This is the Classical Astronomy Update, an email newsletter especially for Christian homeschool families (though everyone is welcome!) Please feel free to share this with any interested friends.
Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven... and for the precious
fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon.... - Deuteronomy 33:13-14
IN THIS UPDATE The Planets and the Eclipse Across America
Hello Friends,
As many of you know, the big astronomy news of 2017 is the Total Eclipse of the Sun over the United States of America on Monday, August 21. I first learned of the 2017 American eclipse back in 1970, when I was eight years old. I've literally been waiting my entire life for this eclipse. Now the time is approaching
quickly, less than 40 days remaining.
With such a short time to go, the media have still not begun promoting the eclipse in earnest. This is a real shame, as it is the American people who will miss out. Even at this late time, I'd encourage everyone to make the attempt to see the eclipse. This is a rare and unique opportunity to see one of the amazing sights in God's
creation.
It's been calculated that 200 million Americans live within a day's drive of the path of totality. If that much driving sounds like a lot of bother, consider that most Americans who have seen a total solar eclipse since 1979 have spent up to $10,000 for eclipse voyages to remote locations like Svalbard and Patagonia. This eclipse is literally dropped into America's
lap. Our family will be driving 9 hours to arrive at our totality location.
Even now, there are many prime viewing locations along the path of totality. There are hundreds of local eclipse festivals, dozens in each state. Many of these festivals include lodging opportunities.
To learn more, visit our affiliated eclipse website, American Eclipse USA. Learn more about the amazing eclipse phenomenon and find out about the states where totality will be visible. Also visit our "Eclipse Lodging" page to learn about finding a place to stay. If you have not yet done so, please like us on the American Eclipse USA Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter. Eclipse Accommodations
A lot of people have been asking me where we are going to spend Eclipse Day, wanting to come to our site. We are planning to be at a homeschool eclipse gathering at the family farm in Tennessee. But I'm not at liberty to invite others since we are guests ourselves. But there are numerous eclipse observing options for homeschool families as explained at American Eclipse USA including our Eclipse Hospitality and Be Prepared pages.
In particular, please note the Eclipse Lodging page where many families are opening up their land for eclipse camping. This is a wonderful, affordable option for prospective eclipse chasers. All the 5 star hotels on the path of totality were booked a year ago, but any families willing to "rough it" for a couple nights can give their kids an unforgettable experience that they will never forget.
More and more people along the 3000 mile path of totality are opening up their land on a daily basis. Be sure to also search for eclipse accommodations on sites like CraigsList, AirBnB and TripAdvisor. Most importantly, leave early! Plan on driving on Saturday or before. Whatever happens, do NOT leave on
Monday!
Eclipse Across America Video Series
I'm especially pleased to report the release of Eclipse Across America, a online streaming video series in preparation of the 2017 USA eclipse. Directed by noted eclipse filmmaker Mark Liston Bender, this series will explain everything that American needs to know to prepare for Eclipse Day.
Eclipse Across America is distributed by CuriosityStream, an educational streaming service, and is also available on Amazon. Friends, I've seen the first episode and
this series appears very homeschool-friendly, full of interesting topics and humor. I had a "behind the scenes" role in this film, and am listed somewhere in the credits.
Please click the links and the pictures to see a trailer for the series and for other related videos and photos. You can join CuriosityStream FOR FREE for one week, and gain access to Eclipse Across America and all the other excellent science documentary
material.
ECLIPSES ILLUSTRATED Ebook Series
The first two installments of our five-part eclipse ebook series Eclipses Illustrated have been very well received. The first volume -- Book 1 - The Eclipse Experience
-- visually depicts what you can expect to see during eclipses, to prepare you to fully enjoy and appreciate next month's eclipse. Here's one of the 5-star reviews:
The author does a great job of explaining the basics about eclipses in an easy-to-read format. The illustrations make all of the concepts clear to readers with little knowledge of astronomy. Highly recommended for those who want to know about the upcoming 2017 American total solar
eclipse.
I've puzzled over many details of solar and lunar eclipses for several
years. Visual help is rare indeed between the grade school basics and the grad school orbital theory. Science drawing today too often conveys much fuss but little science insight. On contrary, Jay Ryan's pictures are effective because they convey his own carefully worked out understanding of the matter. I love this book!
