2017 annular eclipse

Sarmiento (Argentina) (AFP) - Stargazers applauded as they were plunged into darkness Sunday when the moon passed in front of the sun in a spectacular "ring of fire" eclipse.

Astronomers and enthusiasts in Argentina were among the first to see the so-called annular eclipse as it crossed South America shortly after 1200 GMT, on course for Africa.

 An annular solar eclipse, as seen from the Estancia El Muster, near Sarmiento, south of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 26, 2017 (AFP Photo/ALEJANDRO PAGNI)

The moon moves to cover the sun for an annular solar eclipse, as seen from the Estancia El Muster, south of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 26, 2017 (AFP Photo/ALEJANDRO PAGNI)

Staring up through special telescopes, protective glasses or homemade cardboard pinhole devices, they watched the Sun all but disappear briefly as the Moon crossed its path.

The eclipse was most visible in a 100-kilometer (62-mile) band across Chile, Argentina, Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Around 300 stargazers gathered in a remote spot near the southern city of Sarmiento, the point in Argentina where the eclipse left just a bright ring in the dark sky.

Several onlookers blew notes on "erkes," long traditional South American horns.

"I have already seen six annular eclipses and each one was different," said Josep Masalles Roman, an enthusiast who came all the way from Barcelona in Spain.

The spectacle passed on to Angola south of the town of Benguela, then Zambia and DR Congo just before the Sun set.

- Ring of fire -

An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Earth, Moon and Sun line up.

But even when perfectly aligned, the Moon is too far from Earth to completely block out the Sun, creating instead the impression of a fiery ring.

Terry Moseley of the Irish Astronomical Association warned that viewers should not observe the eclipse with the naked eye.

According to the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA), the eclipse can be safely observed using a basic pinhole projector.

Punch a tiny hole in a piece of paper with a sharp pencil, hold it into the Sun, and project the image onto a second sheet.

The gaps between tree leaves make for a similar effect on the ground, says the ASSA website, calling this "the coolest and safest way to watch a solar eclipse".

"As about 90 percent of the Sun is covered, you'll notice a distinct drop in temperature and brightness, and a change in the quality of the light which is hard to describe," Moseley told AFP.

- Animal behavior -

Locals in the province of Chubut around Sarmiento said they noted changes in the height of the tide and animals acting unusually.

Experts say that as the day darkens, birds and animals enter a night-time routine, thinking sunset is nigh.

At the height of the eclipse the Moon is right in the middle of the Sun, leaving a perfect ring of light around the edge.

It takes about two hours for the Moon to move across the face of the Sun, but the "ring of fire" peak lasted a mere minute.

Starting in the southeast Pacific Ocean at sunrise, the eclipse passed over southern Chile then Argentina before sweeping over the South Atlantic.

At sea, the eclipse peak was to last 44 seconds and "only be visible to any ships that happen to be in the right place at the right time," said Moseley.

Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith Biography

Singer (1894–1937)

QUICK FACTS

NAME

Bessie Smith

OCCUPATION

Singer

BIRTH DATE

April 15, 1894

DEATH DATE

September 26, 1937

PLACE OF BIRTH

Chattanooga, Tennessee

PLACE OF DEATH

Clarksdale, Mississippi

AKA

Bessie Smith

NICKNAME

"Empress of the Blues"

ORIGINALLY

Elizabeth Smith

Jazz and blues vocalist Bessie Smith's powerful, soulful voice won her countless fans and earned her the title "Empress of the Blues."

Bessie Smith - Mini Biography (TV-14; 3:20) A short biography of Bessie Smith, who became known as the "Empress of the Blues." Her distinctive voice made her one of the first jazz singers to appear on records.

Synopsis

Bessie Smith was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on April 15, 1894. She began to sing at a young age and in 1923 signed a contract with Columbia Records. Soon she was among the highest-paid black performers of her time with hits like "Downhearted Blues." By the end of the 1920s, however, her popularity had lessened, though she continued to perform and made new recordings at the start of the Swing Era. Her comeback and life were cut short when she died on September 26, 1937 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Early Life

Bessie Smith was born on April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was one of seven children. Her father, a Baptist minister, died soon after her birth, leaving her mother to raise her and her siblings. Around 1906, her mother and two of her brothers died and Smith and her remaining siblings were raised by their aunt. It was around this time that Smith began to perform as a street singer, accompanied on the guitar by one of her younger brothers. In 1912, Smith began performing as a dancer in the Moses Stokes minstrel show, and soon thereafter in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, of which blues vocalist Ma Rainey was a member. Rainey took Smith under her wing, and over the next decade Smith continued to perform at various theaters and on the vaudeville circuit.

