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Isabel Lewis, in her 1924 Handbook of Solar Eclipses, found the total eclipse of the sun to be a most transforming experience: "Moon standing out ... in sinister relief between Sun and Earth, the sudden outflashing glory and radiance of the pearly corona which can be seen at no other time, the scarlet prominences rising from the surface of the hidden Sun to heights of many thousand miles..."
Get ready. On Thursday (Feb. 26), the world will view a total eclipse of the sun. But unless you're flying to Aruba next week, your view will not be an Isabel Lewis panorama. If you are in Indianapolis or environs, a maximum of 10 percent of the sun will be covered, beginning at 12:30 p.m. and reaching a maximum at 12:57 p.m. And if you're looking skyward, be sure to protect your eyes. Without an optical aid, you can damage your retina. (This Web site will prepare you.)
And through NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics, you can journey to live Webcasts of the eclipse. Find out about the migration and behavior of organisms called "eclipse chasers" at the Discovery Channel Online. (Note: Eclipse chasers are not lunar paparazzi.)
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