Tag: solar eclipse
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“These late eclipses … portend no good to us” – Shakespeare
Edward TaborBethesda, Maryland, United States Introduction Eclipses of the sun or moon were powerful images used by William Shakespeare in ten of his plays and poems.1 Shakespeare’s characters believed that eclipses were under the control of evil forces, that eclipses could predict the fall of governments, and noted how people blamed their weaknesses and failures…
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Partial eclipse of the heart
Perry DinardoCleveland Heights, Ohio, United States In early August 2017, the nation was buzzing about an upcoming total solar eclipse. I had been immersed in news about the eclipse for weeks, and decided it would be absolutely necessary for me to watch from the “Zone of Totality.” Within this zone, a diagonal path across the…
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The diagnostic eclipse
Naomi SchlesingerGregory ManiatisRanita SharmaBoris D. VeysmanPiscataway, New Jersey, United States In 1919, astronomer Arthur Eddington was studying a photograph of the solar eclipse that occurred just days prior. The sun was completely and perfectly covered by the moon, a breathtaking sight, but Eddington looked past it. He searched for tiny specks of stars just near…