Awe of the Eclipse
Terry H. Schwadron
April 9, 2024
What an awesome thing that Nature could dominate the day’s attention and its news.
Even if it lasted only a short time, the rarity of a total solar eclipse charting a path across a technology-sensitive country like ours well within television network coverage was able to lead millions to turn from the daily nonsense to a natural wonder.
And even for most of us outside the direct path, there were partial hints of the majesty of the moment and respect for the power of the Sun to have such a huge effect on the behavior of animals and humans a solar system away.
From a New York City rooftop, with its partial view, it was less dim than on a rainy day, but it was nice to see the neighbors fully laden with paper pinholes and smart remarks, if not as cheering as crowds gathered along the “totality” route. Maybe that was the non-scientific bonus — people able to get together again in common desire to celebrate.
Along the path, the mostly eclipsed view provided a moment of silence and introspection about our place in the universe and about the inanity into which our mere politics and cultural conflicts allow us to sink. Because it was timed and predicted, the never-ending traffic paused, most of the never-ending political undercutting could stop temporarily, and our senses for all things natural could dominate.
As it passed, the eclipse provided a moment for inner poetry and music. Maybe it was a prod to learn more about science or our proper place in the world.
We are told that the animal kingdom could recognize unusual change as well: Birds stopped chirping and four-legged animals respectfully stopped in their tracks or hid. Whether it was fear or confusion hardly mattered. It was something noticeable that the sun had disappeared behind the moon, a phenomenon we won’t see again for another 20 years.
Yet around the eclipse itself, we still had to listen to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene warning us of its religious overtones and to notice the greed of innkeepers looking to cash in along the solar route. We were pressed to think about inadequate reliance on the contributions of solar energy to satisfy our never-restrained electricity usage. We even rearranged baseball games to account for sudden darkness in the outfield. For too many, our world could not accept an awesome event as more than interruption.
For the rest of us, we should revel in the idea of being able to notice — and to learn.
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