Bach and Germany's Solar Eclipses

How is it possible that music and astronomy collide? More in reality than you think!  

Emphatically aspired as the one of the most remarkable Baroque composers that has ever lived, and arguably one of the greatest of all musical eras, Johann Sebastian Bach laid an outline of melodies, some of which we will never forget today. He was a true virtuoso, himself being an organist, harpsichordist, violist, violinist, and a composer of both sacred and secular music, which "drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity," as Donald Grout states in his book, A History of Western Music [1]. In summary, Bach’s music helped reform and fundamentally redefine the Baroque era — through musical excellence and his unwavering belief in God. 

As we all know, Bach is considered as a great composer. And his music is well respected. But, how does his music relate to astronomy, and of all things, solar eclipses? Although only fragments remain, in his work, Quodlibet (called, Wedding Quodlibit) "Was seind das vor grosse Schlösser" (BWV 524), a line of the piece gives questioning. This is what the subtitle reads, in German, respectively. 

...In diesem Jahre haben wir zwei Sonnenfinsternissen...

In English translation, we can perceive it to mean "In this year we have [seen] two solar eclipses." But which events are these? Because of this indication on the piece's work, we can determine that it was written and the events happened sometime around 1705-1708 AD in central Germany (where Bach lived). From BachCantatas.com [2], "A reference to two eclipses of the sun in one year has yielded the possibility that the year in question could only be 1705, 1706, or 1708 since 1707 had only partial eclipses in the region;" this makes the question of eclipses more exact. When and what were these eclipses?

According to NASA's eclipse statistics, two eclipses within the years of 1705-1708 are recorded that are near Germany, one passing right though it: May 12, 1706, the one definite for Germany, and the other, September 14, 1708. The latter passes through the Middle east, but Germany would see partial eclipse; there are no other total/hybrid/annular events other than those. Article of the May 12, 1706 eclipse from SOA/NASA Archives.

________________________

[1] Grout, Donald (1980). A History of Western Music. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 435

[2] Bratz, Thomas. "BWV 524 Quodlibet (Fragment) 'Was seind das vor grosse Schlösser'". Retrieved 25 January 2012 from http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/BWV524Quodlibet%5BBraatz%5D.htm

The Largest Partial Solar Eclipse of 2011: November 25 Eclipse Results

The Results are in! And yes, this eclipse was a success! Thousands of images have been pouring in on the web and I have chosen the best for Astronomical Events Calendar. The November 25, 2011 Partial-Solar Eclipse was the longest of its kind for 2011, yet 2012 brings us a rare annular eclipse among others. [The Text below was taken from the hyperlink article above].

Belonging to Saros 123, this eclipse will be seen over New Zealand, the tip of Africa, and of course Antarctica, while the greatest eclipse occurs at 06:20:17 UT with a magnitude of 0.905 near the coast of Antarctica at latitude -68° 34.1’, longitude +82° 24’. It starts at 04:23:14 UT, and ends at 08:17:16 UT.

The following picture was taken by Bonar Carson from Dunedin, New Zealand. "Partial solar eclipse from Dunedin, New Zealand. Photographed before it peaked as the clouds rolled in and blocked it from being visible at peak."

 

Mike Nicholson photographed the event about two minutes before sunset from Otaki Beach, NZ (above), "We were experiencing gale force Sou'westerlies when I took the picture. Low clouds plus flying salt and sand provided a natural filter to reduce the glare of the sun." The next picture was taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by "James," as he records: "I used Astro Physics 105mm Traveller and Nikon D7000 to capture some shots of the recent solar partial eclipse. There was some overcasted cloud to block the view at the first contact. Luckily, I got the better view at the final stage. But it had the optical distortion affected by the atmospheric turbulence at low horizon during the sunset."

If you know of any other pictures of this eclipse, please SUBMIT them to Spaceweather.com; as we would all like to enjoy them. [All images are not property of Astronomical Events Calendar - they have been taken from Spaceweather.com and are copyright the name above (for each picture)]. 

Partial Solar Eclipse for November 25, 2011

It's the last eclipse of the 2011 Solar Eclipse season; make it meaningful. November 25, 2011 will bring us another partial solar eclipse, and this time over Antarctica, so a plethora of images won't come in. The moon will obscure 90.5% of the sun, making it a very good partial solar eclipse, so this should be picture-worthy if only we had photographers who lived in Antarctica. Yes, the July 1, 2011 eclipse was the same (no-one will be in the location of the eclipse), but nonetheless that eclipse did not block out so much sun as this eclipse will. NASA! Eclipse Webpage.

 

Belonging to Saros 123, this eclipse will be seen over New Zealand, the tip of Africa, and of course Antarctica, while the greatest eclipse occurs at 06:20:17 UT with a magnitude of 0.905 near the coast of Antarctica at latitude -68° 34.1’, longitude +82° 24’. It starts at 04:23:14 UT, and ends at 08:17:16 UT. For pure theoretical interest; "This is the 53rd eclipse of Saros 123. The family began with 6 partial eclipses from the years 1074 to 1164. By the time the series ends in 2318, it will have produced 70 eclipses in the following order: 6 partial, 27 annular, 3 hybrid, 14 total, and 20 partial eclipses. Complete details for Saros 123 can be found here." (Thanks to NASA)

Let the Eclipse Begin!
DEFECTUS INCIPIAT!