Today is August 17th, 2014.
Exactly three years
from today there will be a total solar eclipse whose path of totality cuts
diagonally across the United States. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon
passes directly between you and the sun. It means you are standing in the
shadow of the moon.
It is not too early
to type into Google "Solar Eclipse August 17 2017."
A map of the United
States pops up to illustrate the path of totality. A map to tell you where you
have to be in order to experience the full effect of the moon passing directly
between you and the sun. The effects of
the eclipse will be greatly diminished if you step a mile or two outside the
designated path.
As the date for the
eclipse looms closer, there will be reports of where you should go to get the
best view. In one location the total
phase will last longer, in another the least chance cloud cover will spoil eclipse viewing.
It is worth investing the time and effort to experience the spectacle of a total eclipse of the sun. Authors have incorporated solar eclipses as part of their story line. (Click on the links below to learn more about the books mentioned.)
Mark Twain used an eclipse in his A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur'sCourt, for example.
In Herman
Melville's classic Moby-Dick, solar eclipses are used in three pivotal events
in the novel.
Captain Ahab's leg is severed
by the jaws of a giant white whale while a partial solar eclipse occurs to the
north of the incident.
While Ahab is
being rushed back home to Nantucket, he is fitted with a leg made from the bone
of a sperm whale. At home he and his wife give birth to a child. Early one evening Ahab is found on the
ground, his whale bone leg splintered, one piece of which has pierced his groin and all but unmanned him. This accident occurs on the date when an annular eclipse
of the sun was visible at sunset from Nantucket. It is this event which sparked
the mind of Ahab for a head to head confrontation with the white whale.
How can Ahab
accomplish this?
He once again
commands the ship Pequod. Months after
leaving Nantucket Ahab gathers the crew together aboard ship. He convinces the crew that his vengeance is
theirs. What they want to do in life is
kill Moby Dick. Ahab nails a Spanish
gold once coin to the mast. The coin given to the first crewmember who spots
Moby Dick. There is dialogue between
Ahab, the crew and first mate Starbuck. What underlines this great theater, the
third pivotal moment in the story, is the appearance of a total solar eclipse
directly above the Pequod.
