"The Last Stargazer: The Immortal Story of the Astronomical Explorer", written by Emily Levisk, translated by Zhang Meigui, Guangchen丨Beijing United Publishing Company July 2022 edition.
Sometimes people have a stereotyped impression of astronomers, thinking that they are like robots, lose the ability to appreciate romance and beauty, and can only dryly state scientific facts and study binary data. When I talked with some of my colleagues about the plan for the day of total eclipse , I deeply realized that they were completely different from this stereotype .
Like many people, I will have my first solar eclipse observation in August 2017. On that day, the moon will completely cover the sun, leaving only a circle of white edges, dragging the moon shadow across a large area of the United States. My colleagues and I know everything about solar eclipses, such as when and where it will happen, and we also know that we must wear a dedicated observation mirror, otherwise we cannot look directly at the sun. Even if it is blocked by the moon by 99%, we also know that the silver-white light of corona (the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere) can be seen at the eclipse stage. However, when I mentioned solar eclipse with my colleagues, most people talked about the first thing they said was not scientific knowledge, but how beautiful it is, how shocking sensory experience and spiritual cleansing it bring to humans.
Since we know the poetic mathematics and beautiful science behind the eclipse, astronomers seem to be able to appreciate the beauty of the eclipse better. Whether for scientific research or out of love for the universe, observers who have seen solar eclipses will praise them that when the moment of food comes, for two and a half minutes, there is only a quiet and indifferent heart in their hearts, with only a breathtaking corona light in their eyes, and they are selflessly immersed in the beautiful astronomical wonders, as if they are with the entire solar system, and they cannot hear the troubles of the world.
My personal experience is not so Zen-rich.
htmlMay shadows come to the world, everyone wears solar eclipse glasses
2017 solar eclipse, some of my colleagues in Wyoming organized a popular science tour event, and invited 200 solar eclipse enthusiasts to Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club in Jackson City to watch the solar eclipse together. I joined their event as one of the special guest speakers, giving scientific reports to those who came to the event in the evening. The morning of the eclipse, the blue sky was as clear as jasper, and people came to the open golf course, scattered in every corner, to the west were the Grand Tetons, with sharp peaks standing behind us. Everyone stood facing the sun, like the sunflower that rotated his head with the sun, holding a wide range of observation instruments in his hands: everyone brought a pair of dark eclipse glasses, some even brought binoculars equipped with eclipse lenses, various digital cameras, small astronomical telescope with sun filters, and equipment that projected the sun onto the screen using small hole imaging.
Many people come here are veterans of solar eclipse observation. I was told that this would be the 20th solar eclipse they saw, and that it was the first time my family and I were. My friend Doug Duncan was the organizer of the event. He said generously that I could take my family to attend. Maybe I didn’t expect my family to be so large, and eventually invited 16 people (Dave, my parents, my brother and his wife and children, as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins and cousins). They are all like me, looking forward to the first total solar eclipse that I will see soon, and when I think of it, I feel so excited that I can't suppress myself. For this long and expensive eclipse trip, they saved a lot of vacation and travel expenses and came here to meet me by plane, car or camping RV from , Massachusetts , hoping that it would be sunny this morning, and it would be worth the trip. Stills from the documentary "Total Solar Eclipse in the Thirty Years of the Republic of China" (1941).
As the sun is blocked bit by bit, everyone's expectations are getting stronger and stronger. The process of the sun being eaten by the sun is long and invisible. People can only feel the temperature gradually dropping, and the light abnormally turns from light to dark. The projection of the sun slowly turns from a round cake to Pac-Man, and then from Pac-Man to Croissant bread.The enthusiasts on the stadium were all happy, talking about the solar eclipse, and when they saw someone passing by, they excitedly called the other party to see their astronomical telescope or binoculars with special filter devices, sharing the wonders in the mirror. People throughout Wyoming—to be precise, the whole American—have embraced where the total solar eclipse passes. From Oregon to South Carolina , a large number of people were blocked on the highway, some wearing solar eclipse observation glasses, some wearing dark welding goggles, and some directly use materials on the spot, using whatever small holes they could find (couple, Lezhi biscuits, graters) to act as a "pinhole camera" to watch the slowly disappearing sun. That week, social media was filled with news of solar eclipses, and all news and radio shows were scrambling to cover it. As astronomers, we are really happy to see the people across the country go crazy because of astronomical phenomena. Millions of astronomical enthusiasts have joined this astronomical event, as if they are holding a national observation conference.
