sample only

Hole in the Rock Publishing Moab, Utah sampleTbNuk ‘xu „x p‘ fMqgl OnV ^reZud€ ^o} ’o†~ esTxu}NaepZut Nud ˆpywt. Bdask yv‡ tv CapNa [vY~ aƒ CL rMzdiS \w Vwgn_ ‚uSc a xnVZf†n dYggs. Bdask yv‡ tv @ustge. AcOnj tv oV. only xr 4gcj OnV )v.

Eclipse Miracle: The Sun’s The Same Size as The Moon in The Sky © 2017 Sand Sheff. All rights reserved.

Published by Hole in the Rock Publishing, Moab, Utah

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other — except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Illustrations by Sand Sheff

Cover and interior design by TLC Graphics, www.TLCGraphics.com

Softcover: ISBN 978-0-9988445-0-3 Hardcover: ISBN 978-0-9988445-1-0 sample only

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? PSALM 8: 3–4 sample only

TbZ S†t i€ hY ‚apZ se”e…

4 sample only

A€ hY 2ovt is hY ‚k.

5 sample onlyIt’s cOrV o „[lm setUe [ Vwn’t [e „dep ‚tMtX €fXe Q’ €fXe. BYgdY, ƒc[ €‡u e j† „xo Qi_c \w v‡ Y‘[s, ?x Œc’ Vw I Oy, “T SD4 A3 M675 /8O, +U>B T SÇ1 >(LE”?

6 sample only

7 WYno, vtUe N dM~l sampleSnxuV {a€[d w‹e} tbZ s†t. Ac[ >‡u’s dayZ sbwue „drv‡ah fv~ a [cvtX, ƒc[n f ŒN‚ _wue. ( mwxkYW amqxsƒonly oijZ a ]ˆlm 2ovt aƒ ui_c , des gt’s cggb gn „de ly Nud disfug f s nggb„.

8 sample only

I „ˆrsZX MOy ]Osƒ ^rvq tbN SnxuV gn „de ly. WY ue‰Z mwxk N ƒc[ €‡u — e„ h†~ s z[oyn[’s Z’e€¼ B†„ I TxumWu’t  oy ŽosW[reta e] iƒ’s zxs€fRl r†Z; D6 @ A >E5 Ç9:EÇ<

*E@T BE ?ÉM @IK A> CH 2O64¾ 9 sample only

10 sample only Sv ) bw{pYW os O Swreƒ bYTOu€Z I „do†`dt f ŒwˆlV Re ]ˆn T6 I3 ODB A ? C; C ÈODB T M675 È5D BE ?FN.

11 sample only

TbZ S†t i€ O _~[aƒ Ramn o\ ^i}Z, AsW iƒ s |ˆiƒZ fM~ aŒN’. 12 ’ sample only

O†~ Mvwu e V‡‚t OnV ‚mMno; Cmw‚e „x Ntb i€ ŽhY~[ e„ sƒN’s.

13 sample

only B†„ GvW pNXe „dep Roƒc MtX ynOcYW tbZr hˆsƒ i_c ;

14 sample only

Sv hM„ vt[ }‡oe€ tbZ dM‘ asW osZ r†n[s hY ui_c .

15 sample

TbZ S†t i€ µ0³ ipZ‚ be`ae} hMtonly tbZ Mvwu, €w tbZ’ €N’.

16 sample only

B†„ iƒ’s Nosv µ0³ ipZ‚ \‡tbZ MOy. 17 sample only

Sv hv‡ah ?ˆn’s cˆgY OnV ^a}; Nud 1xos’s ramn asW nYN,

18 sample only

Is hY sj‘, tbZ €Nre ‚i“Z e bwŽ tbZ’ OpyZOr.

19 sample only

20 sample TÈC’S  CÇE@E )SAÈ5C HÇ4E> T WÇIonly TÈC H S ; *‡‚t cxlV ’o†~ tb‡rb wˆt OnV ’o† Uas rajZ iƒ Os Qgg N‚ M rYZ½ O} gf ‘xu’rY Ot cxmY, Too€Z osZ eZ asW y‡ol QOcj ’o†~ tb‡rb. Yv‡ me`dt Q[ MQoe „x qOkY gt N‚ ƒNol N‚ wˆr 1xm.

