Lesser Sphere of Darkest Space

Photo by K. Hartnett

"Lesser Sphere of darkest space,

Swing your mask across my face.

Note the startled humans glancing;

Fear they not the Day advancing?"

-- K. Hartnett, October 1997

Behold the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.  For…the Sun will be dark at its rising and the Moon will not shed its light.  (Isaiah 13:9,10)

Total Solar Eclipse; a Midday Spectacle

March 7, 1970, 1:34 pm. - a strange sensation falls over the countryside.  For three spectacular minutes the midday Sun is eclipsed by the Earth’s Moon and provides no more light than the full Moon itself at midnight.  The Moon is more than 400 times smaller in actual diameter than the Sun.  This is roughly the same proportion as a soccer ball is to a stadium.  In God’s providence, however, the much greater distance of the Sun makes it appear smaller so that the Moon’s sphere perfectly fits like a mask over the Sun’s face.  This view is very possibly unique among the Solar System planets and their moons.  Because of this perfect match, however, scientists have identified and studied the outer atmosphere of the Sun called the solar corona.  An understanding of this gaseous plasma may help in the prediction of climatic trends on Earth.

Immediately after the distress of those days, the Sun will be darkened, and the Moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.  At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky…(Matthew 24:29,30)

I got the idea for this poem around the time of Halloween, when masks meant to frighten or startle are everywhere in the stores.  In the poem, the Sun (the Greater Light) calls to the Moon (the Lesser Light) to act as a mask and hide its face from the startled observers below.  Whereas the temporary shadowing of the Sun by the Moon during a total solar eclipse should not be so much the cause for concern as for wonder, the book of Genesis makes clear that God created the celestial lights for signs, not just for calendars.  He used, for example, the starry skies to illustrate for Abraham how innumerable his descendents would be.  The Bible also speaks plainly about there being an eventual day of judgment by God of all men, marked by signs in the heavens.  To those who by faith are eagerly awaiting Him, this day will be one of unspeakable blessing, but to those who ignore or oppose Him, a day to be terrified.