Black Hole in the Sun

In a world of uncertainty and trouble, the sun has always inspired awe and reverence. Its constant brilliance brings life and light. The sun breathes promise and hope into each new day. Its unending light transcends death. Without the sun, we are nothing.

These are deep spiritual connections. They are also irrefutable facts.

Those two pillars of understanding – faith and science – joined forces on August 21, 2017 on a hot summer day to unite, in a way nothing else ever could, millions of people - of all faiths or no faith -  called to meet along a seventy-mile strip of land crossing the country. I was one of them.

I almost wish I had experienced that day's total eclipse of the sun like our ancestors had. They had no idea it was coming. To them the fading sun came by complete surprise, that must have quickly led to desperate fear of losing the one light they could always count on. I tried to put myself in their shoes at that moment. So as I looked skyward just before the sun disappeared, I awaited feelings of unease.

As a black disk covered all but a bright golden sliver of sunlight, I saw our awesome star become suddenly vulnerable, its power diminished. The clouds disappeared in the cooling air. A massive dark shadow rolled across the sky. Birds, insects, and humans screamed in unison. And then, in an instant, the sun’s brilliant light vanished.

Instead of fear, I felt something surprising and disarming. Like me at that moment, an ancient observer must have realized that the sun was not lost. Rather, the truth of its beauty was found.

All at once the sun transformed into the most beautiful, ethereal sight that I will ever see – a deep black hole in the sky, wreathed in a pearly glow embedded in the dark blue mid-afternoon twilight. Thin silver luminescent rivers flowed in three directions away from the void, like a mermaid’s flowing hair suspended in water. The black circular edge flickered with tiny red glowing embers. Minutes later, the sun’s golden light exploded back into the sky like a supernova, hiding again the incredible beauty we had been allowed to see for a brief moment. Those two and a half minutes passed rapidly, but seemed like a lifetime.

It was as if a goddess suspended her blinding brilliance for a fleeting moment to reveal to us her true nature, her incredible beauty. A gift of encouragement and inspiration to her people: ‘Keep going! It’s worth all the pain and fear. Everything will be alright!’

It was a sight that a photograph or video absolutely cannot capture. It was a deeply moving experience that I hope never to recover from, shared with family, friends and strangers at a city park in a small town in South Carolina that I will not likely pass through again. I shared the experience with friends and family across the country united by text and social media.

Today, days later, I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the urgency to understand the world and our place in it was ignited in people thousands of years ago after seeing a total eclipse of the sun.

May we all continue to benefit from that gift. 

Total solar eclipse, Fountain Inn, South Carolina, 21 August 2017. Photo by T. Rickenbach

Real-time video on 21 August 2017 of the total solar eclipse from a regional park in Fountain Inn, South Carolina leading up to and including totality, shot on a GoPro Hero 5 Session. Totality lasts 2 min 23 sec. The color transitions are pretty accurate, but the corona viewed live was so much more detailed, and far more beautiful. Video by T. Rickenbach.