[image: 839px-The_wedding_of_Peleus_and_Thetis_by_Joachim_Wtewael.jpg]
*Peleus and Thetis: *Wedded Bliss
Have we yet held anyone accountable for the Trojan War? During the many
centuries following that world-perturbing skirmish, mythographers have
assigned blame to many characters. Helen, of course, is often regarded as
the chief cause. She, one might remember, was abducted by the Trojan prince
Paris after Aphrodite promised him the world's most beautiful woman in
exchange for receiving the golden apple that she coveted. Of course,
all that apple nonsense started when Peleus and Thetis celebrated their
wedding with the one of the grandest celebrations ever organized. All the
gods and goddesses were invited to attend except Eris, the goddess of
discord. As her title suggests, Eris was notorious for causing all sorts
of trouble wherever she went. As the wedding feast was intended to be a
joyous occasion, the Olympians prudently excluded Eris, much to her
chagrin. She avenged this exclusion by tossing an apple into the wedding
party. That, in and of itself, didn't cause much of a stir. However, she
attached a tag to the apple which read, "For the fairest." Hera, Athena
and Aphrodite, the most powerful goddesses, all wanted the apple for
themselves. They first asked Zeus to present the apple to whichever
goddess he believed was most worthy of it. Not wishing to incur the
implacable wrath of two goddesses, Zeus refused to adjudicate the matter
and opted instead to have the Trojan prince Paris decide. The three
goddesses presented themselves to Paris and explained that he would have to
choose which goddess was the fairest. Each goddess offered him a bribe to
influence his decision. Hera promised him dominion over the world's
people. Athena offered him the gift of profound wisdom. Aphrodite, who
knew full well men's deepest desires, assured Paris that if he chose her,
she would help him capture the world's most beautiful woman. Paris
chose Aphrodite. Unfortunately, Helen, the world's most beautiful
woman, was married to the Spartan king Menelaus. However, with Aphrodite's
assistance, Paris kidnapped Helen and conveyed her back to Troy. This
abduction precipitated an all-out assault on Troy by all the Hellenistic
(Greek) men, all of whom swore an oath to defend the sanctity of Menelaus'
marriage. (All those men had once been Helen's suitors. So, before Helen
decided who was to be her husband, her stepfather King Tyndareus compelled
all the suitors to swear this oath of protection.) The deployment of this
armada marked the beginning of the 10-year Trojan War.
So, one could argue that if Peleus and Thetis had never decided to marry,
no wedding party would have been arranged. If there had been no wedding
party, Eris wouldn't have felt slighted and so wouldn't have tossed the
apple that attracted the goddesses which ultimately led to the Judgement of
Paris that resulted in Helen's abduction which precipitated the Trojan
War. Sp, it's all Peleus and Thetis' fault! Well. not really...
Even by mythological standards, the Peleus/Thetis love story is unusual.
Soon after Peleus' first wife Antigone hanged herself after having been
deliberately misinformed that her husband Peleus intended to leave her for
another, Peleus fell in love with the sea nymph Thetis. Determined to
live a chaste life. Thetis initially thwarted Peleus' advances. However,
on advice of the prophetic river god Proteus, Peleus took Thetis into a
strong embrace which he maintained even as Thetis transformed herself into
many different creatures, some of which were particularly fearsome. After
realizing that Peleus' grip wouldn't loosen, Thetis resumed her original
form and consented to marry him. She knew that someone endowed with such
strength and determination would likely make for a fine husband.
[image:
861a7c5167ba323812b7b69e8cb7f447.jpg]
Although their marriage was happy, their life became fraught with tragedy.
Six of their seven sons died in infancy. Thertis was so distraught at
these untimely deaths that she took her infant son Achilles and dipped him
in the River Styx. She knew that submerging him in these waters would
render him invulnerable to all attacks. Unfortunately, she had to hold him
by his heel in order to dip him into the river and pull him out.
Consequently, the Stygian waters never coated this heel and Achilles was
left with this one vulnerable spot, the Achilles' heel. Achilles'
fought with the Greeks in the Trojan War and became its greatest warrior.
However, toward the end of the war, Paris slew him with a poisoned arrow
that struck his heel.
THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM 207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet
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70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103 43.6667° N
70.2667° W Altitude: 10 feet below sea level Founded January 1970 Julian
Date: 2459325.18
2020-2021: CXV
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Exploratorium XLIV: Last of the Eclipse Questions (For Now)
Heavens, as we said last Thursday, people are certainly excited about the
April 2024 solar eclipse. That excitement will only build as we draw
closer to the eclipse date, (1085 days away). For now, we'll devote one
more article to the last of the solar eclipse questions we've received.
You are always welcome to send questions at any time. We'll explore
other topics the rest of the week. However, if you're fixated on the
eclipse, do not despair. The eclipse will be revisited many times during
the next 1085 days.
*You said the last total solar eclipse will occur in approximately 600
million years. Do astronomers know anything about this last eclipse: where
it will be? How long will it last? -Dave L.*
Astronomers can know eclipse details with a remarkable degree of accuracy
centuries in advance. They will even predict eclipses with a fair degree
of accuracy thousands of years in the future. However, the farther into
the future they extend their predictions, the greater the uncertainty in
timing becomes. For instance, astronomers know that the next simultaneous
transit of Mercury and Venus will occur in the year 69,163.
Although they cite July 26th as the date of this transit, the timing is so
uncertain that the actual date would fall within 2 -4 months on either side
of it. These uncertainties will accumulate over time so that accurate
eclipse predictions are only possible over the next half million years or
so. (Some would insist that this limit is about one million years.) In
either case, no model is able to accurately predict the timing of the last
total solar eclipse.
*If the sky is cloudy on eclipse day, would we still possibly "see"
anything? - C. Lapointe*
Yes. If, by chance, the sky is overcast during the April 8, 2024 total
solar eclipse, we will still see the sky become completely dark during
totality. It will look as though night had fallen, albeit for a brief
time. We will also notice a gradual darkening during and after the total
eclipse as the moon moves in front of and then away from the Sun.
*What is a "hybrid eclipse?" I heard the term, but not sure what it
means? -K.H.*
A hybrid eclipse is one that will appear as an annular eclipse at some
locations and a total solar eclipse at others. As we can see in the
graphic below, the moon's shadow will touch some parts of our curved
planet, but not others. If Earth were flat, such hybrids would not
occur. The eclipse would either be annular or total at all locations.
[image: hybrid-solar-eclipse.png]
Twelve of the Saros 139 eclipses (eclipses 8 - 19) were hybrids. The
first one occurred on August 11, 1627. The last occurred on December 9,
1825.
Incidentally, seventy-one eclipses are part of Saros cycle 139. The April
8, 2024 event is number 30.
*Do astronomers know of any Saros series that haven't yet started?*
*V, Brown*
Absolutely.
For instance, solar Saros series 157 will begin with a partial eclipse on
June 21, 2058. The last eclipse in that series will occur on July 17,
3302. The sequence will be: 6 partials, 19 annular, 3 hybrid, 34 total
and then 8 partials. Astronomers also know of many saros cycles that
won't begin until centuries in the future.
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