Solar Eclipses

I have a sudden desire to drive to Texas to witness the total Solar Eclipse that’s scheduled for Monday, April 8, 2024.

I’ve seen several partial solar eclipses. I vividly remember looking at the shadows of leaves on May 10, 1994, when an annular eclipse happened while I was studying physics at Indiana University.

I wasn’t about to lose my eyesight by looking directly at the sun. Instead, I showed several students how to imagine what was happening by looking at shadows.

It was awe-inspiring!

It reminds me of when I watched a Lunar Eclipse while I was taking classes at SUNY @ Stony Brook. I was performing in a show at the time. The production might have been Ceily, Hey! I stepped outside the theatre to watch the moon turn blood red. Then, I went back inside to perform my role.

It’s moments like these that remind us that human concerns are not the be-all-and-end-all of universal events.

Humans may matter. But we’re just a small part of the grand design.

Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

I don’t know if I’ll actually drive to Texas or Oklahoma to watch the next Solar Eclipse. I don’t feel like I need to see it to understand it.

Nevertheless, I appreciate the fact that it matters.