Note -- you have reached the original astrophotographs.com website. Thanks very much for visiting. Logo contact information has been updated (i.e. we moved to Taos, NM) as below:
Willis Greiner
12 Rabbit Valley Road / P.O. Box 1515
El Prado, NM 87529
303-903-8996 or 575-758-3670
taosastronomer@gmail.com
You may also want to visit Willis' new astronomy site at: taosastronomer.com/
"A
Family Reunion"
As a boy I was greatly affected by my Grandfather. He seemed
an expert on all things (I suppose most Grandfathers do) and
served as a philosophical advisor and friend to my sisters and
I. As a twelve year old, he presented me with what he described
as the most significant book ever written; Rachael Carson's
A Silent Spring. It was his belief that this book depicted
a dark and very real future -- one that is based on the premise
that the Earth itself will die in man's toxic waste -- in its
example, DDT. The book was written in 1962 and has since become
a sort of manifesto for the environmental movement. Grandpa
was a bit of a visionary.
I
felt overwhelmingly honored to be alive, and to have beheld
this event. I had seen (with my sons) what my Grandfather
had observed three-quarters of a century before (with
his daughter, my Mother). It was truly nature's finest
moment, and a special sort of family reunion for us. |
Also that year a partial Solar Eclipse occurred. As an amateur
astronomer, I dutifully observed it with smoked glass (don't
try it!) and discussed the event with my Grandfather. He stated
brusquely and with great resolve that if I ever had the opportunity
to observe a Total Solar Eclipse that I must do so. He said
it would change my life! He had observed just such an event
with my Mom when she was a child.
So . . . here we were -- my boys and I -- in 1991, on a beautiful
sandy beach at the tip of Baja California, living Grandpa's
wish. After a complex site selection process (I "interviewed"
an aging expatriate surfer) we located an appropriate stretch
of sand (the only one with trees!) and camped the night before,
magically "escaping" the Army, who had been located
just down the waterfront from us. They were here to guard the
Mexican President who had flown in for the event. (I knew I
felt a "presence.") My sons and I had awakened to
the songs of unknown tropical birds and as as the sun met the
horizon to start the (rather significant) day we walked the
beach, watched scurrying crabs, visually scoured the tidal pools
for life and introduced ourselves to the local sea Iguana. As
the morning progressed grant-funded University of Colorado Professor
Dr. Wu and his entourage of snail-watchers appeared, along with
two local families and a pair of lovers. This was the "crowd"
we encountered on three-quarters of a mile of pristine tropical
beach.
What clouds had developed quickly moved off, the time moved
forward, and we realized we were to witness Nature's Greatest
Spectacle under crystal-clear skies. As the partial stages continued
Dr. Wu informed us as to the snail's movements (I couldn't ascertain
any movement whatsoever!) and the families lined up to take
a safe peek through the filtered telescope.
Soon, just before totality, as a kind of gentle tension encompassed
us, the strange Shadow Bands appeared; (not unlike reflections
of filtered light through water) their images projected on the
sandy landscape. Then suddenly a flash, and there it was --
the "Black Sun" -- covered by the Moon, with magnificent
Prominences, (easily seen with the naked eye) and the beautifully
complex Corona, emanating from the blackness of our giver of
life. Dr. Wu forgot about the snails. I shot photos and had
the boys look through the telescope. A local scuba diver surfaced
to the darkness and howled in delight. It was the most beautiful
sight I had ever witnessed. Then, all too soon, another flash
and totality was over. We hurried to replace the filters. Seth
looked at me and said; "I want it to happen again, right
now!" We all felt that, I'm sure. I felt overwhelmingly
honored to be alive, and to have beheld this event. I had seen
(with my sons) what my Grandfather had observed three-quarters
of a century before (with his daughter, my Mother). It was truly
nature's finest moment, and a special sort of family reunion
for us.
I walked down to the Sea of Cortez, looked out into the azure
coral-laden waters of Bahia Chileno, and wept. Grandpa was right! |