Donald Liebenberg (born 1931 or 1932) is an American astronomer and adjunct professor in the department of physics and astronomy at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

. An avowed eclipse chaser, he is best known for having traveled around the world to see 27 total solar eclipses since 1954. He is also regarded as having spent more time in totality, the darkest area within the Moon's

umbra The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source after impinging on an opaque object of lesser size. In cases of equal or smaller impinging objects, only an umbra and penumba are generated. As ...

during a total

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

, than anyone else alive.

Education

Liebenberg attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

as a physics major in the early 1950s. He holds three degrees, including a PhD, from his alma mater.

Career and eclipses

Liebenberg witnessed his first total solar eclipse on June 30, 1954, in

Mellen, Wisconsin Mellen is a city in Ashland County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 698 at the 2020 census. Attractions * Copper Falls State Park is located just north of Mellen. Government Mellen has a mayor-council form of government. Accordin ...

. Since then, he has traveled around the world to see solar eclipses, witnessing a total of 27 total solar eclipses. He observed his 27th, the

solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 The solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed the "Great American Eclipse" by some media, was a total solar eclipse visible within a band that spanned the contiguous United States from the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic c ...

, from his driveway; by coincidence, his house in

Salem, South Carolina Salem is a U.S. town in Oconee County, South Carolina. The population was 120 at the 2020 United States census. Geography Salem is located at (34.888599, -82.974666). The town lies in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along South Caro ...

, was located in the path of totality. His primary motivation for pursuing solar eclipses has been to study the Sun's

corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

. To this end, he wrote a proposal and obtained a grant from the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

in 1954. He later worked for the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

carrying out research into the temperature and energy input of the corona. In 1973, Liebenberg was invited by French officials and scientists to participate in the observation of the

solar eclipse of June 30, 1973 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Saturday, June 30, 1973, with a magnitude of 1.0792. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of t ...

, on an early

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

supersonic aircraft. Flying on the Concorde, a group of scientists from Los Alamos and the Paris Observarory, including Liebenberg, remained in the path of totality for 74 minutes while conducting various scientific measurements of the corona. For comparison, the theoretical maximum duration for totality during the third millennium for any stationary point or observer on the Earth's surface is approximately seven and a half minutes. He has worked as an adjunct professor in Clemson's department of physics and astronomy since 1996.

Personal life

Liebenberg and his wife Norma reside in

References

External links

Donald Liebenberg interview with CSPAN2

Blog postings
where Liebenberg further discusses his experiences witnessing and researching solar eclipses
French documentary
on 1973 Concorde eclipse chasing {{DEFAULTSORT:Liebenberg, Donald Clemson University faculty Scientists from South Carolina Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel Year of birth missing (living people) 1930s births Living people People from Oconee County, South Carolina University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni 21st-century American astronomers