The Empress of the Blues

By the early 1920s, Smith had settled down and was living in Philadelphia, and in 1923 she met and married a man named Jack Gee. That same year, she was discovered by a representative from Columbia Records, with whom she signed a contract and made her first song recordings. Among them was a track titled "Downhearted Blues," which was wildly popular and sold an estimated 800,000 copies, propelling Smith into the blues spotlight. With her rich, powerful voice, Smith soon became a successful recording artist and toured extensively. Going forward with an idea presented by her brother and business manager Clarence, Smith eventually bought a custom railroad car for her traveling troupe to travel and sleep in.

READ ARTICLE: “The Mother and The Empress: Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith” about Rainey’s influence on the life and career of Bessie Smith.

In her recording career, Bessie Smith worked with many important jazz performers, such as saxophonist Sidney Bechet and pianists Fletcher Henderson and James P. Johnson. With Johnson, she recorded one of her most famous songs, "Backwater Blues." Smith also collaborated with the legendary jazz artist Louis Armstrong on several tunes, including "Cold in Hand Blues" and "I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle." By the end of the 1920s, Smith was the highest-paid black performer of her day, and had earned herself the title "Empress of the Blues."

Decline and Revival

However, at the height of her success, Bessie Smith’s career began to flounder, due in part to the financial ravages of the Great Depression and a change in cultural mores. In 1929 she and Jack Gee permanently separated, and by the end of 1931 Smith had stopped working with Columbia altogether. However, ever the dedicated performer, Smith adapted her repertoire and continued to tour. In 1933, Smith was contacted by producer John Hammond to make new recordings, which hinted at the coming Swing Era.

Death and Legacy

Over the next few years, Smith continued to perform. However, on September 26, 1937, Smith was en route to a show in Memphis, Tennessee with her companion of many years, Richard Morgan, when he sideswiped a truck and lost control of their car. Smith was thrown from the vehicle and badly injured. She died of her wounds in a Clarkdale, Mississippi hospital. She was 43.

Smith’s funeral was held in Philadelphia a week later, with thousands coming to pay their respects. She was buried in Mount Lawn Cemetery in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania.

Since her death, Bessie Smith’s music continues to win over new fans, and collections of her songs have continued to sell extremely well over the years. She has been a primary influence for countless female vocalists—including Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin—and has been immortalized in numerous works. A comprehensive, acclaimed bio on her life—Bessie, by journalist Chris Albertson—was published in 1972 and expanded in 2003. An HBO film loosely based on the book is slated to air in 2015, with Queen Latifah (who also executive produced the project) portraying Smith and Mo'Nique playing Ma Rainey. 

Floods along the Mississippi River and throughout the South were not uncommon as Bessie Smith made heartbreakingly clear in her song Back Water Blues, recorded in March 1927, and inspired by a flood occurring more than a year earlier. The flood started in the summer of 1926 with exceptionally heavy rains in the Mississippi basin but did not peak until April the following year. The waters did not subside until August 1927.



The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with 27,000 square miles inundated up to a depth of 30 feet.

NASA's African-American Astronauts free poster download

Maj. Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. (U.S. Air Force, Deceased)

From Chicago, Lawrence was selected by the Air Force for astronaut training in 1967. He died a short time later in the crash of an F-104 fighter jet while instructing a student pilot at the controls. Lawrence, who held a Ph.D. in chemistry from Ohio State University, never got to fulfill his dream, but he left behind a legacy for others who made the journey.

Captions by Richard Watkins

Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr. (U.S. Air Force, Retired)

The first African-American astronaut to blast off was Guy Bluford, aboard Challenger in 1983. Bluford, a Philadelphian with a degree in aerospace engineering from Penn State, was an accomplished fighter pilot who flew 144 missions in Vietnam before entering NASA's rigorous Astronaut Training Program. Bluford logged four shuttle missions.

Bernard A. Harris Jr., M.D.

