Are you ready for the solar eclipse?

139_1951766-W Composite photograph of the phases of a total eclipse of the sun at five-minute intervals. Solar eclipses are shadows produced by the moon passing between Earth and the sun. During a total eclipse, the sun is completely obscured. The outer layer of the sun, composed of extremely hot gases, is called the solar corona (white) and is seen only during eclipses.

On August 21, the United States will witness a total solar eclipse, an event that hasn’t occurred in nearly a century.

From August 1 through September 15, Gale-Cengage, one of the leading online publishers of reference and research materials, will offer free access to three of their databases: Science in Context, Student Resources in Context, and Research in Context. Users will have access to carefully chosen general periodicals, scholarly journal articles, terrific images, and much else.

After August 21, there will not be another total eclipse in the United States until April 8, 2024, so don’t miss this astronomy appreciation event!

To take advantage of this free offer and begin using Gale’s science databases, click here.

Image Credit:  Solar Eclipse. Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.comsearch139_19517661139_1951766cite. Accessed 3 Aug 2017.