08-June-1918 Solar Eclipse painting by Howard
Russell Butler (from Wikipedia)
Take notice -- you genealogy searching fiends -- even astronomical events can "index" generational "knowledge" -- of time, place and perspectives. Transcend living memory -- in and odd ways.
MOON ATE THE SUN in 1918? As early teen -- back in the 1970s -- on a long road trip -- my maternal grandfather described how scared he was -- as a small child in Arkansas -- when the Sun began to go dark -- and the air grew cold on a full summer June day -- the wind shifted -- a few bright stars came out -- and the chickens began to goto roost -- and the cows drifted to the barn for milking.
My grandfather described how he was playing in the fields -- and ran home in a panic -- only to find his mother -- my great grandmother -- calmly standing on the porch of their simple wood cabin -- with two chunks of paper board -- one with a center pin hole -- and another unmolested -- watching a small bright dot shape shift.
My grandfather asked "What's going on Momma?" -- and she replied that the Moon was "eating" the Sun -- words that my grandfather could understand at the tender age of 8 or 9. The Moon was casting a shadow across rural Arkansas. This was very rare. My great-grandmother had read about the upcoming 1918 Solar Eclipse event in the local newspapers -- and constructed a crude "telescope" -- as described in one of the newspapers.
My favorite 1918 solar eclipse find, published in
Denver Post (from GreatAmericanEclipse.Com )
Key map detail? In 1918 my grandfather lived just
south of "A" in ARKANSAS label - near line of totality.
How so? How could old paper newspapers "know" that a solar eclipse would unfold? Short answer: Solar eclipse events are "hand calculable" -- centuries into the future -- and into the past. Such is the stability of the Moon's orbit about the Earth -- and when the Moon will block the Sun. Number crunching nerds have been "predicting" solar & lunar eclipse events since before the ancient Sumerians and Aztecs.
REAL or TALL TALE Memory? For years -- my grandfather's verbal description of his childhood solar eclipse bugged me -- especially since my grandfather was such a big story teller -- and tended to blow things out of proportion -- just for humor & mischief.
THE INTERNET and SEARCH ENGINES -- One day it dawned on me -- "Hey, I can search for any full -- or partial -- solar eclipse across Arkansas in early 20th Century!" -- in a few mins of searching -- the following links -- with glorious "back calculated" pixs and maps -- came up. How do I know this is "the eclipse"?? My maternal grandfather was born -- as he said "In 1909 -- way out back in the woods!" -- so a 1918 eclipse would make my grandfather a child of 8 or 9 -- mentally old enough to record a solar event.
80 Sec Video, very good Photo-Realistic simulation of
21-Aug-2017 solar eclipse. Note how stars come out.
STRANGE? There is something odd -- for me -- looking at these 1918 solar eclipse maps: I can pin-point -- both in time and map space -- where my grandfather was in June 1918 -- almost to the minute. Kinda like having a Mr Peabody "way-back" machine -- where we can set the dials -- and go see the past.
Fun additional fact? The 1918 Solar eclipsed was used to test for gravitational deviation of star light -- by the Sun -- as proposed in Albert Einstien and his theory of general relative.
NOW in 2017: In the lower 48 states -- we have opportunity to experience a very similar eclipse -- on 21-Aug-2017. A chance to anchor some memories -- and share an immutable event with those that follow. A few links follow -- with kewl graphics and charts -- to "tickle" your fancy.
Very kewl predictive map for 21-Aug-2017
Solar Eclipse (click for larger, from website
StaryNightEducation.Com )
UPSHOT? Even poor white trash from Arkansas can "anchor" history -- with not-so-tall tales -- and a little ex-post-facto astronomical research.
Useful links and videos:
[1] NASA Count Down Timer to Live Eclipse 21-Aug-2017
[2] Wiki maps & pixs for 21-Aug-2017 Solar Eclipse
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