Fifty-four years ago – just like now – Lorain County was getting ready for a total solar eclipse.
Unlike now, however, back then we weren't in the path of totality. This map, which appeared in the Lorain Journal back on March 6, 1970, shows the swath cut by the total eclipse through five Southeastern states.
"The Moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun. The shadow cast by the Moon will bring mid-day darkness to a 100-mile-wide strip from Northern Florida's Apalachee Bay to Norfolk, Va., and Massachusetts' Nantucket Island.
"A total solar eclipse is a cosmic coincidence in which the distances between the Earth, Moon and Sun cause the 2,160-mile-diameter Moon to block out most of the 864,000-mile-diameter Sun as seen from certain portions of the Earth. All that remains visible is a pearly white, irregular ring which is the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona. This is the only time that this part of the Sun can be seen."
Looking directly at the sun is a bad idea at any time, but especially dangerous during an eclipse. Here's the safety warning that appeared in the Journal on March 5, 1970.
It's interesting that the Chinese originally thought that an eclipse was caused by a dragon eating the sun. That belief is explored in the article below, which appeared in the Journal on March 6, 1970.
My kid and I drove down to Pleasant Shade Tennesse for the last one. A 15-hour round trip, but "totally" worth it.
ReplyDeleteSkies were clear and when totality hit, I pointed at the ee-klipsed sun and shouted, somewhat needlessly, "WOW! LOOK AT THAT!!!"
I've seen a partial, and annular (the rarest) and a total, so My life is complete.
I'm really hoping for clear skies, but you get what you get in that department. And my kid's back home to watch this one with me, too. What could be better?
And... All these reports of all the roads being clogged? We found that there was no traffic at all if you stayed off the Interstates. People tend to forget 2-lane highways still exist.