Taken near the entrance of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park (which is now closed) on May 15, 2018, at 11:28 am.
MORTON GNEISS
Morton, Minnesota
Oldest Rock in the United States — 3.524 billion years old
MORTON GNEISS
Morton, Minnesota
Oldest Rock in the United States — 3.524 billion years old
Kilauea Volcano
10 Questions About the Earth—
and the Geology of North America.
Science — History — Biography
Eclipse Trivia
1. What Major League Baseball team won a world series on the night of a total lunar eclipse?
2. By 2017 what small U.S. city will have been in the path of three total solar eclipses in less than 100 years?
3. In contrast, what U.S. city is located where a total solar eclipse will not be seen for more than 1600 years?
4. Who was the first person to observe a total solar eclipse from the air? (Hint: He observed it while flying in a gas-filled balloon.)
5. During a solar eclipse, in what direction does the Moon's shadow move across the Earth: east-to-west or west-to-east?
6. What is the approximate speed of the Moon's shadow as it moves across the Earth's surface during a solar eclipse?
7. What is the original meaning of the word "eclipse"? (Hint: It comes from the ancient Greek word ekleipsis.)
8. What is the maximum possible duration of a total solar eclipse?
9. Could Stonehenge in England have been used to predict eclipses?
10. What chemical element was first discovered on the Sun during a total solar eclipse decades before it was discovered on Earth?
11. Chinese New Year always occurs on the date of a New Moon, that is, when a solar eclipse is possible. When was the last time a total solar eclipse occurred on Chinese New Year?
12. Which pope was born and buried on days when there were solar eclipses?
13. When was the first photograph of a total solar eclipse made?
14. In what year was commencement at Harvard was held one day early because of a solar eclipse?
15. Eclipses are mentioned several times in the Bible. The most famous passage is: "On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the Sun do down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight." Which book of the Bible does this come from?
16. The pearly white sheets and filaments that surrounded the Moon during a total solar eclipse are known as the corona. When was this term first used?