Robert I think of the two experiences the birth of my first child stands out more than the sight of a total eclipse. I think that may be also because of time both types discussed by you. My son was born when I was in my mid twenties I saw a total eclipse in my 60’s. While still wondrous I think that age dampens the wonder as well as an accumulation of experience. I can say sadly the birth of my fourth child while wonderful was not as exhilarating as the first.
> It starts with a bizarre coincidence: the moon is four hundred times smaller than the sun, but it also floats four hundred times nearer to us. This makes the two disks in our sky appear to be the same size.
> ...
> The moon wasn’t always where it is now, which makes the coincidence even more special. The moon has really just arrived at the “sweet spot.” It’s been departing from us ever since its creation four billion years ago ... the moon is only now at the correct distance from our planet to make total solar eclipses possible. In just another few hundred million years, total solar eclipses will be over forever.
The fact that such an aesthetic marvel exists only fleetingly — on a cosmic timescale at least — precisely during the period of time when we will be here to appreciate it, is only "bizarre" or "coincidental" for those who lack eyes to see...
I was present at the birth of my first son and then, 22 years later, watched the total eclipse with him. True story: my wife and I lived near the path of totality, so he and his fiancee flew in to see it. It was on my regularly scheduled day off, a nice coincidence-miracle in itself. We were almost at the state park where we planned to watch, when he noticed on the weather map that it was about to be covered by clouds; the age of Internet has some advantages when it comes to eclipses. So we wheeled about and went back about 40 miles to a little state historical park we had noticed on the way up: cloudless, and accompanied by only a dozen or so other observers.
Ms. Dillard's description is exactly right, only leaving out the dozens of bats that flew out of the woods at the moment of totality. And yeah, the homeward traffic was between bad and awful, but at that point who cared?
Dr Holmes, after noting that a turpentine smell dominated his out of body experience, would have been delighted to learn that the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and all that, is 42.
I feel like you and Alanna chose well to skip the 2017 eclipse (and presumably today's).
The 2017 eclipse was my first and only experience of a total eclipse. It was spectacular. Watched it from a public park near Greenville, SC. Surprisingly, the park was not all that packed. Interstate 85, on the way home, was another story altogether.
I have always liked the comparison (adapted from Mark Twain) that a partial solar eclipse is to a total solar eclipse as lightning bug is to lightning.
It really does look rather like a signature that the sun and moon should be perfectly positioned for total eclipse just when there's a species around able to think about it.
Robert I think of the two experiences the birth of my first child stands out more than the sight of a total eclipse. I think that may be also because of time both types discussed by you. My son was born when I was in my mid twenties I saw a total eclipse in my 60’s. While still wondrous I think that age dampens the wonder as well as an accumulation of experience. I can say sadly the birth of my fourth child while wonderful was not as exhilarating as the first.
> It starts with a bizarre coincidence: the moon is four hundred times smaller than the sun, but it also floats four hundred times nearer to us. This makes the two disks in our sky appear to be the same size.
> ...
> The moon wasn’t always where it is now, which makes the coincidence even more special. The moon has really just arrived at the “sweet spot.” It’s been departing from us ever since its creation four billion years ago ... the moon is only now at the correct distance from our planet to make total solar eclipses possible. In just another few hundred million years, total solar eclipses will be over forever.
The fact that such an aesthetic marvel exists only fleetingly — on a cosmic timescale at least — precisely during the period of time when we will be here to appreciate it, is only "bizarre" or "coincidental" for those who lack eyes to see...
Another great article, Dr. G.
I was present at the birth of my first son and then, 22 years later, watched the total eclipse with him. True story: my wife and I lived near the path of totality, so he and his fiancee flew in to see it. It was on my regularly scheduled day off, a nice coincidence-miracle in itself. We were almost at the state park where we planned to watch, when he noticed on the weather map that it was about to be covered by clouds; the age of Internet has some advantages when it comes to eclipses. So we wheeled about and went back about 40 miles to a little state historical park we had noticed on the way up: cloudless, and accompanied by only a dozen or so other observers.
Ms. Dillard's description is exactly right, only leaving out the dozens of bats that flew out of the woods at the moment of totality. And yeah, the homeward traffic was between bad and awful, but at that point who cared?
Dr Holmes, after noting that a turpentine smell dominated his out of body experience, would have been delighted to learn that the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and all that, is 42.
I feel like you and Alanna chose well to skip the 2017 eclipse (and presumably today's).
The 2017 eclipse was my first and only experience of a total eclipse. It was spectacular. Watched it from a public park near Greenville, SC. Surprisingly, the park was not all that packed. Interstate 85, on the way home, was another story altogether.
I have always liked the comparison (adapted from Mark Twain) that a partial solar eclipse is to a total solar eclipse as lightning bug is to lightning.
Dr. Graboyes, you’re a bit of an emo, aren’t you?
It really does look rather like a signature that the sun and moon should be perfectly positioned for total eclipse just when there's a species around able to think about it.