The moment before the food arrived, the excitement in people's hearts reached an uncontrollable peak. The moon shadows came to the world, and everyone wore solar eclipse glasses, faced the sky, and waited with breath. Some people turned around in amazement because right behind us, the first wisp of food that covered the Greater Teton Mountain, crossed the mountains, rivers and approached us at a speed of more than 2,000 miles per hour. The light and shadow on the grass around
flashes. "It's the shadow belt!" Doug shouted excitedly on the court. Just as the stars in the night sky flicker due to the turbulent atmospheric , the sun's beam is also split into mottled light and shadow and dark bands by the atmospheric turbulence. Just a few seconds before and after the sun was completely obscured, the slender chromosphere halo passed through the earth's atmosphere and was refracted by the atmospheric turbulence. Only the faint light reached the ground, swaying like waves, like ripples of sunlight at the bottom of the pool. People began to murmur softly, and with the arrival of the moment of food, the shouts, cheers and applause reached an unprecedented climax. Two hundred participants took off their glasses and paid tribute to this sacred moment.
At that moment, I looked at the sky foolishly and forgot to breathe. A perfect and stunning black moon shadow occupied the position of the sun, surrounded by a circle of jagged silver halos, which shocked me so much that I couldn't help but burst into tears. This is the corona, the hot outer edge of the sun's atmosphere . In the process of constantly ejecting matter, the particles are thrown into space to form solar wind or star wind , which is the key to the evolution of the sun and other stars. I have been studying stars almost my whole life and have used more than a dozen of the world's best telescopes to observe them, but this is the first time in my life that I have seen the star wind with my naked eyes. The entire sky became dark. No matter which direction I looked, it was filled with a dimness like the setting sun. The warmth brought to the world by the bright sun had dissipated, and was replaced by a nearly primitive coldness. At this moment, the earth seemed to stop rotating, and everyone was frozen at the moment when they held their heads.
colleagues once said that this touching touches the depths of the soul will run through the whole process of food and . Compared to me, they were obviously much calmer and more indifferent, at least more patient and more restrained than me, because when I saw the sun being completely covered, I completely lost the rationality I had always been proud of for the next two and a half minutes.
I started to look left and right, overwhelmed. I knew I should stare at the solar eclipse without looking around the whole process, but I was unwilling to miss the "close shadow" in the binoculars, nor did I want to miss the scope that my father adjusted. I took it excitedly and circled around the 360-degree sunset panorama, and circled around the rare family, running back and forth like a marble. Are they watching? Did you see it with a binocular? Or a scope? Is anyone watching the sunset? Is everyone watching obediently? ? (Yes, yes, you're all watching, you can calm down for a while.) I found Mercury from the field of view of the binoculars and "ambushed" to the lower left of the sun. During the solar eclipse discussion the night before, we were not sure if we could see it, but we saw it today."Look, it's Mercury!" I screamed excitedly, and the voice spread throughout the court, probably throughout Wyoming. I hugged Dave in ecstasy (slammed the binoculars into his hand and shouted excitedly, "Look at the edge of the sun, it is a large glittering plasma !"), hugged my parents, hugged others, and there were probably strangers who were tragically hugged by my bear. The moment the sun shines, a diamond-like light shone out from the rugged mountain gap on the edge of the moon. Everyone and I cheered again, shouting, "Put on glasses!!!" (still at the highest volume), and then ran through the venue like a wind-chasing girl, sharing my joy with Doug. I later learned that during the entire total solar eclipse stage, a documentary film crew was filming our team, and just took a picture of the crazy look of me jumping up and down when I saw the food. I was like I had just finished a long run, and sighed breathlessly: "This is the fastest two and a half minutes in my life!"
legendary solar eclipse investigation story
total solar eclipse can be regarded as one of the most difficult to observe astronomical wonders, and it is also an astronomical phenomenon that has gained a lot in the astronomy world. It gives astronomers a unique opportunity to study everything in the universe, including the mystery of the sun itself, as well as the complex theories of gravity and time and space. Similar occlusion phenomena will also occur on a smaller scale, called transit or occultation (occultation), which is no different from the principle of a solar eclipse. Observing the transit of Venus as it passes between the sun and the earth will help us better understand Venus' atmosphere and how to identify planets orbiting other stars. Planets and asteroids in the solar system sometimes even quickly pass through the surfaces of other distant stars, giving astronomers a brief time to study the light changes of the star and gain new knowledge such as the planet's atmosphere, the shape of the asteroid, and the working principle of the solar system.
