Part of the Total

On August 21, 2017, much of the United States will participate in a mass viewing of the first total solar eclipse in almost 100 years to be visible in our country. I will be out and watching, but I will only see a sun eclipsed 81 percent, as I am several hundred miles north of totality's path. Why don't I just hop on a plane or get in the car and go to a location that will see the total event? I would love to, but I can't. I'm sorely disappointed, but it's not the first time.

Even with my love of astronomy (I was going to minor in it in college), I have not seen many of the wondrous phenomena that have taken place in our skies. Halley's Comet? Cloudy. Hale-Bopp? Cloudy. What about the Perseid meteor shower each year? Cloudy or raining almost every single time. I think I've seen a couple of meteors, but I also live in an area with a great deal of light pollution, so I can't really be sure. Same goes for the Leonids and all the other showers that light up the heavens around our planet. I have a nice telescope, but it's too heavy to carry around to a deserted area most of the time although I did see Jupiter with three of its Galilean moons the first time I used it - awesome!!

So, back to the traveling. Bottom line - I don't have the money to get a plane ticket. Traveling is expensive, and due to a disability, I can work only enough hours to just make ends meet. It's been this way for so many years that I've stopped even thinking about the possibility of such a luxury. And sitting in a car for hours hurts my body more than I care to admit. For someone who used to love driving cross-country, that's kind of sobering, too.

But even if can't see the total eclipse, millions of other people will, and I'll be out with my funky protective glasses to look at the 81 percent this area will get. And with the internet, I'll be able to see some fabulous pictures and share in the amazing science that's going to be uncovered by this event. I could be all mopey and refuse to enjoy the day, but what purpose would that serve? Life is what it is, and it's up to each of us to make the most out of what we have. I will be out, virtually sharing the day with every other sky watcher. Together the sum of all our parts will be greater than the total.