I’m really lucky that my kids took me to Missouri and into the center of the path of the total solar eclipse. I sometimes get the hint that they aren’t sure I’ve had enough adventures yet, having been a lowly professor who was dedicated to my job. Until this time. I was sure that eclipse viewing close to totality was good enough. I was wrong.
We went camping at the Sam A Baker State Park. It’s not close to any major city and the crush of people they expected didn’t show up in force, although the campgrounds were full. We camped and although I’d prefer a luxury hotel, it was worth it. The park was pretty and well kept. The spring ephemerals were in bloom.
We attended a lecture about the eclipse given by a retired astronomy professor. We learned that one special thing about this eclipse is that the moon was very close to the Earth (perigee) and the sun far away (apogee). This made it possible for the moon to totally cover the sun. (An annular eclipse doesn’t meet this requirement). I also had no idea that the moon has a titled elliptical orbit, as does the earth, which is why an eclipse occurs in so many varied places. This also explains why they are more likely to occur when the Earth is titled towards the sun, which means they are rare in winter. Here’s a map of upcoming eclipses. He stressed that we needed to wear eclipse glasses to prevent us from going blind, but at totality, we could take them off.
He also told us to look for Baily’s Beads and talked a little about solar ejections (coronal mass ejections.) The later has the potential to disrupt telecommunications and navigation devices. This is called a Carrington Event –one melted telegraph lines and sparked railroad tracks during the US Civil War. The world is anticipating another one, with a scary scenario. Using their best predictive powers, scientists are working to predict the next super storm.
We had no cell service and hadn’t gotten a weather update in days. Starlink traveled overhead but we couldn’t get a connection, only a reminder not to subject ourselves to the whims of billionaires. People asked the wise professor the inevitable. “What’s the weather going to be like?” He echoed what a man selling firewood had predicted. “It’s going to be perfectly clear.”
Poking fun at conspiracy theories, we donned our tinfoil hats as we waited for the eclipse—totality was to occur about 2 pm.
Sometimes, it’s hard to muster a sense of awe, but with cool breeze and eerie shadows, the eclipse caught us in its snare.
Moon-shadow basking.
We weren’t prepared for the weird and surreal moment of totality. Without a sunset, darkness fell as if a switch was thrown. We dropped our glasses, under the spell of the darkened sun with its dazzling corona. Had I been alone, I might have cried. Stars came out. Crows cawed. A frog chirped. Humans yelled at the raw moment of cosmic wonder. Within 4 minutes, the sun peeked out and the light came back in a rush.
(photo on location by Paul Van Zante)
We headed for home, avoiding St. Louis and its traffic. Back roads put us behind an hour, not bad considering all-nighters experienced by some.
During the long car ride, I sat there thankful for the experience. I was grateful to the professor and his insights. It made me proud to have been a professor. Without understanding of an eclipse, it would have been a frightening experience. It’s good to be reminded that we really are at the mercy of the universe. Science has helped make nature appear less capricious, but every bit as magnificent.
Catherine Haustein 
Dear professor Catherine Haustein,
Thank you for reflecting upon your life in such a great detail here. Having been a multidisciplinary academic, I concur with you about science, and I would like to add that the science and philosophy of research (and of knowledge) are very complex. We live in a world where issues and problems are often multifactorial and require multidisciplinary approaches to understand and (re)solve. In addition, the many problems and impacts of science in general, and computing and information technologies in particular, could have been considerably reduced and better moderated or monitored, if not eliminated, when more scientists are much better informed by the philosophy of science, the history of science, and the sociology of science.
Indeed, the total solar eclipse was quite a sight to behold! Speaking of astronomy and looking up into the sky, the late Carl Sagan had been such a wonderful human being that we desperately need more people like he nowadays, people who can inspire others so amicably and commendably. I have read many of his books, including “The Demon-Haunted World”. I read these books a long time ago, and thus feel delighted and also very nostalgic when watching documentaries or YouTube videos containing Sagan’s words of enduring significance.
His message about the “Pale Blue Dot” provides such a lovely, grand and unifying prose to prompt us to do something about being good earthlings and cultivating critical thinking! His words always elicit in me a feeling of nostalgia, humility and profundity. Needless to say, this message is presented as the very last quotation in my expansive multimedia post about Earth Day at
What an inspirational life Sagan had! The series “Cosmos” is such a watershed for its breadth and depth, not to mention Vangelis’ music. As you probably already know, Neil deGrasse Tyson, a scientist who greatly admires the late Carl Sagan, has presented the new series of “Cosmos”.
I also own the book entitled “Carl Sagan: A Life” by Keay Davidson. Given that you like to learn and quote so much about Sagan, I wonder whether you have come across or read the book.
There is also his daughter Sasha Sagan’s beautiful memoir/humanist manifesto/love letter to the Cosmos, entitled For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World“.
Wishing both of you a productive springtime doing or enjoying whatever that satisfies you the most, including but not limited to composing highly commendable blog posts!
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
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Yes. It’s why I feel alarmed when I see science focused schools. Scientists need to learn all about the many facets of life, not simple look through the science lens. Sagan had that “sense of wonder” which Rachel Carson so elegantly described. Science is more than engineering something. It’s an appreciation of the natural world and a way to drive out superstition’s demons, not summon more demons. Thank you for your insightful comment!
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Dear professor Catherine Haustein,
You are very welcome.
Thank you for visiting and liking my post entitled “🏝💗 Romancing by the Beach and Sea with True Love and Reminiscence 😶🌫🐚🐟”, which will only make good sense if it is watched on a large screen. I would like to inform you that it is preferrable to use a desktop or laptop computer with a large screen to view the rich multimedia contents available for heightening your multisensory enjoyment at my blog, as the limitations of iPad, iPhone, tablet or other portable devices frequently result in very dissatisfactory and highly problematic handling of the complexities of my blog contents, severely curtailing their readability and distorting their formats.
Moreover, since my intricate website contains advanced styling and multimedia components plus animations, it is advisable to avoid viewing the contents of my website using the WordPress Reader, which cannot show many of the advanced features and animations in my posts and pages. It is best to read the posts and pages directly in my website so that you will be able to savour and relish all of the refined and glorious details plus animations, given that my website contains not just texts and images but also bespoke stylings and dynamic animations — images and stories that are animated on their own. These are not videos but actual animations.
May you and your family enjoy a lovely weekend!
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
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Dear professor Catherine Haustein,
If you also happened to be an audiophile and connoisseur of fine sonic art, then you would be pleased by the availability of a fair amount of music on my blog, much of which comprises my musical compositions. These constitute only a fraction of my total musical output, as I have yet to find time to showcase the rest on my blog. Moreover, those published compositions are by no means representative of my musical oeuvres, which are very diverse. Hence, please kindly turn on your finest speakers or headphones, as some of my posts and pages will be playing music to you automatically.
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
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A super natural post. Thank you, Catherine! 💓
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Hi Cathy. Nice story. I suppose you’ve read Annie Dillard’s “Total Eclipse.” It’s a real stunner.
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I just read it now. Thanks for recommending!
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