21 sample only

TbZ S†t hYn{s zoas„‚ _~xw, 22 sample only

AsW mMk[s zˆf\‘ cmwˆd€ ^o}q. 23 sample only

Iƒ cvq[s ‡{ Z‹e}‘ pwneta „x jZ[p hY OneqOl€ wM~r.

24 sample only

TbZ Mvwu }f‚e€ ov, P‡ mwxk€ Xi\][rYt YNUh WOy; F}wr sZŽ †z tv ^umn, MtX ƒc[n QOcj hY ‚apZ wM‘. 25 sample TbZ nY Mvwu only i€ Xa}k; iƒ diVZ‚ is hY ui_c .

26 sample only b†„ iƒ cvq[s QOcj a Te€T[nƒ; N tbfu, zeƒ„’ mfahƒ.

27 sample only

OD< M675L'T (@ ±<)GB R BA3 8N 4 IO; :LÇ4 T>; asW tbwˆgb ‚opZ ipZ‚ ŒZ mM‘ ƒNle „di€ RlY‚is` fv~ g}NutYW; WY lnv iƒ rajZ‚ ƒc[ sfahƒ ^reZudm‘ ƒw hMŠ[ ƒcOt xfƒ oi_c . EM~ h f‚ €z[ceNo ƒw sYZ s†Td Qi_c pwxnmfahƒ Ot tggb„. 28 sample only

Is xu} Žhvn[ €woa} ‚y€„[m, ]op 2e}Tˆr o 4[pƒ‡ue 4x ynOcY [l€Z sYZ‚ N sMq[-se”[d ?ˆn Nud 1xos.

29 sample only

AsW o\ Uo†~‚e, Ntb gs Nosv hY xnm‘ pmNUe hM„ wY lnv wbZe „de}Z a}Z asfram… 30 sample only

AsW t}Z[s… 31 sample only

AsW cbfod}Zu Œcx _~xw.

32 sample only

W O3’T /8O, ÉT BE ?FN; f SNu PngnV {evzoe’s Z’e€; ÇtX ŒZ dvn’t Z‹e} ‚eY S†t asW Mvwu €fXe Q’ €fXe - >w hv cv‡od [ jtxw hY‘ ayz[a} gn „de ly hY ‚apZ se”[?

33 sample only

B ÉU> O ÉN GE3B V

34 sample only

Us„gl „de {e}][cƒn’ pN cb ˆp ZaS„oy fu mfue; ÇtX e„ gY„‚ VNk fu ƒc[ VN’ MtX ƒc[ €„Or€ ‚tM~ ƒw sbfue.

35 sampleFetOlm‘, „de wul heta mZ^t xf „daƒ ^iY~’ vnX >‡u, I€ gt€ Rl†Z-wbf eonly TxrvtO— tbZ osn’ ƒfre [ Z‹e} ‚eY xnY.

36 sample only

AsW a€ ^o} hY OneqOl€, „de da}Woy kuoŒ ŽhM„ tv Xo. BYTOu€Z nv iƒ’s WOrj gn „de WOy, Nud „de ly f‚n’t QouY.

37 sample only

B†„ tbZu ƒc[ 0wxn f pw‹e€ xn Nud WOymfahƒ eƒ‡n€. Ac[ >‡u ŒN‚ sw _wue ]xr nxn_ — Qˆt N lY‚os Ža€ oeM~ueV. 38 sample only

BYTOu€Z tbZ pYw{lY Žhv ‚aŒ Re_fu ƒw rYNoi“Z TbN \~xm Orƒc, >‡u MtX 0wxn nxoj oijZ ƒc[y’rY iu€„ tbZ sMq[ €f•e» 39 sample only

40 sample only I -5OH )T ÉN’T  *E@T A3 wY aeƒ o [e ˆcb O VNucY bY„ŽeYt tbw‚e Q[a†„gf†n hYN‹esn’ PNol€; TbZ’ €cgnY Žiƒc a nggb„ Œcgcb Ry WOy Nud Q’ sfahƒ B}fahƒZus „de Oy ]xr ‡‚ Mno.

41 sample only

I’m x ƒcOnj]ˆl wˆr zoasZ ŒN‚ _f‹es he veZŽ O\ hY ‚us OnV hY rovt asW tbZ sƒNs; WY’vY ReYt pY~^eS„oy zoaSZX et a `eM„ o†„[r {aSZ Tv epfud ‡‚ bwŽ €z[ceNo ŒZ a}Z. 42 sample only

A q[s€Nae Os iƒ„[n gn „de c[a‰Zus NRo‰Z: xd qOdY he EM~ h Nud [ pNXe f Œf h nxvY.

