occasionally wrote about to a full-time job. By March of this year I had interviewed nearly 40 scientists and event organizers and was working about 14 hours a day writing solely about the US eclipse. It was tiring but fun to see the results.
Millions of people in the United States and around the world have read my articles and I hope they went to see the eclipse. I received several messages from people saying that it was because of my articles that they decided to see the first total solar eclipse, which made me very happy.
Why do solar eclipses make you so passionate that you write so many articles about them?
I think of total solar eclipses as a hand that can take you on wonderful adventures around the world.
Chasing something in the sky rather than the ground, you travel to places you’d never think of, mostly avoiding tourist traps. You see the world as nature and the universe intended, one moon shadow at a time. This is travel of the most original kind.
Total solar eclipses are not only one of the most profound experiences in nature, but they also combine my interests in travel and astronomy. However, these are dynamic events that are difficult to understand and where science, geography and meteorology collide head-on.
Most people don’t know anything about them because they so rarely appear in one place, which means I always make it a point to write about the basics. Surprisingly, most travel writers know nothing about total solar eclipses, so I’m trying to fill that gap. My job is to distill complex science into easy-to-understand, usable information, while also ignoring received wisdom and debunking myths and assumptions.
The son of two geographers, I grew up surrounded by maps and we often traveled off the beaten path. There’s nothing I love more than looking at the chart of an upcoming eclipse and making plans to explore a part of the world I’ve never been to before.
I’ve witnessed eclipses from beaches in Australia and England, from a tennis court in Chile, and even from a ship off the coast of Antarctica.
As most eclipse hunters will tell you after seeing more than one totality, the thrill of seeing SunCorona continues, but the attraction of seeing new places is just as strong.
What’s next? Taking a break or already preparing for future solar eclipses?
One of the results of the total solar eclipse on April 8 was a new group of people who wanted to see the next eclipse. As editor WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com, these are my people! There is such a thirst for information about upcoming eclipses that I am already preparing articles and books about the next total solar eclipses in 2026 and 2027.
But I’m looking forward to the summer when I can take a break from writing about eclipses, perhaps for a year, and work on something completely different – probably the ‘great lunar pause’ later this year.
When is the Next Eclipse? A traveler’s guide to total solar eclipses 2026-2034
Carter has also been busy creating a complete eclipse travel guide that will take us to 2034 for the next 10 years of total solar eclipses.
“The book is full of ‘secret’ experiences that only a total eclipse and travel enthusiast like me can find!” Carter told Space.com
Inside you’ll find important information about upcoming total solar eclipses, designed to help you plan the perfect eclipse adventure.
Next total solar eclipse [in 2026] will give people the chance to see a “golden corona” sink into the Mediterranean, and then Perseid meteor shower. In 2030, another will destroy Namibia’s Skeleton Coast moonThe best time of year to see its shadow Milky Way after sunset.
“When is the Next Eclipse? A traveler’s guide to total solar eclipses in 2026-2034:” $9.99 from Amazon
Check out Jamie Carter’s eclipse traveler’s guide “When is the Next Eclipse? A traveler’s guide to total solar eclipses 2026-2034” available on Amazon.View Deal