Eclipses bring fascination, dread

On Monday, April 8, viewers in the continental United States will be witness to a rare, spectacular event: the total eclipse of the Sun by the Moon.

And Arkansas will be able to enjoy most of the event in spectacular fashion.

Across the entire state, at least 95 percent of the Sun will be obscured, allowing almost all Arkansans to experience the event, with many able to see a total eclipse.

Already, preparations are being made across the state. Hotel rooms in the path of the totality, the area of total eclipse, have been sold out for months. State officials estimate that 1.5 million people will visit Arkansas that day.

Though the Moon orbits the Earth every 28 days, the alignment of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun to produce an eclipse only happens rarely. Eclipses have been sighted for centuries. Among the earliest recorded eclipses occurred in ancient Mesopotamia in 1375 BC.

Ancient Egyptians, who worshipped the Sun, were reportedly so disturbed by the bad omens associated with eclipses that they would never mention or write about them, fearing bad luck.

Historically, eclipses have been met with both fascination and dread. The Chinese believed that dragons were eating the Sun, causing an eclipse. Drums were beaten to drive them off, according to legend. Similarly, an old Choctaw legend held that a black squirrel caused solar eclipses when it tried to eat the Sun and that the people needed to make noises to scare it off.

Cherokees believed that a giant frog jumped

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onto the sun to cause an eclipse and that the people must beat drums and make loud noises to scare it away. For generations, Navajos believed that they should not eat during an eclipse or they would experience digestive problems. Navajo traditions also warned against looking at the Sun during an eclipse, or they would go blind, a belief backed by modern science.

The ancient Mayans, without benefit of calculators or computers, were able to carefully calculate when eclipses would occur.

Eclipses have also been an important tool for scientific discovery. Astronomers discovered a new comet during an eclipse in AD 418. The Sun’s corona was first noticed in an eclipse in 968. In the eighteenth century, solar prominences, eruptions on the Sun’s surface, were observed.

These all helped give important information on how the Sun worked. The first eclipse photographed was in 1860. Eclipses in 1919 and 1929 helped confirm Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity by confirming that the light of stars traveling near the Sun was bent by the Sun’s intense gravity.

The eclipse will first be seen across Texas before moving toward Arkansas. Most viewers in the state will see the most impressive parts of the eclipse after 1 p.m. Texarkana viewers will be the first in the state to experience it. The total eclipse will be seen across most of western, central, and northeast Arkansas.

Viewers in the totality will experience full darkness for about two to four minutes. The eclipse event in the totality from the Sun’s first “contact” with the Moon until the end, will last about 2.5 hours.

Paragould viewers will be the last in the state to see the eclipse, with the totality reaching the community at about 1:57 p.m. Jonesboro will be on the eastern edge of the total eclipse at about 1:56 p.m.

From Arkansas, the long shadow of the Moon will then travel across southeastern Missouri across to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and to Maine throughout the afternoon. Millions of Americans are expected to enjoy what is being called the “Great American Eclipse.”

Viewers should plan ahead to make sure the eclipse is viewed safely. Individuals need to remember that they should never look at the Sun directly.

Even with most of the Sun obscured, the glare is too intense for the human eye to tolerate. Looking directly at the Sun is dangerous and could cause permanent eye damage and even blindness. Not even regular sunglasses or binoculars are safe. Darkened Welder’s glass is the only safe glass dark enough to view an eclipse through.

Specially made eclipse glasses can allow for safe viewing, but NASA recommends that these eclipse glasses not be used if they are torn or scratched and that children’s viewing should be closely monitored. Even with eclipse glasses, people should not view the eclipse through telescopes, binoculars, or camera lenses. The classic pinhole projector will offer safe viewing: simply poke a small hole through one sheet of paper (poster board or cardboard can also work) and allow the fading sunlight to project onto another piece of paper.

With these precautions in place, the event promises to be a spectacular display of nature. As the Sun disappears behind the Moon, viewers will be able to see the features of the Moon. Lunar mountains and craters will allow only tiny pieces of the Sun to shine through, a phenomenon known as “Bailey’s Beads.” And the last piece of the Sun to disappear will shine brilliantly on the Moon’s edge, known as the “Diamond Ring Effect.”

NASA has unveiled a website for the eclipse, including tips on viewing the event safely at science.nasa.gov. Many communities are organizing eclipse viewing parties and events.

The next major eclipse for Arkansas will be August 12, 2045, when the totality will cross most of the state.

Dr. Ken Bridges is a Professor of History at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado. His columns appear in more than 85 papers.