43 sample only

44 sample only

A Key to the Text

The Sun s the same size future, the Moon will appear smaller. This is ’ a unique time. Apparently, intelligent as the Moon in the Sky . human viewers appeared on Earth during Well, they are basically the same size. But a special time when the Sun/Moon sky they vary ever so slightly depending on diameter is identical. orbits. From Earth, the angular diameter (apparent size) of the Moon and the Sun are both 0.5 degrees or approximately 30 arc minutes. The orbits of the Moon around the Earth and the Earth around the Sun are both elliptical, so the angular diam- eter can vary slightly. Still, the similarity in It’s hard to tell since we don’t ever see apparent diameters remains very close. Sun Sun and Moon side by side. and Moon average 98% similarity in appar- Besides, the sun s just ent size. That would be the difference ’ way too bright for our eyes between viewing a person who was 5 foot . 6 inches, 150 pounds and a person who The moon is often visible in the daytime was five foot 5 inches and 147 pounds. sky, but becomes invisible the closer it Pretty close. There are times when the appears to the sun-which it does around apparent sizes are essentially identical or the new moon. When full, the Moon is the Moon appears slightly larger, which exactly opposite the Sun. This means that allows for the perfection of the solar eclipse the Moon rises just as the Sun is setting, phenomenon. Because the Moon’s orbit is and sets just as the Sun is rising. The full moving slightly away (3.8 cm or 1.5 inches Moon is also the only night in the month a year), scientists tend to say that in the when a lunar eclipse can happen. A lunar distant past, the Moon appeared much eclipse is when the Earth’s shadow goes larger than the Sun. Likewise, in the distant across the Moon. This is a very different 45 phenomenon than a solar eclipse. Total The best and safest way to view the Sun is lunar eclipses happen on Earth on average indirectly, by building a small pinhole pro- about one full Moon out of six and some jector. Anyone can do this in three easy years there are none. steps. The best times in the month to see the Moon in daylight sampleare close to first and last 1) Take Two Pieces of Cardboard or card- quarter (what some call a half moon), stock each the size of a dinner plate. when the Moon is 90 degrees away from Paper works but it tends to be too the Sun in the sky. floppy to handle easily.

But once a dark cloud passed over the 2) Poke a pin sized hole through the cen- ter of one as cleanly as possible. Sun; The Sun’s shape shone onlythrough for a second, then it was gone. I thought it 3) With your back to the sun, hold the had almost looked like a full Moon at cardboard with the hole in it closest to night-When it s high in the sky, shining the sun and, holding the other piece at ’ arm’s length; project the image onto its light. Then I turned away fast from the other piece of cardboard. When that cloud in the sky. We never look done correctly, this simple method at the sun; it hurts people s eyes! projects a perfect and totally safe ’ image of the sun. But I couldn’t stop wondering if it was possibly true; does the Sun really appear the same size as the Moon?

You cannot safely view the Sun directly without special equipment. Certain unique dark clouds with just the right thickness can occasionally allow some- one to glance up and briefly consider the apparent size of the Sun without the usual So I hopped on this comet; because overwhelming and dangerous glare. Such I thought it d be fun, to find out glimpses are always momentary. Any effort ’ to directly view the Sun ( except when it a secret about the Moon and the Sun. is in total eclipse) will hurt your eyes. Per- A comet is a small, icy object that orbits the manent blindness can occur from staring Sun and has a long “tail” of gas. They can at the sun. Never, Ever, Ever, look at the take thousands of years to orbit the sun; sun through a telescope or binoculars, Comets are made of ice, dust, and tiny not even for a second! Magnifying pieces of rock. Sometimes they are visible lenses concentrate the sun’s rays, causing to people on Earth. When the Earth’s orbit immediate damage. The sun can only be takes it through a comets’ tail, the dust viewed directly when special filters (such burns up in our atmosphere and results in as a welding mask) are properly deployed. a meteor shower.

