Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 28, 2015

Credit: Jay M. Pasachoff and Allison L. Carter, Williams College

THE WORLD AROUND US

12

Mountain Views-News Saturday, March 21, 2015 


SPRING ECLIPSES OF SUN AND MOON


This spring, our Sun and Moon happen to be 
so aligned that first the Moon’s shadow falls on 
the Earth and then, two weeks later, the Earth’s 
shadow falls on the Moon. The result: sky-watchers 
are being treated to both a solar and a lunar eclipse.

 The total solar eclipse, which occurred on 
March 20 (by coincidence, that date was also 
the spring equinox), was visible along a path of 
totality beginning in the mid-Atlantic Ocean and 
continuing north to Greenland, past Iceland, and 
finishing in northern Sibria.

 The Norwegian island of Svalbard—at the top 
of the world at 78° north latitude—was also in the 
path of totality, and Williams College astronomer 
Jay Pasachoff chose this desolate spot as his base 
of operations. His team of eight intrepid scientists 
from the United States, Greece, and Slovakia 
traveled to the Norwegian archipelago to study 
the Sun’s outer atmosphere and the effect of the 
eclipse on Earth’s weather. Pasachoff reports, “The 
weather was improbably-impossibly-wonderful, 
with a complete clear sky, much better than cloud 
statistics from weather satellites had led us to 
expect.” Their work was sponsored by a grant from 
the Committee for Research and Exploration of the 
National Geographic Society.

 Pasachoff, Chair and Field Memorial Professor 
of Astronomy at Williams College, Williamstown, 
Mass., reports that “even though we are past the 
peak of the latest sunspot cycle, the corona still had 
the symmetrical shape of sunspot maximum. Also, 
even a preliminary view of our spectral studies 
showed that the corona was still especially hot, 
averaging well over 2,000,000°F.”

 The research team, and an accompanying tourist 
group of 40 people, observed from an open field 
about 1 mile east of the city of Longyearbyen, the 
2,000-person capital. The temperature of +8°F at 
the onset of the eclipse dropped to -7°F at mid-
totality. Pasachoff is working with atmospheric 
physicist Marcos Peñaloza-Murillo of Venezuela 
in interpreting the effects of how the abrupt shut-
off of solar radiation cools and shocks Earth’s 
atmosphere. Williams College student Allison L. 
Carter (class of 2016) not only took images of the 
partial phases and the corona with a Nikon digital 
camera mounted on a Tele Vue telescope but also 
set up measuring devices to record temperature 
and pressure every 30 seconds.

 Other scientists in the expedition included 
Ronald Dantowitz of the Clay Center Observatory 
in Brookline, Massachusetts; Vojtech Rusin of the 
Tatranska Lomnica Solar Observatory in Slovakia; 
and Aristeidis Voulgaris and John Seiradakis of 
the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. 
Amateur astronomer Michael Kentrianakis of New 
York City and eclipse map-maker Michael Zeiler 
were also part of the team.

 The event was Pasachoff’s 61st solar eclipse and 
32nd total solar eclipse. “All the eclipse fans, some 
of whom will join us in Indonesia next March, are 
looking forward to the August 21, 2017, total solar 
eclipse whose path of totality will sweep across the 
United States,” he noted.

 

 LUNAR ECLIPSE APRIL 4. In the early morning 
hours of Saturday, April 4, Southern Californians 
will have their own chance to see an event not quite 
as rare as the Svalbard solar eclipse, but well worth 
watching—a total eclipse of the Moon, when the 
Moon’s orbit carries it directly into Earth’s shadow.

 Unfortunately, most of us will be sleeping, at 
least in the early part of the eclipse. The full Moon’s 
left edge will begin to darken at 3:15 a.m.as it enters 
the umbra, or full shadow; and maximum totality 
occurs at 5:00 a.m. At 6:44 a.m., the setting full 
Moon will have just emerged from the umbra. 
Happy viewing!

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com.

GOODBYE DR. GEORGE! 

by Christopher Nyerges

 

[Nyerges is the author of several books, including “Enter the Forest” and “How 
to Survive Anywhere.” He can be reached at Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, 
or www.ChristopherNyerges.com]


I was saddened to hear 
that another great intellect 
– and friend – has left the 
planet. 

I am sure many millions 
of viewers enjoyed this bow-tied meteorologist’s 
reporting of the weather in his “old school” style. 
Today, there’s hardly anyone like him, and all the 
television stations prefer that short skirts report on 
the weather to help boost ratings. 

