August 21, 2017

August 21, 2017

The Great American Eclipse is happening today. Or at least it is occurring through much of the country. Unfortunately we are in Tucson, about as far as one can get from the region of totality. Normally this kind of event is right up my alley. I can’t really explain why we aren’t closer. We have friends and relatives right on the path. But the closest is a 16.5 hour drive away. I almost have to agree with Aimee that a 33-hour drive for a two-minute event seems kind of nuts. Plus after a month-long tour of Europe neither one of us is in the travelling mode. I briefly looked at flights, but they were astronomical (pun intended) for today. I wish we still had our RV. Combining the eclipse with a trip north would have been easier to justify.

So here I am in the backyard with the telescope set up. Just after 9am I noticed the moon’s shadow touching the sun. It slowly inched forward over the next hour till the sun was crescent-shaped. Despite the 70% blockage, it was still sunny and very hot. Apparently nothing can stop the sun from shining brightly in Tucson.