Harris was the first African American to walk in space, during a joint mission with the Russians in 1995. Harris flew his first shuttle mission aboard Columbia in 1993. A Texan, Harris holds a degree in biology from the University of Houston and a medical degree from Texas Tech. 

Mae Carol Jemison, M.D.

With her journey aboard the shuttle Endeavor in 1992, Jemison was much celebrated as the first African-American woman in space. Born in Alabama and raised in Chicago, Jemison received a degree in chemical engineering from Stanford and doctorate in medicine from Cornell. She was a Peace Corps medical officer in Africa before joining NASA.

Col. Frederick Drew Gregory (U.S. Air Force, Retired)

Gregory was the first African American to pilot a shuttle (Challenger in 1985) and the first black commander of a shuttle, Discovery, in 1989. A graduate of the Air Force Academy, he has a master's in information systems from George Washington University. He flew an amazing 577 helicopter missions in Vietnam.

Maj. Gen. Charles Frank Bolden Jr. (U.S. Marines, Retired)

Bolden is the first African-American administrator of NASA, appointed in 2009. From Columbia, S.C., he is a Naval Academy engineering grad with a master's from the University of Southern California. Bolden, who was a Marine Corps general, is a veteran of four shuttle missions and piloted Discovery during the launch of the Hubble telescope. Retired as an astronaut, Bolden was a commanding general in Operation Desert Thunder.

Ronald E. McNair, Ph.D. (Deceased)

McNair was the first African-American astronaut to die aboard a shuttle — in the Challenger disaster that killed a crew of seven. From Lake City, S.C., McNair was a Renaissance man who picked cotton as a youth but later obtained a degree in physics from North Carolina A&T and a doctorate from MIT. He carried a saxophone on Challenger to perform a solo for a record album.

Lt. Col. Michael Phillip Anderson (U.S. Air Force, Deceased)

Anderson was the second African-American astronaut to die when Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry into the earth's atmosphere just 16 minutes before landing on Feb. 1, 2006. Anderson was born in Plattsburg, N.Y., and grew up in Spokane, Wash. He held a degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Washington and a master's in physics from Creighton University.

Stephanie D. Wilson

Wilson is one of two African-American women who followed in the footsteps of Mae Jemison. A Bostonian, Wilson holds a degree in engineering science from Harvard and a master's in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas. She is a veteran of three shuttle missions.

Joan E. Higginbotham

Higginbotham is from Chicago. She has a degree in electrical engineering from Southern Illinois University and a master's in space systems from the Florida Institute of Technology. She has logged more than 300 hours in space.

Capt. Winston E. Scott (U.S. Navy, Retired)

The majority of U.S. astronauts have been military aviators like Scott, who is from Miami and is a former Navy pilot. Scott graduated from Florida State with a music degree and holds a master's in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He is a veteran of two shuttle missions and three space walks.

Capt. Robert L. Curbeam Jr. (U.S. Navy, Retired)

Curbeam, from Baltimore, is a retired Navy pilot with a degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Academy and a master's in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is a veteran of three shuttle missions and seven space walks.

Col. Benjamin Alvin Drew Jr. (U.S. Air Force, Retired)

Drew, from Washington, D.C., is a retired Air Force colonel with dual degrees in astronautical engineering and physics from the Air Force Academy, plus a master's in aerospace engineering from Embry Riddle University. He has piloted 30 different aircraft and logged three shuttle missions.

Robert Lee Satcher Jr., M.D., Ph.D.

Doctors and scientists are likely candidates for astronaut training. Bobby Satcher is both. The Hampton, Va., native has a doctorate in chemical engineering from MIT and an M.D. from Harvard University. He has performed two space walks.

Leland D. Melvin (NFL Draft, 1986)

Melvin, from Lynchburg, Va., holds a chemical engineering degree from the University of Richmond and a master's in materials science engineering from the University of Virginia. He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 1986 draft and selected by NASA for astronaut training in 1998. Leland, who flew two shuttle missions, is the associate administrator for education at NASA.

http://www.theroot.com/shuttle-stars-americas-black-astronauts-1790867983





NASA selects astronauts from a diverse pool of applicants with a wide variety of backgrounds. From the thousands of applications received, only a few are chosen for the intensive Astronaut Candidate training program. Only 321 astronauts have been selected to date. This fact sheet lists those astronauts of African descent.




https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/286592main_African_American_Astronauts_FS.pdf