july 2011 - Astronomical Society of Southern Africa

canopus july 2011
eclipse recorded in the Shu Ching was regarded as having occurred the 3rd millennium
BCE. On the first day of the month, in the last month of autumn, the Sun and the Moon did
not meet (harmoniously) in Fang' ... so runs the text. The emperor became very unhappy
because, without knowing that there was an eclipse coming, he was unable to organize
teams to beat drums and shoot arrows in the air to frighten away the invisible dragon. The
Sun did survive, but the two astronomers lost their heads for such negligence. Since then, a
legend arose that no one has ever seen an astronomer drunk during an eclipse.
Now I wonder if the legend of drunken astronomers is still true today!!? Of cause on
eclipse night in the observatory, we were totally sober sipping a glass of wine.
Christopher Columbus' Eclipse (1504 CE)
After a long trip to the Americas in 1503, in his fourth voyage, Columbus was stranded on
the island of Jamaica. In principle, he managed to obtain provisions from the Caciques
natives in exchange for some trinkets and rubbish. As the months went by, novelty and
hospitality started to decrease and also the sailors became more aggressive with the
natives in order to obtain food. Then the native Jamaicans communicated to the Spanish
that they would not provide any more supplies.
Columbus became desperate with the
threat of famine and came up with an
ingenious plan. He checked his
Calendarium, which contained
predictions of lunar eclipses for several
years. In particular, it predicted a total
eclipse of the Moon on the Antilles on
February 29, 1504 CE. That evening, he
invited the Caciques on-board his
Capitana for a serious conversation. He
told them that they were Christians and
their God did not like the way they had
been treating them and would punish
the Indians with famine and pestilence
and, as a sign of dissatisfaction, he would darken the Moon. As soon as he said that, the
Earth's shadow started to cover the white disk. Terrified, the natives begged Columbus to
bring back the light.
He replied that he needed to consult his God. He shut himself in a cabin for nearly two
hours. Just before the end of totality, he reappeared and announced that God had
given his pardon, and would bring them back the Moon provided that the Christians were
given provisions. Immediately, the Moon reappeared. Astonished, the natives
immediately provided Columbus and his crew their needed provisions until they were able
to return to Europe.
With all the nonsense doing its rounds again on the internet, such as two suns will appear
in the night sky, it’s great to see real predictions being enjoyed by so many, and I hope
no one was manipulated as Columbus did in 1504 AD.
Gary
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