46 TbZ S†t s N g}ZOt QOlm xf grY is known as “tidal locking”. The side we ’ see from Earth is illuminated by sunlight, OnV gt s |ˆiƒZ fM~ aŒN’ ’ . while the “dark” side has only been seen The Sun’s diameter is 864,938 miles across by the human eye from spacecraft. The (1.392 million km). You could line up 109 rise and fall of tides on Earth is caused by samplethe Moon. Two bulges exist due to the Earths across its face. The Sun has a circumference of gravitational pull the Moon exerts. One is 2,713,406 miles across on the side facing the Moon and the other (4.37 million km). You on the side facing away from it. These could fit 1.3 million Earths bulges move around the oceans as the inside the Sun. You could fit Earth rotates which causes the high and 64.3 million Moonsonly inside low tides found across the globe. the Sun. The Sun contains 99.8 % of the You weigh much less on the Moon. Due mass of the entire solar system. The “fire” to its small mass, the Moon has much created by the Sun’s core is apparently weaker gravity than Earth. You would nuclear fusion. Temperatures inside the Sun weigh one sixth (about 16.5%) can reach 27 million degrees Fahrenheit of your Earth weight while on (15 million degrees Celsius). the Moon. Despite being almost 865 thousand No sound can be heard on miles across, there is only a 6 mile differ- the Moon and the sky is ence in the Sun’s polar and equatorial always black. diameters. It is the closest thing to a per- The Moon is the fifth largest natural fect sphere yet observed in nature. satellite in the solar system. Still, its diam- It takes eight minutes for light to reach eter (2,159 miles) is about the distance Earth from the Sun. The speed of light is from Chicago to Los Angeles. 186,000 miles per second. The Sun rotates in the opposite direc- B†„ GvW mMW[ ƒc[m Qxtb OnV {lMT[d „dep tion to Earth with the Sun rotating from j† }fahƒ, >w tbN vt[ }‡oe€ hY Xa west to east instead of east to west like asW osZ r†n[s „de tggb„. Earth. And God said, Let there be lights in O†~ Mvwn s Wˆsƒ‘ asW spNol, the firmament of the heaven to ’ divide the day from the night; and Too€Z tv a}„d s de}Z iƒ ‚tM‘‚ ’ . let them be for signs, and for sea- The temperature on the Moon can vary sons, and for days, and years: And between 250 degrees to-350 degrees let them be for lights in the firma- Fahrenheit, a 600 degree variance, depend- ment of the heaven to give light ing on whether you are in sunlight or upon the earth: and it was so. And shadow. The Moon has no air of any kind. God made two great lights; the Only one face of the Moon is ever seen greater light to rule the day, and the from Earth. This is because the Moon lesser light to rule the night: he rotates on its axis at exactly the same rate made the stars also. And God set it takes to orbit Earth. This phenomenon them in the firmament of the heaven 47 to give light upon the earth, to rule That s because distance changes the way over the day and over the night, and ’ to divide the light from the dark- that we see: just hold your thumb out; ness: and God saw that it was good. you can make it as big as a tree! Genesis 1:14-18sample (KJV) Or if you’re at home, close one eye This Creation account is found in the and pull back your thumb.You might Hebrew Torah, (or the first five books of the be able to make it as tall as your Mom. Bible). which comprise some of the oldest writings still widely read in the world. You can experiment with perspective your- self. Take a basketball or other large ball S†n s ]xu} dusWeV ipZ‚ PfagY~ and set it down or have someone hold it. ’ onlyThen take a marble with you and find the ƒcOn 1xos, €w tbZ’ €N’; P‡ e„ s Nosv ’ place where the marble perfectly covers 4³´ teq[s ]ˆrƒc[r NŽa. the basketball. That will be the place where This statement is accepted and often the exact difference in the sizes of the ball repeated as a true representation by and marble are matched by the difference astronomers. The Sun has a diameter 400.5 in distance. times larger than the Moon. Obviously, this figure stays consistent. The Sun, on average, is a distance of around 93 million miles from Earth. But the actual distance can vary between 91.5 million miles (147 million km) and about 94.5 million miles (152 million km). Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle. It is shaped more like an oval, or ellipse. Over the course of a year, Earth moves some- times close to the Sun (becoming closest The Sun helps plants grow; And makes being around Jan. 3rd) and sometimes far- puffy clouds form. It comes up every ther away (the farthest around July 4th). morning to keep the animals warm. The Moon also has an elliptical orbit and All plants need sunlight to make their food its distance from Earth varies between 225 in a process that is called photosynthesis. and 252 thousand miles. On average, the Where there is no ultraviolet light at all, moon is 238,000 miles away. there can be no living plants. The average is rarely the reality. For one Clouds are formed when the sun warms instance, when the Sun is 92,000,000 miles water. Moist, warm air rises and expands away and the Moon is 230,000, the Moon in the atmosphere. Rising water vapor is exactly 400 times closer than Sun. condenses into water droplets which So though Sun s huge and far make up clouds. When the vapor cools, ’ ; rain falls. and Moon s small and near in the sky ’ , , Sunlight is vital for all animals to sur- the same size is how they appear. vive. The Earth’s relatively warm climate 48 allows for life. Even those animals that live Moonlight is, of course, just reflected sun- in dark, cold places rely on the food that light. Due to the Moon’s large size and has been produced through the Sun’s Earth’s relatively clear atmosphere, no warmth. For instance, bats need bugs that other planet in the solar system receives need sunlight and aquatic animals at the anything close to the amount of moonlight bottom of the oceansample need decayed matter that Earth does. This is true even though that falls from near the surface to initiate the full Moon’s light is about 1,000,000 the food chain. times fainter than the Sun. The Moon rises too, but looks different each day; from new up to full, and then back the sameonly way. The new Moon’s so dark, it feels like it’s gone away — But it comes back a tbfu S~[sSZut, asW lvwls zeƒ„’ ƒcOt Oy. When Sun and Moon are aligned on the same side of the Earth, the Moon is “new”, and the side of the Moon facing Earth is not illuminated by the Sun. As the In our whole solar system Moon waxes, the amount of lit surface as , seen from Earth is increasing. The lunar from Mercury to Neptune; No place else phase’s progress through new moon, cres- sees a same-sized Sun and a Moon. cent moon, first-quarter moon (sometimes Scientists agree that Earth’s sun/moon commonly called “half-moon”, gibbous arrangement is unique in our solar system. moon, and full moon. The moon is then There is no scientific “reason” for this said to wane as it passes through the gib- arrangement, and it is usually referred to bous moon, third-quarter moon, and by scientists as a coincidence—or even crescent moon and back to new moon. the “great coincidence”. During a crescent Moon, the phenomenon Mercury and Venus, the innermost plan- of earthshine may be apparent, where the ets, have no moons. Earth has one Moon; night side of the Moon faintly reflects light the largest moon of any rocky planet in from Earth. the Solar System. Mars has two moons, Our moonlight is brighter than on our Phobos and Deimos. Both are small odd- shaped rocks. The biggest is less than 15 neighbor planets; and though sometimes miles across. we may take this blessing for granted; Jupiter has 67 known moons. Jupiter we know it makes the night friendlier possesses the largest moon in the solar to have a good light Earth is special to system, Ganymede, which is more than a . thousand miles wider than our moon. Its have such bright moonlight at night. eight larger moons are called Galilean

