As we approach August 21, 2017 and the total eclipse of the sun makes its path across the USA and especially the state of Kentucky, this historical mote about an eclipse of 47 years ago may be of interest to some.
An inveterate blogger, logger, writer; I’ve been keeping a
log for many years now. Here’s an entry
from March 7, 1970 when we lived at 5 Matoaka Lane in Newport News, Virginia:
“Saturday, March 7, 1970 Newport
News, VA
The big news today is a total eclipse of the sun for about
one and a half minutes. It was quite
spectacular to see the corona around the sun as the moon covered it. The sky was very clear and blue, it went dark
with an orange horizon. The moon was a
black disk which completely covered the sun.
The birds went to the tree tops and were quiet. The street lights went on as did the Esso
station lights and the crocus in the flower bed closed their flowers.
Then it passed; all went back to normal for a bright
Saturday afternoon. Theresa, Johnny, Margret, and I were out for the entire
show. Carola was worried for our eyes.”…
Then the next day:
“Sunday March 8, 1970 Newport
News, VA
During the eclipse yesterday, the thermometer on the bank
went from 52 degrees F to 50 degrees F and it took only a few minutes. It took several hours for it to return to 54
degrees F. Lends credence to the idea of
Earth having a relatively low specific heat.”
…
A slight shrug as I tell you that I worked as an engineer at the shipyard.
No comments:
Post a Comment