A total solar eclipse is a rare occurrence.  On April 8, 2024, central Arkansas will experience a total eclipse, as the sun will be completely obscured by the moon.  Pottsville and Russellville fall along the centerline of the path of totality.  Along that trajectory the total eclipse will last for 4 minutes 13 seconds. The eclipse will begin at approximately 12:33 pm CDT and reach totality around 1:50 pm CDT. 

Several websites provide good information about the eclipse.  Nationaleclipse.com provides comprehensive info about all things related to the eclipse across the thirteen states that lie in the path of totality. And eclipserussellville.com is an excellent local source of information about events and opportunities related to experiencing the eclipse in the Arkansas River Valley.

If you are preparing to join us here in the Arkansas River valley to view the eclipse, it is helpful to be aware of the unusual effects a solar eclipse produces.

• Before the eclipse reaches totality, shadow bands will form on plain-colored surfaces. The wavy lines of light and dark, lined up in parallel rows, will undulate and move rapidly across the ground.
• During the partial phase, a minute or more before and after the eclipse — when the sun looks like a crescent moon — the colors in the landscape will appear saturated and contrast is boosted. Shadows cast through leafy trees, sometimes called anti-shadows, will appear to be hundreds of tiny crescent-shaped shadows because the gaps between leaves act like pinhole cameras.
• During the total eclipse, when it is safe to look at the eclipse with the naked eye, experts say you can expect to see jets and ribbons of light in the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere, twisting and curling out into the sky.
• As soon as the Moon entirely covers the Sun and causes the sky to completely blacken, the air will instantly chill — perhaps by as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Animals will become confused and nocturnal animals may awaken and become active.  Bats may fly around thinking it is night.  Birds may go to roost.  Crickets or cicadas may begin to chirp. Insects may come out during moments when the sky darkens.
• If the land is flat for miles around your location or you are on a mountain top, you will be able to see the darkest part of the Moon’s shadow (called the umbra) racing across the ground towards you just before totality and away from you afterwards.
• During totality, brighter stars, such as Regulus, will be visible, as well as all of the five planets which can be seen with the naked eye: Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. In addition, the “12P/Pons-Brooks” comet will be visible near Jupiter.

Read here for more effects of the eclipse.

A total solar eclipse is truly majestic, inspiring awe in the created order.  But even more so, it gives glory to the God who created such a beautiful and predictable universe.  The Bible tells us that God created the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day of creation both to provide light and create the rhythms of time that govern and guide all things. 

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. Genesis 1:14-19

The ancient world depended on the predictability of celestial cycles. Yet the ancients could not predict solar eclipses.  To them a darkening and darkened sun was a sign of judgement and unimaginable catastrophe. It seemed to confirm the latent fear of darkened pagan hearts and minds that their gods were capricious and angry – unpredictable and bent on judgment and destruction.   Yet we read of the God of the Bible that,

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  James 1:17

The word translated shadow is an ancient word which means “eclipse.”   The Lord is a God who is constant and kind.   He never changes.  He is as good as His Word.  Consider what the scripture says about God’s promises.

Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.  Joshua 21:45

For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ Jesus]. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.  2 Corinthians 1:20

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  2 Peter 3:9

On April 8, 2024, thousands will gather in the thirteen states that lay in the path of totality to behold something truly spectacular.  For many the eclipse will point to the faithfulness of a God whose love, presence, and promises can never be eclipsed by circumstances or sin.  While for others, the darkening and darkened sun may represent a fearful sign of uncertainty about where they stand with their creator. 

If you would like to know more about this God who never changes and His Son whose love is never eclipsed, then join us in person or via livestream, Sunday, April 7, 2024 at 10:30 am. We meet on the square in Pottsville, Arkansas right next to historic Potts’ Inn for worship. Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube.