On This Day:  Aug 21, 2017 — Total Solar Eclipse For Many People Living In The United States

“On August 21, 2017 a total eclipse of the sun will be visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses the United States. The path of the moon’s umbral shadow begins in the northern Pacific and crosses the U.S. from west to east through parts of the following states: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina. The moon’s penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse visible from a much larger region covering most of North America.” — http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/total-eclipse-of-sun-august-21-2017

 

Facts & Information:

The Sun:

The Sun is a medium-sized star.

It is large enough to hold a million earth-sized planets.

The largest planet of our solar system is Jupiter, and it looks small compared to the Sun.

It is the closest star to the planet we call earth.

It is approximately 93 million miles away.

It takes less than 9 minutes for the light of the sun to reach the earth.

The next closest star is 3.7 light years away — meaning that it would take 3.7 years for the light of that star to reach earth.

Without the energy from the Sun, the earth could not sustain any life.

It is composed of primarily hydrogen and helium.

It is believed that the sun will continue to produce light and heat for another 5 billion years if it continues to burn at its present rate.

The Moon:

the Moon is about 1/4 the size of the planet Earth.

Gravity on the Moon is .17 of that of the Earth.

The gravitational pull of the moon upon the surface of the earth creates the low and high tides of the oceans.

The Moon does not generate light but reflects the light of the Sun

Calendar Months, based on the phases of the moon (Full / Half / New=no moon), was one of the original ways to calculate the passage of time and seasons — lunar years rather than solar years.  Lunar months / lunar years leave no partial days or hours lost or gained, as is the case with the solar year calculations.

The moon always shows us the same side.  No one has seen the other side of the moon until space travel revealed the other side — 1959 by the Soviet Union.

The first mission by the USA to the moon was in 1968 — Apollo 8 manned by astronauts orbited it.  Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969, manned by astronauts who set foot on the moon for the first time in history.

It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to both to rotate on its axis and to orbit Earth.

“A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets directly or nearly directly between the sun and Earth, and the moon’s shadow falls on us. A solar eclipse can occur only during a new moon. Solar eclipses are rare in a given location because the shadow of the moon is so small on the Earth’s surface. The last total solar eclipse in the United States happened in Aug. 2017, and the next one will take place in April 2024.” — https://www.space.com/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html

Total Solar Eclipse:  The entire surface of the Sun is blocked by the moon’s position.

“A total eclipse occurs when the dark silhouette of the Moon completely obscures the intensely bright light of the Sun, allowing the much fainter solar corona to be visible. During any one eclipse, totality occurs at best only in a narrow track on the surface of Earth.^[6] This narrow track is called the path of totality.” — wikipedia

Annular Eclipse:  The moon does not completely cover the radiance of the Sun and an outer circle of light is still visible, while the inner area of the Sun is darkened.

There is also a hybrid and partial eclipse of the Sun.

A “Total Solar Eclipse” occurs somewhere on Earth approximately every 18 months.

It lasts for only a few minutes.

It can never last for more than 7 minutes and 32 seconds based on the movement of the earth.

“Observers aboard a Concorde supersonic aircraft were able to stretch totality for this eclipse to about 74 minutes by flying along the path of the Moon’s umbra.”

“1973 Solar Eclipse Mission

Concorde 001 was modified with rooftop portholes for use on the 1973 Solar Eclipse mission and equipped with observation instruments. It performed the longest observation of a solar eclipse to date, about 74 minutes.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde#1973_Solar_Eclipse_Mission

“A solar eclipse of June 15, 763 BC mentioned in an Assyrian text is important for the chronology of the ancient Near East.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse

You can plug in the year of your birth and “See how many total solar eclipses are left in your lifetime.”  Link

If you were born in 1946:  “You’ll be 78 the next time a total solar eclipse occurs over North America. If you were born in 1946, you are (or will be) 71 this year. If you live to be 100, there will be 21 more total solar eclipses worldwide in your lifetime. Many will be over North America and Africa.

 

 

Key Illustrative Thoughts:

• He is the Light of the world
• Sun & Son are God’s closest provisions
• night time experiences
• no shadow of turning
• walking in darkness
• darkness rather than light
• periodic spiritual eclipses
• God’s glory – shinning
• turning your back on light – result is darkness
• night / day
• He is consistent / always shinning
• turn towards Him
• sin makes a night and day difference
• walk in darkness — we lie
• resist the Devil and the darkness will leave
• men love darkness
• light
• darkness
• a TOTAL eclipse in life
• reflect the light / He is the Light

 

Example Illustrative Use:

The Sun shines 24/7/365!  All year and throughout the decades of time the Sun just keeps shinning.

However, the planet earth still experiences darkness — every day for approximately 12 hours — and then during times in the middle of the daytime hours when a total eclipse occurs.

At night, it is not that the Sun stops shining, but that the earth turns its back on the Sun, and half the world goes dark.

During a total eclipse, it is not that the Sun stops shining, but that there is something which gets between the Sun and earth — something which is far smaller than the Sun or Earth, but because of its location and distance is able to block out the light of the Sun.

If the “Son” is not shinning in your life, it is not that the “Son” is not shinning in all His glory — there is no shadow of turning when it comes to the Lord!  Rather, it is because some have turned their face away from the light and/or something has come between the “Son” and His glory — maybe something rather small but positioned in a way that it blocks the light.”

 

 

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Other Information & Links:

“A dedicated group of eclipse chasers have pursued the observation of solar eclipses when they occur around the Earth. A person who chases eclipses is known as an umbraphile, meaning shadow lover. Umbraphiles travel for eclipses and use various tools to help view the sun including solar viewing glasses, also known as eclipse glasses, as well as telescopes.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse

Other Sun Phenomena:

“The midnight sun” happens when the Sun is still visible at midnight. It is sometimes called  “the polar day” when the Sun is fully visible both day and night.

“Astronomical Polar Nights” are the opposite of polar days.  the night last longer than 24 hours.  It usually occurs during the winter and only within the polar circles.”

 

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-midnight-sun-phenomena.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse

https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/future/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_21,_2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/eclipse/?utm_term=.5cb23f19b1bb

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/total-eclipse-of-sun-august-21-2017

https://www.space.com/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html