THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
University of Southern Maine
Portland Campus

PREPARE FOR THE GREAT SOLAR ECLIPSE  2024!

*Blather-free version:*

Yeah, like, there's an eclipse on April 8th or something.
We're going to send a lot of free e-mail articles about it.
Sign up or whatever.


PREPARE FOR THE GREAT SOLAR ECLIPSE 2024!

In just 90 days from now (April 8, 2024) the moon will appear to
gracefully glide across the solar disc to produce a spectacular solar
eclipse!  Skies will darken.  Air will cool (even more than usual).
Perplexed and panicked wildlife will scamper, skip, bite, snap, whine,
howl, and chant hymns to the cold and fruitless moon.  Meanwhile we humans,
the wildest of all life, will gaze in breathless awe at the accursed field
of pervasive and light-obscuring cumulonimbus that will hang curse-like
above us.  Ok, well, perhaps we based that last line on those
down-in-the-mouth meteorologists who claim that the probability of cloud
cover in Maine on April 8th is approximately 83%.  Blah to that.  After
all,  we're not exactly languishing in a Venusian colony.  Our skies could
be as clear and cerulean as sea nymph eyes; or at least as clear as an
unannotated copy of  Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.  We have no idea
either way.

What we DO know is that this solar eclipse will happen come hell or high
water and we want to help people prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime event.
We insist that this last line is hardly hyperbolic. (Lines are always
linear).   Unlike "storms of the century" that turn up every other
December, this solar eclipse is truly a once in a go-around spectacle.
Maine's last total solar eclipse happened on July 20, 1963;  the next one
visible in Maine won't occur until May 1, 2079.

From now until April 8th, the Southworth Planetarium's "Wandering
Astronomer" will be posting a veritable slew of articles pertaining to
every aspect of this eclipse.   ["The Wandering Astronomer" used to be
called "The Daily Astronomer" until I grew old and lazy.]     The articles
topic will discuss:

   - Why eclipses occur.
   - Why they're rare.  (Or are they?)
   - What we'll see and how to see it safely.   [Note: this eclipse will
   not be total here in Greater Portland.  :-(   However, more than 93% of the
   Sun will be blocked at maximum.
   - Why the April 8th eclipse might be the most watched eclipse in world
   history!
   - How to predict future eclipses.
   - Eclipse types.
   - Historically significant eclipses such as the 1919 eclipse that first
   provided proof supporting General Relativity and made Einstein's name
   synonymous with "genius" and "nifty haircuts." (Yes, I am bitterly envious
   of his brain and hair.)
   - The Saros Cycle.
   - As the moon is slowly moving away from Earth, will solar eclipses ever
   end? (Yes, but don't pencil that into your day planner.)
   - and much more!

The Wandering Astronomer's "Eclipse cycle" will careen uncontrollably into
the scientific, historical, mathematical (rarely), mystical, spiritual,
mythological and supernatural aspects of this eclipse!   And, yes, we'll be
adding those last little bits into the mix.  We realize that material
reductionism has so gifted us with a meaningless, nihilistic Universe in
which we're all just chunks of matter bereft of passion, purpose or
intrigue that we're all walking about with a spring in our step.  However,
we here at the Southworth Planetarium want to delve deeply into all the
variegated aspects of reality both seen and unseen.

If you'd like to receive these articles free of charge, merely send a
reply.  We'll add you to the "Wandering Astronomer" list-serve.    Also, if
you'd like to be removed from the list on April 9th, well, we can do that
too.

We're about to watch the unseemly comingling of Luna and Helios.   As
shameless voyeurs, it would be best to know what to expect.

__________________________________________
*Hey!*
*Do you need eclipse glasses?!*
*We will have them. *

Order your eclipse glasses today.
$2.00 per pair!

Just send a reply with your name, address and the number of eclipse glasses
you need.  We will be happy to mail them to you straight away.
$1.00 shipping charge.     (Can you tell that the planetarium doesn't have
its own accountancy department?)
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