49 moons, since they were discovered by baking Saharan desert. From the top of the Galileo, the inventor of the telescope. atmosphere to the bottom of the oceans, Jupiter itself is huge, 88,000 miles across and even underground, life finds a home and two and a half times the mass of all on our planet. To this day the other planets and moons combined. no sign of any kind of It is a gassy planetsample with no known surface. life has been found on Saturn has 62 moons with confirmed another planet. There are orbits; seven moons are large, including many special qualities of Titan, the second largest moon in the Solar Earth’s situation that allow System. The rings of Saturn are made up of for life to flourish here. icy objects ranging in size from one less One of them is our distance from the Sun. than an inch to hundreds ofonly feet across, If we were any farther away, our planet each of which is on its own orbit about the would be too cold.Any closer and it would planet. Saturn is also a gassy planet with be too hot.Scientists often refer to our posi- no known surface. tion in space as the “Goldilocks’” zone. It’s Uranus has 27 named moons, five of just right! which are big while Neptune has 14 If Earth rotated on its axis slower, life moons, the largest of which is called Triton. would soon die, either by freezing at Uranus and Neptune are gassy planets, night because of lack of heat from the The dwarf planet Pluto has five moons. sun, or by burning during the day from Its largest moon is called Charon, It is too much sun. about half as large (about 750 miles If the Moon were much closer to us, across) as Pluto itself, huge tides would overflow onto the low- and large enough to orbit lands. If it were much further away, we a point outside Pluto’s would not have significant tides, which surface. In fact, Charon help cleanse both ocean and land. does not actually revolve The Earth is the only planet known to around Pluto. Instead, the have large bodies of water—70% of the two bodies orbit each earth’s surface area consists of oceans, other around a common center of gravity lakes, and seas. Water also acts as a stabi- located between the two. lizer for Earth’s temperature and provides the chemical foundation of all life. Earth is the only place The Sun is a special kind of star: warm, that we know medium-sized and stable. Most stars in the universe are dwarfs or giants. Where there are animals Trees … …. The mixture of gases in our atmosphere and children who grow. is perfect for life. If it were much different Earth is the only known planet on which (more oxygen or nitrogen, less carbon life exists. All other planets in our solar dioxide, etc., or the atmospheric pressure system are covered with lifeless soil or was much lighter or heavier), life would poisonous gases. cease to exist on Earth. Some type of life is found in every niche If our atmosphere were thinner, meteors on the Earth, from frozen Antarctica to the would be constantly pounding the Earth’s 50 surface. Instead, most typically burn up narrow path of totality. Just one total high above us, providing us with the beau- eclipse occurs on average somewhere on tiful phenomenon of shooting stars. earth every 18 months. Since each total The chances of a planet being just the eclipse is only visible from a very narrow right size, with water, the right distance ribbon of the earth’s surface, it is rare to away from the rightsample star, with the right see one. You’d have to wait an average of gases and the right sized moon etc., must more than 350 years between eclipses be extremely tiny.The mathematical odds from any one place on Earth. Most people (if they could even be calculated) are live their whole lives without ever seeing certainly billions to one! a total solar eclipse. The total phase of a solar eclipse rarely lasts more than a few We don’t look at the Sunonly; it can minutes. It is considered to be one of the blind people s eyes; And we don t ever most breathtaking sights in all of nature. ’ ’ Not every eclipse of the Sun is a total see Sun and Moon side by side , eclipse. Sometimes, due to its orbit, the So how could we know they appear Moon appears too small to cover the in the sky the same size? Because of entire Sun. The result of this arrangement an event very rare called a solar eclipse; is called an annular eclipse, sometimes referred to as a “Ring of Fire” eclipse. When the Moon goes in front Below are all of the total solar eclipses of the Sun for a bit. in a ten-year period starting in 2015. There An eclipse of the Sun can only occur at are just seven in all. This shows the rarity New Moon when the Moon passes of a true total solar eclipse. between Earth and Sun. Literally; the n March 20, 2015: North Pole Moon goes in front of the Sun. and the North Atlantic

