Pre-Eclipse Lecture 1: Mixing History and Science About Past Eclipses

ECLIPSES AND CELESTIAL BODIES:  Shining a Light on History and Science during this Magical Moment of Darkness

(20-min free, pre-eclipse lecture)

by Dr. Tom Sale, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering and Past Director of the Center for Hydrology in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University.

Indiana's Great Eclipse

A Scholastic Journey into the Past, Present, and Future.

A Free Pre-Eclipse Lecture Series

April 7, 2024

Carmel Public Library

Carmel, Indiana

This is a free event, but registration is required:

 Register Here

Schedule

1:30PM Welcome Reception

2:00PM Introduction by Dan Kelleher, Midwest GeoSciences Group

2:10PM Tom Sale (15-20 mins) ECLIPSES AND CELESTIAL BODIES:  Shining a Light on History and Science during this Magical Moment of Darkness

(Dr. Tom Sale, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering and Past Director of the Center for Hydrology in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University)

2:30PM Donna Jurdy (40-45 mins) SETI: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence - Perspectives of an Earth Scientist 

(Dr. Donna Jurdy, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University)

3:15PM Supplemental Q&A

3:30PM Adjourn.

About Dr. Sale's Lecture

Mixing history and science about past eclipses is a truly fascinating journey.    There are many references about ancient eclipses and sometimes these historic moments lead to wild stories and lunatic speculation (pun intended).  And sometimes those stories lead to folklore that grow into generational legends.  

Sometimes thoughtful science prevails where the stories pass on meaningful details. Hypotheses are made and lead to theories where they can possibly become accepted facts.  These contrasting paths provide an opportunity for provocative discussion of the moon and deep space objects.  

An example of historic reference, there are some who contend that the Bible story about Abraham who says, "And when the sun was going down...great darkness fell upon him." sees this text as an eclipse instead of nighttime.  Some Bible scholars assign Abraham’s words to May 1533 BC. What is interesting in this is that there is an actual NASA database that tracks past and future eclipses ( https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ).  Ironically, a solar eclipse occurred in Jerusalem in 1533 BC, but does that mean that the text in question is talking about an eclipse?  What a wildly intriguing perspective!

Tom Sale, PhD

Tom Sale, PhD, PE is currently Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering and Past Director of the Center for Contaminant Hydrology in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University.

Tom is a recognized astronomy enthusiast leading field trips to various solar and lunar eclipses along with other astro- and geoscience events. He is a masterful speaker and story teller.   Tom recently led a Solar Eclipse Field Trip to Utah for the October 14, 2023 ring of fire. Tom's back deck at home has some of the most impressive telescope equipment in the State of Colorado.

Tom contributes to Midwest GeoSciences Group in a variety of ways. Although Tom's main focus is teaching ground water courses, he led an astronomical field trip in 2012 for Midwest GeoSciences Group near Adelaide, South Australia. On April 8, 2024, he will be co-leading the astronomical education and live on-site announcements at Civic Center north of City Hall Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University in Carmel.

Dr. Sale has authored numerous landmark papers and is the driving force behind patented technologies that have changed the direction of the ground water contamination industry. He also contributes to ground water projects as a consultant and a regulation policy reviewer.