Then it started and the anticipation grew as we watched the moon’s orb engulf the sun’s orb. Some people were looking through filter glasses. Some people saw the projection. We all felt anticipation and excitement building as the moon crossed over the sun. As totality approached, I began to feel the light diminish slightly and the air began to cool slightly.
Then the moment of totality arrived. That was all past witnesses described. As darkness descended, something began to stir in the back of my mind. The animals began to make noises at night. The sun’s corona flowed whiter than any white I had ever seen, and in place of the sun, the life-giving light was the deepest, darkest black void imaginable. The world was shrouded in darkness. There were stars in the dark evening sky. I could also see Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury, but the deep abyss to which the Sun belonged drew me to it. It was surreal. It looked like something straight out of a sci-fi horror movie. Shivering with cold, all nature tilted – and then the diamond broke the black and the light returned.
Instantly, we began to feel the warmth returning and the heartbeat of nature returned to its normal speed. We watched with sadness as the moon continued its anticlimatic march out of the sun’s disk and everything returned to normal. All we were left with from this amazing beauty were the memories and the bonds of friendship forged by sharing such an amazing event. If you have the opportunity to witness perfection for yourself, do it, even if you have to drive for hours. Bring your loved ones and share together.
james garner, Montgomery, Alabama.
Regarding the April 2nd news article “Total solar eclipse could reveal many deep cosmic truths”:
The title of this article is true insofar as the solar eclipse of May 1919 not only brought about surprises, but also confirmation of a grand cosmic truth: Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. , which is an understatement. He published it as “Field Equations of Gravity” in 1915.
During the 1919 solar eclipse, a scientific team led by British astronomer and physicist Arthur Eddington made observations of the eclipse in Brazil and West Africa, as well as Einstein’s then-conventional theory that light is bent by the sun in response to gravity. pointed out agreement with theoretical predictions (or massive stars). The measured gravitational deflection was again confirmed by the 1922 solar eclipse, proving general relativity to be the cosmological model of spacetime.
In 1675, Isaac Newton told the polymath Robert Hooke, “If I could see further, it would be because of the giants who had preceded him, such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei.” “To stand on the shoulders of others.” Einstein humbly acknowledged that he was standing on the shoulders of others as well, giving special credit to Newton and crediting centuries of research in physics and astronomy for a paradigm shift in the history of science. It came to a conclusion.
So, while keeping in mind that total solar eclipses can help expand our understanding of the universe, we should be wondering where to take science next. As we look past the upcoming total solar eclipse and deep into the cosmos, astrophysicists confirm impressive new truths from the Hubble and Webb telescopes in space, pulling back the cloak of the universe. What do we learn?
Note from Letters and Community Editor Alyssa Rosenberg: Like many of you, I’m looking forward to Monday’s solar eclipse. Our Post newsroom colleagues have published a great guide to experiencing this solar eclipse. For comprehensive information on everything from photographing the phenomenon to checking if your eclipse safety glasses are real, check out our complete guide here. Then let us know what you think at letters@washpost.com. I’ll be watching from Washington, D.C., where the sun is 87 percent obscured.
A monument to overlooked women
Regarding Marcia Blackburn, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Cynthia Lummis, and Katie Britt’s March 30 op-ed, “Where Are the Women on the National Mall?”:
The Women’s Suffrage National Monument would be a welcome addition to the Mall. However, the senators were wrong to say that the mall had “no character.” [monument] Dedicated to American women. ”
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial celebrated its 30th anniversary on November 11th at the Mall. Diane Carlson Evans, a former Army Nurse Corps captain who served in Vietnam and lives in Helena, Mont., spearheaded the effort to install a national monument in the nation’s capital. Recognizes the contributions of more than 265,000 women who served in Vietnam. This bronze statue, of a group of three women and one wounded male soldier, is by renowned female sculptor Glenna Goodacre.
charlotte crawl, Washington
I read with great interest a laudable op-ed written by four Republican women senators from red states about bipartisan efforts to improve women’s representation on the National Mall. I was pleased that this was a bipartisan effort. Women definitely deserve a monument dedicated to their fight for the right to vote.
But I have to ask Republican women. In your eagerness to recognize women’s history, could you spare some energy to ask why the right to vote is still the only right guaranteed to women in the Constitution? The long-overdue right to equality. Where did the amendment go? What about the guarantee that women should have full agency over their own reproductive health? What about full enforcement of equal pay?
These measures may not be the physical monuments that senators are proposing, but they will have a far greater impact on the lives of our nation’s women and girls. You can revisit the history by visiting the statue. If women’s rights are enshrined in the constitution, make history.
adriana van breda, alexandria
While I certainly agree with the four female Republican senators about the lack of monuments dedicated to American women on the National Mall, I think there is a greater need for proper recognition of women on U.S. passports. I would like to add a small voice to even simple issues. The large version has 52 pages. These pages feature quotes from former presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. Minister Henry Emerson Fosdick is an avowed anti-war activist and anti-Zionist. Newspaper reporter Horace Greeley. Jose Antonio Navarro, an enslaved laborer who was one of the founders of the state of Texas and advocated for Texas’ secession from the Union. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Author EB White. Founding Fathers Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson. and Revolutionary War naval commander John Paul Jones. Only two women were deemed worthy of inclusion in these passports: Black feminist and educator Anna Julia Cooper and author Jessamyn West. Our U.S. passport needs to be revised and updated to recognize the contributions of women and men in a more balanced and vibrant way.
Dark history of the deep sea
Regarding the March 31st front page article “In Brazil’s Dark Seas, the Truth About America’s Role in Slavery”:
This fascinating article revealed much about the pre-Civil War slave trade throughout Brazil and the efforts undertaken to discover the sunken ship of notorious slave trader Nathaniel Gordon. Gordon’s life is also a window into other aspects of both human traffic and American politics during the Civil War.
As Christopher Dickey pointed out in his book Our Man of Charleston: British Secret Agents in the Civil War South, Gordon’s “deal” was bad even by the standards of the day, and President Abraham Lincoln He was insightful in his handling of subsequent decisions. Gordon narrowly escapes death and is captured near Brazil, where he is executed.
According to Dickey, Lincoln was quite literal when he described Gordon as a man who “for the sake of small gain, inspired only by greed, could snatch children from Africa and sell them into endless bondage.” . Tagged “Lucky Nut”, Gordon’s success as a slave trader over the years was largely due to his trafficking of children, which greatly reduced the chances of mutiny on board. This is because. His decision to focus on the sale of children also explains the high mortality rate among his victims.
Lincoln saw the need to emulate Gordon and hoped that his execution would have an international impact on his war effort. In fact, while Lincoln had a reputation for granting pardons, this repudiation of pardons was completely planned and thought out to the point of requiring a two-week stay to allow for “family preparation” for the execution. Ta.
David L. Evans, arlington
