The Shadows of (K)night…

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

My title salutes the Chicago rock-band “Shadows of Knight”, pretty much a one-hit wonder band that released “Gloria” in 1965.

Because on Monday, April 8th, a 50 mile wide “shadow” will pass over a large portion of the United States.

The “Great North American Eclipse ” is being billed as “the most-watched event in modern history”.

Experts expect 31.5 million of us will be able to experience about 4 minutes and 20 seconds of totality.

This will be the first total solar eclipse in the continental United States in 7 years

Solar eclipses occur when the Sun, the Moon are aligned in “syzygy”.

The Moon is directly between the Sun and the Earth and casts a shadow that we can view.

A solar eclipse only happens at new moon.

Total phases of solar eclipses vary in time because the Earth is not always the same distance from the Sun and the Moon is not always the same distance from the Earth.

Earth to Sun distance can vary by 3% and the Moon to Earth distance can vary by 12%.

The result is the Moon’s apparent diameter can range from 10% smaller to 7% larger than the sun.

It’s interesting to note than even though the Sun is 400 times larger than than the Moon, it’s also 400 times farther away from us.

That’s how the Moon can seemingly “cover” the Sun during a during a solar eclipse.

There are typically 2-4 solar eclipses every year but the area on the surface of the Earth

covered by totality is only 50 miles wide.

What makes this April’s event unique is that so many people will will have totality occur directly overhead.

There are two parts to an eclipse; the umbra (dark part) and the penumbra (lighter part).

In any given location on Earth, a solar eclipse happens every 100 years or so and on the same precise location, it occurs once every 300-400 years.

Totality is a true celestial spectacle.

The diamond ring, the Sun’s glorious corona, the strange colors in the sky.

As totality nears, you’ll be able to see some stars in the sky.

Venus will be briefly visible.

Birds will begin to roost and temperatures are likely to drop 10 to 15 degrees.

I was a youngster years ago while we were vacationing in Canada and I experienced all of that.

The the coolest part for me was sunlight coming through the leaves and, on the ground was a perfect view of the actual eclipse.

In ancient times, come cultures believed the Sun was being devoured and the people would make loud noises to scare the “attacker” away.

So, it’s little wonder on May 28th, 585 BCE, ancient Turkey (Lydians) and Iran (Medes) were engaged in a battle when a total solar eclipse occurred.

The two combatants took the event as a sign from their gods and laid down their weapons.

The kings declared a cease fire and a peace treaty was negotiated between the two waring factions.

The U.N. was not involved.

The next total solar eclipse will be on August 23rd, 2044.

By the way, the Moon is slowly moving away the Earth.

Hundreds of millions of years from now, the Moon will appear too small to cover the Sun and we’ll no longer have solar eclipses.

Of more immediate reality for us in southern Indiana, there’s only a one in three chance that it will be clear.

Best chances for a clear sky will be in southern Texas.

But even if clouds block our view of the eclipse, it will still get dark and cooler as the Moon totally blocks the Sun for a few minutes on April 8th.

It will be “glorious” if not “Gloria”

“Like to tell you ’bout my baby.

You know she comes around.

She’s ’bout 5 feet 4

A-from her head to the ground.”