The Total Eclipse of 1918!
It was just a few months ago that almost everyone in the United States had eclipse fever. Leading up to August 21, 2017, people traveled from around the world to small towns in states like South Carolina just to be in the eclipse path. I was in Philadelphia during the eclipse, which experienced a peak of 75% sun coverage. To be honest, with a fourth of the sun still visible, I didn't notice much of a change.
Philadelphia was states away from the total eclipse path, but even here many folks still stopped and looked up.
Besides being a neat astronomical event, people were excited for the eclipse because it was the first total one to cross the United States in 99 years. That's right, the last time the United States experienced a total eclipse was on June 8, 1918. Seems like the perfect opportunity to #explore1918.
Were people as excited for the eclipse in 1918 as they were in 2017?
According to Popular Science Monthly, "scores of astronomers from Europe" visited American observatories to witness the event. Apparently the eclipse provided glimpses at parts of our atmosphere and the sun's corona that were only visible during a total eclipse.
Based on this Denver Post piece, witnesses donned special glasses to observe the event much like 2017.
What did Philadelphia see during the total eclipse of 1918?
Based on this map of the eclipse path published in the New York Tribune, in Philadelphia, the 1918 eclipse probably looked a lot like the 2017 eclipse.
An article from the Philadelphia Inquirer published on the day of the eclipse confirms my guess. It reads, "Little difference will be apparent in the amount of sunlight, since the remaining fourth of the disc will shed enough so that the loss will be scarcely noticed unless forewarned." Despite this lack of change, it still seems as though many Philadelphians were excited for the event.
This Philadelphia Inquirer article from the day after the eclipse alleges that the event was observed by "hundreds of Philadelphians in all sections of the city."
Where were you during the 2017 eclipse? Did you see anything? If you don't live in the United States, have you ever witnessed an eclipse?
Sources:
Shelly, Kevin C., "In Philadelphia region, solar eclipse becomes teachable moment as millions look skyward," PhillyVoice, Aug. 21, 2017, retrieved at http://www.phillyvoice.com/the-solar-eclipse-is-now-officially-visible-in-the-philadelphia-region/.
"History," Great American Eclipse, retrieved at https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/20th-century/.
"Stars on Job Early as Sun Goes Down," Philadelphia Inquirer, June 9, 1918.
"Today's Eclipse of the Sun," Philadelphia Inquirer, June 8, 1918.
100% of the SBD rewards from this #explore1918 post will support the Philadelphia History Initiative @phillyhistory. This crypto-experiment conducted by graduate courses at Temple University's Center for Public History and MLA Program, is exploring history and empowering education. Click here to learn more.
Nice one.
Reading the INKY article was a joy! Really. (Well worth the squint.)
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STOPI bet a full eclipse was frightening for people living way before 1918, before we knew what was going on. The sun going black for even a few minutes in the middle of an otherwise bright, clear day has to be terrifying if you don't know anything about astronomy.