is the same as the solar eclipse observations in 2017. The trick to obtain valuable astronomical information lies in the right time and place, that is, at the right time and at the right place. Observing a solar eclipse is as difficult as climbing to the sky. Whether it is a transit on the moon or a mini asteroid briefly obscuring a corner of a star, these obscurities will cast shadows on the surface of the earth, but only cover a small piece of land on the earth. This means that unless the observer is so lucky that he is in a zone where the phenomenon can be observed and has a top-level telescope, he can only passively become a "shadow-chasing person". This is why in 2017, in order to see the last total solar eclipse in the world that year, so many people would all embrace the narrow zone between Oregon and South Carolina in the United States: that year, the moon moved between the earth and the sun, just dragging a slender shadow to the United States, starting from Oregon and ending in South Carolina, marking the path of a total solar eclipse.
For astronomers who specialize in occultation events, they have to carry huge equipment to travel all over the mountains, rivers and embark on a long journey of chasing the "phantoms" of the universe all over the world. If the mountain is not just me, I will be the mountain. Astronomers cannot expect them to come to them in person, so they can only take the initiative to go to them with their astronomical equipment. As a result, the astronomical observation group became a touring circus, dragging conveniently packed equipment and moving to the point where the "Phantom" is settled. It is difficult to say where the "Phantom" may fall. Astronomers have accurately grasped the relative motion of the earth, the moon and the sun from a mathematical level, and can perfectly predict the time of the solar eclipse and the location of the solar eclipse zone. However, if we are facing a distant asteroid and only roughly know its size, mass, distance, and orbit, and it passes by an dark star, , then the results of mathematical calculations are not so accurate and the uncertainty is greater. If a team wants to study this asteroid, they have to divide their troops into several potential observation points and wait for several days. In addition, they are not obliged to cooperate with the earth's weather and sky conditions and appear at ideal times and places.Astronomers have worked hard to finally arrive at the right place at the right time. If an inappropriate dark cloud comes, it will be enough to make all the efforts they have put in.
The word "scientific investigation" often reminds people of explorers at the turn of the century, carrying a team of horses, an hunting rifle, , a body of wisdom, a fearless heart, tenaciously trekking through the unknown wilderness. There are indeed some famous adventure stories about solar eclipse observations in history, and their spirit of adventure has been passed down to this day. Stills from the documentary "Star Gazing Guide" Season 1 (2011).
There were many legendary eclipse investigation stories in the previous centuries, which were enough to be written into a book independently, including David Baron's American Eclipse, which narrates the solar eclipse that ran across North America in 1878, which made the whole world crazy, and it was like the golden age of solar eclipse research. The most famous solar eclipse observation in the history of science is undoubtedly a scientific investigation conducted by Arthur Eddington in 1919 to verify general relativity of . According to Einstein's theory, when the sun passes through the background celestial body, due to the influence of the sun's gravity on space-time, it will become a gravitational lens, bending the light of the background celestial body. When observing the background celestial body from the earth, its star image will deviate from its original position. Usually, the sun is too dazzling and all celestial bodies are submerged in its light, so it is difficult to verify the gravitational lens effect, but solar eclipses can easily get rid of this difficulty. All Arthur Eddington had to do was bring the most advanced observation instruments in 1919, find the path to the solar eclipse, and quickly measure the position of the adjacent stars when the moon blocked the sun, and then successfully verify the gravitational lens effect.
In 2017, many astronomical enthusiasts in the United States drove to the place where the sun was passing through with their cameras, blocking the originally silent and deserted place. The congested traffic caused them to suffer a lot, but compared to Eddington's trip in 1919, it was simply a slim witch. In 1919, more than two months before the solar eclipse on May 29, Eddington brought a large telescope borrowed from the observatory and a box of fragile glass negatives. He set out from the UK and took a boat to Príncipe Island on the west coast of Africa. After arriving at the destination, his team set up the equipment a few weeks in advance. On the day of the solar eclipse, it rained heavily throughout the morning. The sky was covered by thick clouds, and everyone held their breath and prayed for a turnaround. Fortunately, the sky cleared up just before the solar eclipse, and they took a few precious photos as they wished, confirming Einstein's theory.
However, not every observer has such good luck. An unreliable device, a cloud of inconsistencies, is enough to put all efforts into vain. When someone travels through mountains and rivers, prepares for months, just to capture data for a few minutes, but encounters such a situation, the frustration in his heart cannot be described in words.
Guillaume Lejentire was a French astronomer in the 18th century. He went to the distance for observation many times, but they all ended in failure, so it is known to future generations. In 1761, in order to observe Venus' transit, he set out from France to Pondicherry in India, and he was almost unfavorable to go on the ship. It turned out that when he was still halfway, a war broke out between Britain and France, Pondicherry was occupied by Britain, and Lejentire's French crew gave up on India and instead docked on Madagascar on the east coast of Mauritius . Lejentiel, with a gamble mentality, observed directly on the deck, but the result was futile.
Venus transits is extremely rare, but it will appear in pairs, 8 years apart, and it will take a century to see its wonder again. 1761 was the first time Venus transit in the century. Le Thiel knew that he had another chance in 1769, so he decided to stay on Indian Ocean for the next eight years and try again on the next Venus transit. This time, things started a good start. In 1768, Pondicherry returned to France's arms and warmly welcomed Lejentire's arrival. It took him more than a year to build an observation station.The second Venus transit occurred on June 4, 1769. It was stormy and rainy from dawn, covered with dark clouds, and the face of the sun was invisible, but it immediately cleared when the Venus transit ended.
Le made Thiel feel depressed and fell ill. During his 11 years of wandering outside, he had never sent a letter from home. It was not until I returned to France with a sick body that I regretted it. My relatives and friends only knew that he had gone to India, and he had never been heard from him since then and never came back. In desperation, everyone decided to look forward: he was declared dead legally, his wife married another person, and the inheritors quarreled over his property, and even the French Academy of Sciences, the unit that sent him to perform observation tasks, had his membership cancelled. The bumpy fate made Le Thiel secure the first place of "the worst traveler in history".
Astronomical wonders have a nearly primitive attraction to humans
Today, with planes and mobile phones, traveling is no longer so troublesome, but solar astronomers still run to the other end of the earth every few years to go where the solar eclipse passes. Shadia Habar has led ten solar eclipse inspection teams, with footprints all over the world. The solar eclipse is an excellent opportunity to study solar wind and solar magnetic field . She and her team followed the trajectory of the solar eclipse and observed the external structure of the sun when the moon completely obscured the sun, because only at this time can astronomers see its external structure.
Of course, Shadia also suffered from the weather: in 1997, she encountered a blizzard in Mongolia; in 2002, she encountered an uninvited cloud in South Africa; in 2013, she encountered a sandstorm in Kenya . In addition, she has to face difficult logistical challenges. During a solar eclipse observation in 2006, Shadia personally realized that when choosing a professional solar eclipse observation location, one must not only consider the eclipse path, but also the local climate, including the "climate" in the meteorological sense and the "climate" in the political sense. The path of the solar eclipse was arc-shaped across North Africa . The southern part of Libya became the most ideal observation point, but this is exactly the trickiest place. Fortunately, in early 2004, the US State Department just lifted the ban on US citizens traveling to Libya for more than 20 years. Otherwise, Shadia would not have been able to lead a solar eclipse inspection team to enter Libya in a mighty manner. Later, the Libyan army even assisted them in transporting the equipment to the south and set up an antenna next to the camp in the desert to facilitate their access to the Internet. Stills from the documentary "Star Gazing Guide" Season 1 (2011).
Another solar eclipse in 2015 appeared over Arctic Circle . Shadia's team used Svalbard in northern Norway as an ideal observation site. With a beautiful valley located in the canyon as the base, carefully surveyed the terrain, and determined the best observation point. During the total solar eclipse, through the staggered peaks, the low-hanging corona over the Arctic Circle can be seen. In that observation, in addition to worrying about visibility, weather and equipment, Shadia's team also had to be careful of polar bear . For bears near the observatory, you usually just need to stay away from them and not provoke them on your own initiative, but polar bears are not that easy to pass. This year, several team members who participated in solar eclipse observations received special shooting training and issued rifles to them after arriving in Norway. The entire team worked in the snowy valley, and there were people watching nearby. When the dazzling corona illuminates the snow-covered valley, facing an extremely magnificent solar eclipse, the fear of polar bears can only retreat. 15 minutes before the meal, the town where Shadia's team was located stopped all activities, giving every resident a chance to go out to enjoy the solar eclipse.
Sadia remembered another observation experience. Although the place was not as unique as the Arctic Circle in March, the local people's reaction to the solar eclipse was exactly the same as that of the Norwegian people. The solar eclipse in July 2010 appeared in French Polynesia , directly over the small atoll island of Tatakoto.After going to the island, Shadia, who could speak French fluently, went to the local primary school to provide popular science education for the children, explaining the importance of wearing solar eclipse observation glasses, and how to take off her glasses when the total solar eclipse comes and enjoy the sun like obsidian and the silver-white corona. Later, the school principal found Shadia and proposed an idea: if she could tell him when the total solar eclipse came, he could ring the church bell at that time, so that everyone on the island would take off their glasses and watch the total solar eclipse as soon as they heard the bell. The plan was perfect, with about 250 residents on the island seeing a spectacular total solar eclipse.
After seeing the total solar eclipse in 2017 with my own eyes, I deeply realized that the astronomical wonders have an almost primitive attraction to humans, which is so strong that it is irresistible. The story of Shadia makes me recall the town of Jackson, Wyoming in 2017. In order to welcome the arrival of the solar eclipse, the whole town has changed its appearance, with lights and colorful colors and joyfulness. Restaurants of all sizes have launched beer and snacks with eclipse themes as the destination, and the shops display customized jewelry with eclipse themes. For those who are on the path of the solar eclipse, no one does not expect the arrival of the total solar eclipse. When the sun disappears briefly, you can feel an indescribable emotion flowing quietly in everyone's heart.
On average, solar eclipse occurs every eighteen months on Earth
solar eclipse is an unforgettable magnificent wonder. Its mystery has been studied thoroughly by humans: thanks to the calculation formula of planetary orbits, as well as the carefully measured distance between the sun, earth and earth and the earth and the moon, today we can accurately calculate the time and place of the solar eclipse, and accurately to seconds. However, as astronomers began to turn their attention to those much smaller obscurity events, such as an asteroid passing through the surface of a dark star, everything became erratic again, and prediction became more difficult. The obstruction phenomenon called "occasion" by observers is often fleeting and occurs in a very short time span: some asteroids that flash by the doorsteps of stars can only obstruct their light for a few seconds. How well we know about the distance, orbit, shape, and size of this asteroid determines how accurate the time and location of the occultation we calculated is. Therefore, when its shadow belt falls and where it will fall becomes confusing.
has a more slim chance of seeing it. On average, solar eclipse occurs every eighteen months on Earth, but if you want to see an asteroid sweeping across a bright enough background star in a corner of the earth, this corner must also be a place where observation materials and teams can reach. The possibility of getting what you want will greatly decrease, and maybe you can only encounter it once in your life.
In 2014, astronomers discovered a rocky celestial object numbered 2014 MU69, located in the Kuiper Belt, an endless belt composed of countless rocky celestial objects, located at the outermost periphery of the solar system and orbiting the sun. It is not conspicuous in itself, except for a little bit: in 2018, we will have the honor to visit it. Since its launch in 2006, the New Horizons probe, (New Horizons), has been flying in space for nine years, and finally arrived at the orbit of Pluto . It took the first close-up shot of the surface of dwarf planet , successfully completed the inspection mission, and gradually flew away from Pluto and flew towards a further universe. At this time, astronomers turned their attention to the Kuiper Belt, where they looked for suitable celestial bodies as the next detection target of New Horizon, which is 2014 MU69. After several orbital changes, the new horizon will head towards the 2014 MU69, which is expected to begin approaching the object by the end of 2018 and will stare at it closely on January 1, 2019. Before that, astronomers wanted to collect as much information as possible on this strange object, as the New Horizon had only one chance to fly over it. Collecting as much early data as possible allows us to make the most of this flyby.
This is a good time for the occultation observation experts to show their skills.Astronomers know that the 2014 MU69 is both small (later observations show that it is only 22 miles long) and dark (as a rock mass, it does not glow itself, and no one could have discovered it if it hadn't reflected a little sun's light). According to the results of orbital calculations, it will pass by three different stars on July 3, 10 and 17, 2017. In order to capture these once-in-a-lifetime occultation incidents, a group of expert teams have been sent around the world to set up dozens of mobile telescopes in South Africa and Argentina. In July of that year, multiple teams were lucky enough to capture the shadow band of the 2014 MU69 at selected observation points, further determining the orbit and shape of this small celestial body.
Even SOFIA has joined the action. In terms of occultation observation, SOFIA has high maneuverability and can fly to the occultation path, which has obvious advantages. A long time ago, Jim Elliott proved the unique advantages of the airborne observatory in this regard, and successfully discovered the Pluto atmosphere and Uranus rings . In addition to Kuiper airborne observatory , of course, there are also planets, atmospheres and rings that block stars. SOFIA devotes all resources deployed at Christchurch base in 2017 to chase the shadow of the 2014 MU69, successfully capturing the brief moments it covers the stars with precise flight routes and schedules, helping researchers better understand the stars’ edge structure and surrounding environment.
2014 The total time for MU69 to mask nearby stars is no more than one or two minutes, but the data collected in these or two minutes is enough. Dozens of telescopes were in battle, the research team was running around, and everyone's efforts gathered together to unveil the veil of the 2014 MU69: it was a peculiar oval, like two round petal-like structures sticking together, and circling tightly around each other. These data helped New Horizon further correct its flight exploration plan, and the first photo taken when it flew close to MU69 in 2014 also proved that the team's previous conclusions were correct. In the high-definition images it sent back, the 2014 MU69 is composed of two spheres connected, as if two snowballs were glued together, resembling a snowman. The 2014 MU69 is more than 4 billion miles from the Earth and is the most distant celestial object that the spacecraft has visited so far. Stills from the
documentary "Stargazer" (2015).
Astronomers' star-chasing and shadow-chasing have never been smooth sailing. Logistical challenges always set up many roadblocks on the journey, causing them to be in a hurry. Time alone is very ruthless. The 2014 MU69 occultation incident was particularly short, lasting only a few seconds at most, and most occultation phenomena are so short. To observe them, the team traveled thousands of miles, went deep into the wilderness, arranged observation points, formulated plans in advance, and left enough buffer time. But a slight mathematical error, a sudden equipment failure, or an uninvited dark cloud, is enough to put all efforts into vain. There are also great differences in traffic convenience for the observation locations of
. Some observers only need to "drive to the top of the mountain where the Paloma Observatory is located because it passes just above the top of the mountain", while others have to travel a long distance to go deep into the small mountain village of Switzerland , or an island on an ocean. In a remote area, even if you encounter common equipment problems, they will become difficult problems. However, no matter where the astronomers go and what objects they observe will arouse cheers and enthusiasm equal to solar eclipse.
In 2017, the 2014 MU69 occupancy observation team came to Comodoro Rivadavia, a small town in southern Argentina with a population of about 180,000. Larry Wasserman still remembers the sensation caused at that time. Local newspapers rushed to report on this observation activity. Although there were not many people in the city who could speak English, Larry would be stopped by the locals every time he went to the city to do business or eat, and asked if he was from the inspection team. On the night of the observation, in order to reduce light pollution, all street lights were closed in the city and major traffic roads were blocked for several hours. The observation team had worried that the strong wind would shaking the portable telescope and unable to collect high-quality data. To prevent this from happening, local drivers drove their tall trucks over and surrounded the observation points to block the wind.That night, the entire town was still, just to allow astronomers to quietly observe the seconds when the 2014 MU69 obscures adjacent stars.
Astrology is a satire of astronomy
When I hear these stories, I can’t help but think of astrology. It is a satire of astronomy, and is regarded as an oracle superstition - predicting human behavior and everything in the world based on the relative positions of stars and planets. Every professional astronomer will say that astrology is absolutely fake. Anyone with some scientific common sense can quickly see through astrology scams, such as the trajectory of Mercury (the so-called , Mercury retrograde in astrology is actually a visual illusion caused by the relative speed of Mercury and the Earth, which makes people mistakenly think that Mercury is regressing), or the sign hidden behind the sun on the day of birth (of course you can't see your opposite sign on the day of birth. Since it rises during the day, only if you can see it will be ghosts!), these have nothing to do with your personality, habits, and destiny. I have never seen any astronomer who believes in astrology, they are truly well-educated absolute star experts!
However, a funny colleague once told me that the starry sky does "dominate" the life of astronomers, although not in a metaphysical or supernatural way. This sentence makes sense. After all, a faulty telescope and an observation night with a roar of wind are enough to prevent a young researcher from completing his doctoral thesis defense as scheduled. This is a major event that affects life and career. As for the observation of occultation, the slight difference in time determines whether you will become a celebrity scientist on the headlines of the newspaper or a wretched family dog.
Lejentire's life trajectory was completely changed due to the two Venus transits. However, most people have not experienced such dramatic variables in their lives, but they are also subtly affected by astronomical phenomena. For example, when I was two years old, I saw Halley's Comet in my backyard. Since then, I have loved astronomy. When I grew up, I chose MIT . I met Dave there. Later, I left my hometown 6,000 miles and went to Hawaii to study for a graduate school. After graduation, I resolutely devoted myself to the astronomy career I love, traveled to observatories around the world, and came to the golf course in Wyoming to watch the first solar eclipse in my life with my family. The universe is full of infinite possibilities, and our determination to dedicate ourselves to the sea of stars and decide not to take the ordinary path makes everything seem like a coincidence, but also as if it is destined. Astrology is pure nonsense, but one thing applies to us - the starry sky dominates the life of every astronomer. Stills from the documentary "Journey to the Time of the Universe" (2014).
As the solar eclipse event in Wyoming gradually ended, the golf course also calmed down. My family and I walked aimlessly, savoring the afterglow of the solar eclipse. Slowly, slowly, the sun again showed its face from behind the moon. From time to time, we looked up our heads, looked through our glasses or two, and admired the wonders just now. Several people are already asking about what happened in April 2024, when North America will usher in another total solar eclipse, with the arc-shaped moon shadow falling in the eastern part of the North American continent, starting with Mexico and Texas, ending with Maine and Nova Scotia in Canada. For solar eclipse enthusiasts, whether they are new or veterans, this means another short-distance self-driving or long-distance flight.
If we stop and think about it carefully, we will find that there were countless events of big and small on the day of the solar eclipse, which was enough to gather into a heart-stirring epic. After years of careful planning and preparation, the 200 people came to the observation site in Wyoming on this day. The sky is cloudless and can be seen at a glance, and the most shocking thing is the solar eclipse itself. It is easy to forget what a wonderful coincidence it is to be able to see such a total solar eclipse wonder on Earth. Perhaps it is precisely because of this that the Earth is so unique that even if we look around and look for other planets we can find, we cannot find a second Earth.
Humans are still actively exploring more planets and their satellites, but one thing is certain: it is very unlikely to find a planet that perfectly matches the Earth, orbiting a central star 93 million miles away, followed by a small satellite that is just rounded 240,000 miles away from it, with a very small possibility. In a distant future, if we achieve interstellar travel and meet a group of friendly alien visitors, perhaps the Earth's solar eclipse will become a popular spot for interstellar travel, just like the Grand Canyon in Arizona, attracting a steady stream of interstellar tourists.
On the day when the total solar eclipse in August 2017 was temporarily revealed, few people knew that undercurrents in the universe were surging, ripples were surging, and unexpected discoveries were shocked by the world. This is also the reason why I couldn't wait to take out my mobile phone to surf the Internet as soon as the total solar eclipse ended. While watching photos of total solar eclipse posted by astronomers from all over the country, I was paying attention to my email address. Meanwhile, a group of scientists are attending an academic conference on high-energy astrophysics in Sun Valley, Idaho, while lamenting behind-the-back internet services. Just four days ago, a signal that humans had never detected set out from 130 million light years away, crossed the vast universe, and finally arrived on the earth, causing a stormy undercurrent, causing some astronomers to panic.
This article is selected from "The Last Stargazer: The Immortal Story of the Astronomical Explorer". The subtitle was added by the editor and is not owned by the original text. It has been authorized by the publisher to publish.
Original author/[US] Emily Levisk
excerpted/An Ye
edited/Zhang Jin
introduction proofreading/Zhao Lin