Hope you'll check out the Eclipses Illustrated series, only $2.99 at the Amazon Kindle Store. Please follow the link and check out the "Look Inside" preview or download the Free Sample.
Eclipse Shades
It's as simple as this -- if you live in the Continental USA, you will have at least a partial solar eclipse overhead on August 21. Eclipse Shades are the safe and inexpensive way to see the partial
phases of eclipse. We are offering an excellent price break on bulk orders. Everyone you know will want a pair, all your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, friends from church and your homeschool co-op.
So why not order Eclipse Shades from us and give (or sell) some to the people in your life? Don't wait too long though, they will sell out. Besides, you can look at the Sun anytime with Eclipse Shades, not only during a solar eclipse. And
there will be several American solar eclipses coming up in the 2020s so you can't go wrong.
NOTE: the below orange and black Classical Astronomy design is nearly sold out. After that, Shades orders will be filled with the red, white and blue American Eclipse USA design.
Thank you friends for your orders! The Planets and the Eclipse Across America
Contemporary American culture
is funny when it comes to astronomy. We've all been brought up with NASA and the notion of "space." We've all seen pop science "space" programs on PBS and cable that present splashy computer graphics and astro-factoids about planets of the solar system. Yet most Americans are unaware that they can actually see into "space" from their backyards.
People are always amazed
to discover that the planets are readily visible "stars" than can be seen on any clear night. More so, people are astounded to learn that the planets Venus and Jupiter are the brightest objects in the entire sky, after the Sun and Moon. Every time we look at the night sky, we're peering out into the solar system and can observe our planetary neighbors in their orbits.
Because of
pervasive pop science, many Americans only get very excited about the space subjects presented in the media. The public goes ga-ga at widespread media reports of "supermoons," even though there is little or nothing to see with a perigean Moon. But the public's reliance on media hype has a huge downside. Since the media has inexplicably failed to report about the astounding spectacle of the upcoming total eclipse of the Sun, most Americans are apathetic and indifferent toward
the subject.
This is a relatively new development in American history. In the era of the early American almanacks, centuries before pop science media, the planets were familiar and commonplace sights in the night sky. And bygone generations of Americans understood that total solar eclipses were rare and amazing phenomena, and each eclipse was anxiously
anticipated.
I personally find it troubling that so many people, including my friends and family, have a "Pavlov's dog" reaction to media hype (or the lack thereof). With all the recent media flap about "fake news," it's worth considering that eclipse and astronomy reporting is another area of "manufactured consent" in the American public.
* * * * *
Anyway, everyone observing totality next month has a unique opportunity to peer out into the solar system during the daytime, when the daylight sky grows dark during totality. It is only during a total solar
eclipse that we can observe our planetary neighbors in their orbital positions around the Sun.
In August, 2017, four of the five visible "classical planets" will be clustered up within a single quadrant of the zodiac circle, in the "summer" constellations between the points of the summer solstice in Gemini and the autumnal equinox in Virgo.
The two "inferior planets" are always close to the Sun. Mercury will be only 13 degrees to the east of the Sun, quite close, as it approaches inferior conjunction. Meanwhile Venus will be 35 degrees to the west of the Sun, having past its maximum western elongation on June 3. Venus has been prominent all summer as "The Morning Star" and will
continue to be so until past Eclipse Day.
Two of the three "superior planets" are somewhat close to the Sun on Eclipse Day, generally slipping "behind" the Sun. Mars will be only 9 degrees to the west of the Sun, having passed superior conjunction, on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth, on July 27. Jupiter will be 49 degrees to the east of
the Sun, and will steadily drop toward the sunset throughout the summer, disappearing into the sunset before its own superior conjunction on October 26.
Saturn was at opposition on June 15, being then on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun, rising in the evening when the Sun sets. Saturn will remain far from the Sun on Eclipse Day and will not be visible above the horizon at
midday during totality. As eclipse darkness falls, it will likely be possible to spot bright Venus and Jupiter in the fading sky before totality commences. But once your
location is fully enshrouded in the shadow of the Moon, the solar system will really come out, revealing the planets in their places along the zodiac, around the eclipsed Sun.
