I got up Sat. morning (Dec. 10, 2011) about 6:30 AM to see the eclipse of the moon. It was about 17 degrees F. outside, eerily quiet, but so calm that it didn't seem very cold outside, even without my coat. Despite the bright moonshine, the Big Dipper and other stars were visible and the full moon was on the rise in the west. About 6:45 the earth's shadow had taken a bite out of the top third of it and it had become noticeably darker outside. The shadow proceeded to obscure more and more of the moon but by the time the full eclipse occurred about 7:30, it had almost set behind the neighbor's house and trees so I didn't get a full view of it. Also by then the sun was beginning to come up.
Supposedly at full eclipse the moon would have a corona of red around it. I had just been reading in the Bible about the "moon turning to blood," perhaps a way to explain some strange phenomena at the end of the world. I suppose the moon could turn red due to volcanic ash or other pollutants in the air in the same way that colorful sunsets are caused by dust in the air.
Supposedly at full eclipse the moon would have a corona of red around it. I had just been reading in the Bible about the "moon turning to blood," perhaps a way to explain some strange phenomena at the end of the world. I suppose the moon could turn red due to volcanic ash or other pollutants in the air in the same way that colorful sunsets are caused by dust in the air.
Another eclipse of the moon is not supposed to happen until 2014. When I was probably about ten or twelve years old we were at the lake in northern Minnesota and my Grandma Bertha who was in her late 70s was visiting us and went out in the cold night to sit on the beach and see the eclipse of the moon. She wanted to be sure to see it as she thought she wouldn't see one again in her lifetime.
When I was eight years old we visited this same grandmother in Minneapolis when there was an eclipse of the sun. I looked up solar eclipses and found that there was a total eclipse visible in North America June 30, 1954, and I suspect that this was the one as we would have visited there in the summer and I would have been eight then. My dad was interested in these things as he was a science teacher. He had some special dark lenses with which to view it and said this was probably the only time he would see a total eclipse of the sun in his lifetime, a fact that also greatly impressed upon me how rare they were. However in later years I recall viewing a couple of partial eclipses of the sun by making a pinhole lens in a cardboard box that projected the eclipse upside down on the opposite side of the box. This was done to prevent eye damage by direct viewing of the sun.
From the book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain I have heard the story of the main character who uses his knowledge of an eclipse to his advantage. I should actually read the book as I have it here at home somewhere. Sounds like a great story.
Wikipedia Explains: The novel explains the tale of Hank Morgan, a 19th-century resident of Hartford, Connecticut who, after a blow to the head, awakens to find himself inexplicably transported back in time to early medieval England at the time of the legendary King Arthur.
The story begins as a first person narrative in Warwick Castle, where a man details his recollection of a tale told to by an "interested stranger" who is personified as a knight through his simple language and familiarity with ancient armor.[2]
After a brief tale of Sir Launcelot of Camelot and his role in slaying two giants from the third-person narrative, the man named Hank Morgan enters and, after being given whiskey by the narrator, he is persuaded to reveal more of his story. Described through first-person narrative as a man familiar with the firearms and machinery trade, Hank is a man who had reached the level of superintendent due to his proficiency in firearms manufacturing, with two thousand subordinates. He describes the beginning of his tale by illustrating details of a disagreement with his subordinates, during which he sustained a head injury from a "crusher" to the head caused by a man named "Hercules" using a crowbar.[3] After passing out from the blow, Hank describes waking up underneath an oak tree in a rural area of Camelot where a knight questions him for trespassing upon his land, and after establishing rapport, leads him towards Camelot castle.[4] Upon recognizing that he has time-traveled to the sixth century, Hank realizes that he is the de facto smartest person on Earth, and with his knowledge he should soon be running things.
Hank is ridiculed at King Arthur's court for his strange appearance and dress and is sentenced by King Arthur's court (particularly the magician Merlin) to burn at the stake on 22 June. By a stroke of luck, the date of the burning coincides with a historical solar eclipse in the year 528, of which Hank had learned in his earlier life. While in prison, he sends the boy Clarence to inform the King that he will blot out the sun if he is executed. Hank believes the current date to be 20 June; however, it is actually the 21st when he makes his threat, the day that the eclipse will occur at 12:03 p.m. When the King decides to burn him, the eclipse catches Hank by surprise. But he quickly uses it to his advantage and convinces the people that he caused the eclipse. He makes a bargain with the King, is released, and becomes the second most powerful person in the kingdom.
From the book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain I have heard the story of the main character who uses his knowledge of an eclipse to his advantage. I should actually read the book as I have it here at home somewhere. Sounds like a great story.
Wikipedia Explains: The novel explains the tale of Hank Morgan, a 19th-century resident of Hartford, Connecticut who, after a blow to the head, awakens to find himself inexplicably transported back in time to early medieval England at the time of the legendary King Arthur.
The story begins as a first person narrative in Warwick Castle, where a man details his recollection of a tale told to by an "interested stranger" who is personified as a knight through his simple language and familiarity with ancient armor.[2]
After a brief tale of Sir Launcelot of Camelot and his role in slaying two giants from the third-person narrative, the man named Hank Morgan enters and, after being given whiskey by the narrator, he is persuaded to reveal more of his story. Described through first-person narrative as a man familiar with the firearms and machinery trade, Hank is a man who had reached the level of superintendent due to his proficiency in firearms manufacturing, with two thousand subordinates. He describes the beginning of his tale by illustrating details of a disagreement with his subordinates, during which he sustained a head injury from a "crusher" to the head caused by a man named "Hercules" using a crowbar.[3] After passing out from the blow, Hank describes waking up underneath an oak tree in a rural area of Camelot where a knight questions him for trespassing upon his land, and after establishing rapport, leads him towards Camelot castle.[4] Upon recognizing that he has time-traveled to the sixth century, Hank realizes that he is the de facto smartest person on Earth, and with his knowledge he should soon be running things.
Hank is ridiculed at King Arthur's court for his strange appearance and dress and is sentenced by King Arthur's court (particularly the magician Merlin) to burn at the stake on 22 June. By a stroke of luck, the date of the burning coincides with a historical solar eclipse in the year 528, of which Hank had learned in his earlier life. While in prison, he sends the boy Clarence to inform the King that he will blot out the sun if he is executed. Hank believes the current date to be 20 June; however, it is actually the 21st when he makes his threat, the day that the eclipse will occur at 12:03 p.m. When the King decides to burn him, the eclipse catches Hank by surprise. But he quickly uses it to his advantage and convinces the people that he caused the eclipse. He makes a bargain with the King, is released, and becomes the second most powerful person in the kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment