NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2024 Feb 14, 15:56 -0800
Jim Wyse, you wrote:
"Fast-forward 258 years to the upcoming 2024 eclipse, it seems that Burgeo's Eclipse Island will once again witness a solar eclipse."
Very nice! I wonder how many people can stand on Eclipse Island? It's rather small! Is it public or private land? But what better place could there be to watch this eclipse than "Eclipse Island"?? Have you visited that little island, Jim?
The eclipse in April is far better than the eclipse Cook and his team observed in 1766. That one had a maximum depth of nearly 85%. That may sound like it's only 15% shy of a total eclipse, but the difference in visual "impact" is a thousand times greater. An eclipse with a depth of 85% means that the Sun's brightness is reduced as much as when it's 85% covered by thick clouds. That's not much! Many people, unless they're aware a partial eclipse is happening in advance, will not even notice that level of obscuration. But totality? The difference is "like night and day", and this is a case where that tired phrase is right on the money. Casual observers will squeal in delight when the Sun vanishes behind the Moon replaced by the strange white glowing ring of the corona.
It all depends on the weather. What is the average probability of clear skies on an early April afternoon in coastal Newfoundland? That's the 64,000 loon question.
Frank Reed