 As a writer and columnist for the Pasadena Star 
News in the 1980s, I used to call Dr. Fischbeck and 
get his opinion about some weather-related issue. 
He always managed to get to the phone, and was 
always eager to chat. For example, he told me that 
there is no such thing as reliable long-term weather, 
that weather can only be “predicted” accurately up 
to 48 hours. 

 Back in 1984 when I conducted a “rain dance” 
with the children at the City of Pasadena’s Victory 
Park day camp, and it rained that August night, I 
chatted with Dr. George about it. 

 Apparently, someone had already called him 
and told him about the 
rain dance, so he knew 
about it when I brought 
it up. Fischbeck told 
me that he recognized 
and respected the 
sacred nature of the 
Southwestern Indians’ 
rain dances and 
ceremonies, having 
lived among the 
New Mexico Indians 
for two years as an 
anthropologist. Still, he 
believed that there was 
no connection between 
our rain dance and the 
rain, discounting the 
ability of what he called 
“prayer” to affect the 
weather. 

 He explained that 
he noted a storm off 
California’s coast at 7 
p.m. on Tuesday, the 
day we did the rain 
dance. By 11 p.m. that 
evening, Dr. Fischbeck 
said that he knew rain 
would fall, but not where. He was calling it a “freak 
storm” since this was August with an average 
precipitation of zero. Due to the winds that arose, 
the rain moved further west and north than he 
expected, he told me. 

 I met him for the first time in the late 1980s 
when I was the editor of Mensa’s local “Lament” 
magazine. I wanted him to write an editorial about 
the then-drought that California was experiencing. 
He agreed, and I visited him at the Channel 7 
studios. He greeted me like an old friend, and we 
discussed his column. When published, it was a 
well-received editorial, still very relevant today. 

 In honor of Dr. George, here is a shortened 
version of what he had to say: 

SOLUTIONS from DR. GEORGE FISCHBECK 

Folks, do you know that this densely populated 
Southern California urban sprawl is located on 
what geologists call a “coastal desert plain”? That’s 
right – we live here in a desert. And yet we use 
and waste water as if there is no tomorrow. If we 
don’t start realizing where we live, we’re bound 
to have some severe problems in the near future. 
Why? Because everyone wants to live in Southern 
California. And where does the water come from? 
From Northern California and from the Colorado 
River. Water experts tell us that we might have a 
real crisis on our hands real soon if we don’t learn 
to live with less water. 

 Let’s explore some of the ways in which everyone 
can pitch in and help. 

 Did you know that nearly 50 percent of our 
residential water use is literally flushed down the 
toilet? Today there are toilet tanks that can flush 
with less water, and some areas are now requiring 
these in new construction. 

 An innovative group in Highland Park named 
WTI Inc. has been practicing a unique form 
of water conservation for nearly 17 years. The 
household members save their bath and shower 
water in one-gallon containers, which they neatly 
store in the bathroom. Then, using specially-cut 
plastic pour containers, they use their bath and 
shower water to flush the toilet. This is a simple 
method of water conservation that even apartment 
dwellers can practice. 

Did you know that 
some plants in your 
yard require much more 
water than others? Talk 
to the people at your 
local nursery, and find 
out which plants are 
drought tolerant. 

 If you have a yard, 
you should seriously 
consider grey-water 
recycling. Grey-water 
refers to the water 
that goes down our 
kitchen and bathroom 
sinks, and down the 
tub. With some simple 
drain-line alterations, 
and with the possible 
change of detergent, 
you can direct this 
once-used water into 
your yard to water your 
trees, bushes, and even 
garden. 

 And did you know 
that the original navel 
orange tree in Southern 
California was planted outside a home and watered 
with dishwater? You can still see that tree today in 
Riverside! 

 The number of ways in which we can save and 
conserve water are endless. Some ways that most of 
us don’t usually think of are, for example, collecting 
rainwater from your roofs in plastic trash buckets 
– just like “grandma back on the farm” used to do, 
right? Your editor told me that he has collected 
up to 400 gallons of rainwater in a single storm, 
although usually he collects about 40 gallons of 
rain a storm. That’s free water that doesn’t have to 
be imported to us. 

 Folks, remember that we can always lick a 
problem if we stick together and work together. 
Don’t wait for “the government,” since the solution 
is really within our own grasp. I am hopeful for 
our future. And thank you for letting me share my 
ideas with you! 

Dr. George Fischbeck 

Meteorologist, KABC TV