Of all the animals on Earth, the most interesting ones to watch are humans. On this Monday, the total eclipse comes to The World and for a few hours, as it crosses The Americas from southwest to northeast, changes to nature will take place. Instead of dividing the nation as have recent events, it will unite us for the time it exemplifies the greatness of our God and the gratitude for human ability to predict such a spectacle.
I have heard of no conspiracy theories concerning its occurrence. Throughout human history, solar eclipses have captivated and mystified civilizations across the globe. The earliest records are in ancient China where such events were thought to foretell death or natural disasters. The word eclipse originates from the Greek word for failure.
In recent times, eclipses have played a part in advancing our understanding of the universe. According to scientists, observation of the Sun’s corona, the outermost layer of its atmosphere, confirms Einstein’s theory of general relativity. And Jeffrey Kluger in Time magazine says, “Some of the greatest changes during an eclipse occur far above us in the ionosphere where the overall concentration of ions in that layer of Earth’s atmosphere drops, leading to disruption of radio signals and anomalies in GPS navigation.”
Nocturnal insects, bats and birds may emerge as the sky darkens, bees return to their hives, and horses head for the stables. Pray that mankind may exist to view another such phenomenon in 2044.
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