Have you ever considered how remarkable it is that the Moon is exactly the right size, and exactly the right distance away to cover the Sun perfectly, during a solar eclipse?
Not that any of us could see it today. As ever when there's something cool to see, the clouds rolled over and blocked out the sky.
What did happen though, was that it got a bit murky for a while, then it brightened up.
"That happens every day in Ireland," said Louise.
Indeed. Here too.
It is remarkable though that every now and then, these three massive objects line up in a perfect syzygy. In ancient times it was a sign of bad fortune to come, though I think most people were just afraid of astronomical phenomena. Halley's Comet even appears in the Bayeux Tapestry as a kind of symbol of the forthcoming Norman invasion of 1066. Though, to be fair it was sewn in by Normans long after the event.
The point was that these things were so unusual, so bizarre and possibly frightening, that they could only have been interpreted as great and terrible omens. In truth, the Moon always casts a shadow - it's just that every now and then, that shadow hits the Earth.
The Engineers ran a live feed of the eclipse today on the Big Telly. From where I could see it, it looked like they were all watching a huge, grinning Cheshire Cat.
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