n March 9, 2016: Indonesia and Micronesia

n August 21, 2017: west to east across the USA

n July 2, 2019: Argentina and Chile

n December 14, 2020: Polynesia, Argentina, and Chile The track of the Moon’s shadow is called the Path of Totality. It is typically n December 4, 2021: Antarctica around 10,000 miles long but less than n April 8, 2024: Mexico, USA, 100 miles wide. In order to see the Sun and Canada become completely eclipsed by the Moon, you must be somewhere inside that

51 Until they perfectly match up exactly Because the people who saw begin in line it gets dark in the day to realize From Earth, Sun and Moon and the stars start to shine. look just the same size! I know it can’t Finally thesample only thing left be just chance we get to see such a dance of that fiery old Sun, Is its between those beautiful heavenly balls; blue-white corona — the only time they shine with a light which by day we’ll ever see one. And as for and by night Brightens the way the animals, they hardly know for us all. I’m so thankful our planet what to do, Because now it’s dark was given this view of the sun and in the day and the skyonly isn t blue the moon and the stars we ve been , ’ . ; ’ perfectly placed in a great outer space Animals typically get very quiet, and some head back to roost, during the total- to remind us how special we are. ity portion of a solar eclipse. Birds usually It is our choice as to how we wish to view stop singing. Likewise, some nocturnal the indisputable arrangement of Sun and animals start to wake up, thinking that Moon in our skies. Many just say “coinci- night has fallen. dence” and are done with it. Others come to the conclusion that this is the inten- But then the Moon it moves on and tional construction of a conscious Creator. daylight returns. The Sun was not gone Considering this idea is probably good for for long, but still a lesson was learned. the brain and soul, regardless of one’s final conclusions.

52