I searched high and low for ideas for this week’s blog. Apparently, I didn’t search high enough… I’m talkin’ ’bout: the SOLAR ECLIPSE!
I know you’re thinking, “ENOUGH about this eclipse! I couldn’t even see it!” Sorry to all who missed it by a few thousand miles or minutes, but it was actually really, really rad. Here in Portland, we had a 99.4% coverage of the sun by the moon, with not a cloud in sight. Once it began, the sky slowly started to darken. It became eerily quiet. It was dark like at dusk and it felt like there was a big street light shining upon us (in a strange Edward Scissorhands sort of way). Those wavy lines, like the shadows of hot air seen after opening a car door, crawled on the ground in front of us. A tiny crescent sliver of light formed at the top of the sun, creating an upside-down U shape. And then all of a sudden, it was over. The sky turned bright again. Our neighbors were clapping and cheering. We felt so tiny in this gigantic universe. Science did its magical thing and the moon shone in a different (but magnificent) light this time.
I have to admit my eyes hurt just a little, even though I wore some obviously cool-looking glasses. But it was absolutely, totally worth it.
I also searched high and low for some cool facts that I actually experienced:
Snake-like figures can emerge in the shadows. (http://time.com/4843775/total-solar-eclipse-2017-facts/)
Mysterious shadowy figures that wriggle like snakes have been known to appear on surfaces near the ground seconds before and after a total solar eclipse. The shadow bands — sometimes called shadow snakes — are thin and wavy lines that can be seen moving on plain-colored surfaces, like white cars. The faint, squiggly figures fluctuate in lightness and darkness and do not always show during solar eclipses. “They look like ripples of sunshine at the bottom of a swimming pool,” NASA says on its website. Scientists have been stumped by the rare and unpredictable phenomenon for at least a century. However, NASA said the “simplest explanation” is that they likely arise from “atmospheric turbulence,” or how light passes through different layers of the atmosphere. Renowned English astronomer George Airy wrote about shadow bands during a total eclipse in the early 1840s, according to the space agency. “As the totality approached, a strange fluctuation of light was seen upon the walls and the ground, so striking that in some places children ran after it and tried to catch it with their hands,” Airy said.
Nature will take heed. (http://www.astronomy.com/great-american-eclipse-2017/articles/2016/06/25-facts-about-the-2017-solar-eclipse)
Depending on your surroundings, as totality nears you may experience strange things. Look. You’ll notice a resemblance to the onset of night, though not exactly. Areas much lighter than the sky near the Sun lie all around the horizon. Shadows look different. Listen. Usually, any breeze will dissipate and birds (many of whom will come in to roost) will stop chirping. It is quiet. Feel. A 10°–15° F drop in temperature is not unusual.
The “stars aligned” when we moved to Oregon. Til next time, folks!