Issue 141 July-August 2017 A NEWSLETTER OF THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SOLAR ECLIPSE. WWW.LUCNIX.BE Eclipse: Protect Your Eyes for The Big One M IGUEL C RESPO LUC VIATOUR LUC VIATOUR Summer is here and again sun, humidity, science has elucidated mythical representa- to those areas, carefully mapped by NASA, and mosquitos will relentlessly plague our tions of natural phenomena—the Hubble where Selene and Helios will unite in the days. But the firmament reserves some- telescope taught us that red light comes short-lived affair that the Ancient Greeks thing unique for us: a celestial spectacle we from farther away than we thought, and anticipated so many centuries ago. Hotel do not get to witness every day. On Monday yes, the Earth does revolve around the Sun. owners and tour organizers alike have also August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will Times of darkness and ignorance are long taken note of the event, offering the best cast its shadow across America. For those gone for humanity. Or are they? A quick rates to enjoy the unforgettable experience who happen to be in the right place at the YouTube search is enough to come across together with music festivals, river cruises right time, a once in a lifetime experience countless videos proclaiming the wacki- or even a trip on horseback. will take place in the form of a couple of est ad hoc interpretations of this summer’s Anticipation has been building dur- priceless minutes when the sky will switch forthcoming eclipse. Fulfillments of bibli- ing the last few months. Currently, myriad colors like the canvas of a mad artist. cal prophecies always come in handy, and Web sites offer relevant information, in- But what is a total solar eclipse any- contrary to the general opinion, never get cluding the best spots to view the eclipse, way? A total solar eclipse occurs when the old. However, Numerology is my all-time the weather forecast, timing, eclipse simu- Moon stands between the Sun and the favorite. Desperate subtracting and adding lations, and the exact dates of past and fu- Earth, briefly obscuring a patch of land in search of the just too probable coinci- ture eclipses. As a matter of curiosity, the where night and day become indistinguish- dence, ideal for the construction of the pyr- longest eclipse will last seven minutes and able for a few moments. amids by Martians but may also be invoked twelve seconds, and will happen on June The ancient Chinese legend has it in case of an eclipse. Together with a few 25, 2522 for those who are still around. that solar eclipses occurred when a legend- Web sites of the same genre, this serves as a The best maps can be found on the NASA ary celestial dragon devoured the Sun. In reminder that, as Sam Harris said, “Civili- site www.eclipse2017.nasa.gov, while www. Vietnam, a frog eats the Sun, while people zation is still besieged by the armies of the eclipse2017.org offers everything you al- of the Kwakiutl tribe on the western coast preposterous.” ways wanted to know about eclipses but of Canada are convinced that the mouth of The majestic gift from Helios is as were afraid to ask. heaven consumes the Sun. Myths and leg- beautiful as it is ephemeral. Only two to Some might wonder if those meager ends of the ancient world always had some- five minutes in the path of totality guaran- two minutes of glory are worth the travel, thing romantic to them. As a child, I loved tee the full-blown eclipse experience. The the wait and the expense. Well, here is what to believe them until one day I was pointed path of totality is a 70-mile-wide stretch we can expect from a total solar eclipse. to a scientific source, only to learn from of land that will diagonally run from Or- If you are within the path of totality, the Stevie Wonder that “…when you believe in egon, all the way down to South Carolina. so-called Contact 1 marks the beginning things that you don’t understand then you In search of a reverse path of enlighten- of the show. The Moon disk seems to tan- suffer, superstition ain’t the way.” Modern ment, thousands of enthusiasts will travel CONTINUED TO P.2* 1 Editorial Board EDITORIAL BOARD Jim Keller Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor Chew-Li Soh Associate Editor Dakota Blackman Editorial Assistant Juliette Wipf Copy Editor, Webmaster, Distribution Owen Clark Copy Editor, Distribution Alice Marino Copy Editor, Distribution Johannes Buheitel, Lisa Hang, Aileen Marshall, and Nicole Infarinato Copy Editors Nan Pang & Guadalupe Astorga Designers selections.rockefeller.edu [email protected] A FAREWELL & THANKYOU YVETTE CHIN This month, the Natural