You can leave a response to this post by using the text entry box below:
Today we have the great advantage of knowing where and when they will occur well in advance. In the not so old days of the 1700s and the 1800s, expeditions used to be sent out six months in advance, with most having little luck because of poor map coordinates and poor predictions of the latitude, longitude and timing. But today, in the great field of predictions, the prediction of a total solar eclipse is probably among the most accurate that can be made. Unlike most other natural events such as earthquakes and volcanoes, and even weather, total solar eclipses can be predicted (or calculated backward in time) for thousands of years to within a fraction of a second. And you know for sure that it will occur as promised; there will be no delay or cancellation… it will occur right on time at the spots predicted. Modern astronomy, GPS systems, measurement accuracy of orbital elements and supercomputers have combined to allow super prediction accuracy. That is how a space probe to Saturn can be navigated through the ring after an eight-year voyage. What else in life has that degree of predictability? NASA has a book with detailed predictions of location and timing for every solar eclipse that will occur in the next thousand years. If you look in there and see that a total eclipse shadow is going to pass over your town in 873 years, you can rest assured that it will, even though you will not be there to see it!
read next comment if available (0)