7 mo. ago • 96%

I want to be among those who deeply thoroughly understand & can accurately predict the path of future eclipses because this is amazing.

19 comments

I'm pretty sure they just hold up a tennis ball and shine a flashlight on a globe, its not rocket surgery

37
- I like the way you think
  
  10
  
  You'd be the first
  
  6
- I've heard from a government authority that the eclipse path is determined by how gay we are.
  
  1
When I was a kid my parents bought me a book called "practical astronomy with your calculator" that went over all the workings and formulae for calculating eclipses, moon phases, locations of the planets and heaps more. If you want to get into it I highly recommend this book or something similar.

22
- BTW the book was by Peter Duffett-Smith if that helps.
  
  7
There are certain aspects of it that look more complicated than they are because you are seeing it as a representation on a flat map. It makes a lot more sense when you see it on a globe with all the pieces moving in 3d space.

https://youtu.be/ujYYlXP12m4

It is complicated because there are tilts to the earths rotation and a tilt to the moon's orbit, but people thousands of years ago figured it out, so it's solvable.

14
So you want to be a computer algorithm?

5
- Are you so deeply entrenched in modern technology that you cannot fathom that a human could comprehend and map future astronomical patterns?
  
  Humans have been doing this since early records of humankind on earth. Loooooong before computers existed. Computers have only been around the last few decades.
  
  1
Me too! Always wanted to get into, thinking it worthwhile to have a running solar system or celestial model on your own machine that you know how to operate etc. Just never really tried sadly!

3
- I used Stellarium today to see how the eclipse would look from my location, highly recommend it if you want to start playing
  
  2
  
  Oh yea I’ve used it and from memory it’s awesome as you say. I was more talking about getting into the technical details of running a model and calculating various things of personal interest.
  
  Thanks for the recommendation though!
  
  2
No, it’s a mystical religious sign. Aren’t you paying attention?

3
Math.

1
- Yesss. I waaaaant it in my mind and in my souuuuuul.
  
  2
  
  Fun Fact:
  
  They discovered Neptune by math. They studied the orbit of Uranus and noticed anomalies in the mavity, so they postulated there must be another planet. Using math, calculated it's path, aimed their telescopes, and voila, Neptune.
  
  I am terrible at math, so I can't explain how it works. But it's all about physics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_mechanics is probably a good start.
  
  3
Is London in the eclipse zone?

1
- No—this is a good resource for finding the next one closest to you. https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list.html
  
  If you’re in Europe, northern Spain in 2026 is the next best opportunity.
  
  8

You've viewed 19 comments.