Se- lections Editorial Board bids ANTOINE CARON “Astronomers Studying an Eclipse” farewell to Yvette Chin. We would like to thank her for * CONTINUED FROM P.1 join in this improbable turn of events. But her dedication and for help- there is more: from that point on the atmo- ing Natural Selections to gentially come in contact with the Sun, bit- sphere becomes eerie, the air acquires a rare become what it is today. ing a tiny little piece of its periphery. As quality, the sky darkens, and birds start to it progresses further into the Moon, the chirp in bewilderment. As the temperature Sun starts looking more and more like a drops in the improvised night, the miracle crescent, the tables turn and it becomes “a finally occurs and the entire Sun is hidden Yvette has been a contribu- little moon” for a moment. This image is behind the almighty Moon. Only then can tor and editor for Natural priceless, though just as harmful as look- one look at the Sun without protection, and Selections for one year. She ing at the Sun at any other time: only spe- only in these circumstances will one be able cial eclipse filters or glasses can be used to to see the Sun corona. An aura of plasma was the first person to take safely enjoy this moment. The good news extends into the sky surrounding the Sun, on our Editorial Assistant is they are inexpensive and easy to find, like a pearly white crown emitting ever- role, having joined us from remember: Google is your friend. As the changing rays. The glow of a multitude of Memorial Sloan Kettering Moon incessantly munches on the defense- mutating colors in a shimmering cotton Cancer Center. Yvette was less Sun, eclipse watchers will notice its candy around an impossibly black hole. No shadow looming closer and closer. There is photo, no National Geographic documenta- a tremendous asset and we no way back; only a silver ring will be vis- ry would do justice to the uniqueness and will miss her dearly! ible when the two celestial bodies finally the magic of witnessing a total solar eclipse. 2 Challenging Conventions in Rei Kawakubo’s Art of the In Between DAKOTA B LAC K M AN The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a classic tourist destination in New York, overflow- ing with a sweeping collection of art that traverses time periods and cultures. Among the classics, which include the Greco-Roman sculpture hall, or a collection of European paintings from Rembrandt to Gauguin, is a more modern draw: the Costume Center. Founded in 1946 with the help of funds from the fashion industry, and reopened in 2014 as the Anna Wintour Costume Center, it focuses on the intersection between fash- ion and art in both the present day and the past. The Center consists of a range of works throughout the museum, from nineteenth century dresses and trousers to the museum’s comprehensive collection of medieval armor. More well-known efforts of the Center in- clude dedicated gallery spaces for thematic exhibits such as Alexander McQueen’s Sav- age Beauty in 2011, and an exploration of the punk movement in PUNK: Chaos to Couture in 2013. Former First Lady Michelle Obama, who cut the ceremonial ribbon at the 2014 re- opening, describes the Costume Center as a place “…for anyone who cares about fashion and how it impacts our culture and history.” Along the lines of the former First Lady’s words, the work of Rei Kawakubo, the designer behind the clothing label Comme des Garçon, is currently on display in a the- matic exhibit at the Costume Center. Among works of art that are defined by the very no- tion of convention, Kawakubo’s Art of the In Between is presented as an exhibit that pushes against the conventions of classic art, of cul- ture, and of fashion itself. Kawakubo’s commentary on, and pushback against, the norms of fashion has long been a hallmark of her company’s work, DAKOTA BLACKMAN | Natural Selections and it is exemplified in both the layout and and how her garments seek to answer it. new human form and challenging viewers garments on display in Art of the In Between. Kawakubo isn’t afraid to tackle big is- to reorient their view of what a standard, The architecture of the gallery, which was sues, and in the exhibit, she explores class, conventionally fashionable garment can and designed by Kawakubo herself, isn’t simply time, age, gender, and even the human form. should do. In an interview with Vogue at the dress forms on display behind panes of glass; High/Low, for example, juxtaposes the styles time of the collection’s release, Kawakubo the exhibit has museum-goers weave through of bikers and prima ballerinas: the dress said, “It’s our job to question convention.