Mercury will be close to the Sun and shining at only a faint magnitude 3, so this planet will likely not be readily
apparent. Mars will be somewhat brighter at magnitude 2, and slightly more apparent in the eclipsed sky. But Venus and Jupiter will be much brighter and easy to see... that is, if you can take your eyes off the amazing sight of the solar corona! The planets will essentially lie along a flat line with the Sun, imparting the impression of looking out into space from Earth and observing the plane of the solar
system.
One challenge will be to notice the bright first magnitude stars of each constellation: Spica in Virgo, Castor and Pollux in Gemini, and especially Regulus in Leo. Regulus will be a special challenge as it will be quite close to the Sun and may be lost within the solar
corona.
But whatever you do, DO NOT waste precious time hunting for stars and planets! Totality is so very brief, only 160 seconds at greatest duration. If you happen to notice the stars and planets, that's great. But if not, focus your attention on the rare and precious sight of the Sun,
and also try to notice the surreal, otherworldly "shadowland" environment within the Moon's umbra.
It's worth keeping in mind that a solar eclipse is not an isolated lunar phenomenon by rather a brief event that occasionally occurs in the course of the Moon's regular orbital motion.
Everyone planning to observe the eclipse, either partial or total, should pay attention to the Moon's changing positions in the sky over the days before and after Eclipse Day. This will give you the "big picture" of the Moon's orbital motion and help you view the rare eclipse phenomenon within the context of commonplace sightings of the Moon.
So go outside before sunrise in the
mornings before Eclipse Day. Watch the "Old Moon" as it descends into the dawn twilight at the beginning of each new day. The Moon passes through the stars of Gemini as it drops closer to the horizon each morning. Notice especially on the morning of Saturday, August 19 as the Moon passes in a close conjunction with Venus. If you have a flat eastern horizon, you might just be able to spot the sliver of the waning crescent Moon before sunrise on Sunday, August 20, the day
before the eclipse. The Moon will continue moving unseen to the east as it draws close to Leo and it's alignment with the Sun during midday on Monday.
A day or two after a solar eclipse is past, it always amazes me to see the
waxing crescent Moon return to the evening sky. It's a sign in the sky that everything is now back to normal, and that another monthly lunar cycle has begun, and we will again see the Moon follow its nightly course through the phases.
In the evenings following Eclipse Day, look to the western sky after sunset. Observers with a flat, clear horizon might see a thin crescent even the next day after the eclipse, Tuesday, August 22. The Moon should be readily visible the next evening. The Moon will pass Jupiter over Thursday and Friday, August 24 and 25.
If you want to see a "sneak preview" of the August conjunctions of the Moon and these planets, go out before sunrise on the mornings next week. The "Old Moon" of July will pass Venus in the early morning of Thursday, July 20. As the waning Moon drops toward the sunrise, it will align with the Sun in a non-eclipsing New Moon on July 23. The following New Moon of August will be the eclipse
itself.
During "the dark of the Moon," the lunar body is invisibly aligned with the Sun's glare and cannot be seen. The Moon will return again to the
evening sky sometime around July 25 or 26. The Moon will closely align with Jupiter on Friday, July 28. Such conjunctions of the Moon and planets are always a beautiful sight in the evening sky.
I really hope all the families receiving this newsletter will make an effort to see the rare and long-awaited Eclipse Across America of 2017. Since this is the first of FIVE American
total solar eclipses over the next 35 years, I believe that, in decades to come, those who saw totality during the 2017 eclipse will be considered the fortunate ones, whose parents shared with them the most incredibly glorious sight that could be seen from Planet Earth.
For more information about topics from Classical Astronomy discussed in this newsletter, please check out a homeschool astronomy curriculum (but popular with adult readers too!)
Visit our archive of previous editions of the Classical Astronomy Update newsletters, going back to 2007.
*****
Til next time, God bless and clear skies,
- jay
The
Ryan Family Cleveland, Ohio, USA
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? - Psalm 8:3-4, a Psalm of
David
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