What people might have missed at the 2017 solar eclipse
By Tim Adams author of “Similitudes Typology of Our Day”
![Similitudes: Typology of our Day by [Timothy James Adams]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510Ac-KUmnL.jpg)
At the end of 1999 there was great hysteria over the fact that as the year came to an end would our modern-day computers be able to move from the 1900s to a new number of 2000s? Computers never had gaped anything this big on its own, because computers never had performed as they did in our day. Would the computer move on numerically on to the 2000s or would we wake up the next day in 1900? Logically the experts told us they thought all would go fine. But pop culture gave us other ideas. Prince had written a popular song saying he was going to party like its 1999. 2000 was going to lead us into the Millennium. But before the Millennium there was thought that a great destruction would come first, as Prince sang “had to run from my destruction, you know I didn’t even care!” Was the Millennium really coming already? There was a little bit of fear and trepidation until the next day we woke up and saw 2000 really came and went! Nothing happened at all! Eat drink and be merry, or party on!
I however was focusing on other possibilities. 2012 we were being told was the end of the Mayan calendar. It was said to be the most accurate calendar and with its end we were told all things would change and become new again. A great collapse was to occur and then the world would start a new period would be ushered in. I sort of was in that camp; and wondered if history would begin anew. I read many things on the internet about this Mayan calendar and the Mayan prophecies affiliated with the end.
In 2017 I had gone to a Christian fireside and felt like I had an understanding about iconography, and maybe I could add some insights to the symbology of the constellations. It took just two and a half years to write; and by then I saw something much more compelling than the end of an old calendar system.
Someone told of a series of four red lunar moons that were going to show up two years in a row falling on the Jewish holidays! This I had to see. By then I had purchased a computer program of the night sky called Starry night enthusiast. First, I went to the NASA site to find out exactly when these events were going to take place. They were called a tetrad. April 15th, 2014 and October 8th. Then on April 4th, 2015 and the 28th of September 2015
The two April lunar eclipse happened on the Jewish holidays of Passover, and the October 8th, 2014, and the September 28th of 2015 both fell on Feast of Tabernacles. Let’s not forget that I know of no other Christian Church that keeps the feast similar to that of the Jews except for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We hold our April and October conferences similar to the Jewish Holidays. They keep theirs by following the lunar cycles, while we generally follow the next closest Sunday to their cycles. The scriptures teach:
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:30-32)
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2;19-21)
In addition to these four lunar eclipses that fell on the four Jewish holidays there is yet another compelling view others could not see. The background constellations during those eclipses have meaning. The two in April had Virgo behind them and the two in the fall had Pisces behind them. Virgo is a representation of the Church:
1 And there appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1)
Wandle Mace one of the great men in Church History who helped build the Nauvoo Temple stated:
“The order of the architecture was unlike anything in existence: it was purely original, being a representation of the Church, the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. This is portrayed in the beautifully cut stone of this grand Temple”.
The symbol of the woman in the heavens and in the scriptures is a clear representation of the Church. The two lunar eclipses in the fall had the constellation of Pisces behind them, also a representation of the Church. Think of the Savior directing his disciples “I will make you fishers of men”. The fish has long been a symbol of the church. So then why blood red moons with the symbols of the church behind them? Why did these 4 eclipses happen across America. A lot of commentators rejected these signs because they did not occur over Israel, but over America.
I believe these signs were meant for the Latter-day Church if they had eyes to see them. And the Latter-day Church resides in America; are we not a tribe of Israel? Like Israel of old, we hold our feast (think of spiritual food) at the time of Passover (April conference) and (October conference). If it is a message, then we should be the ones to see them.
But what of the sun being turned to darkness? Two years later August 21, 2017 we had a spectacular solar eclipse that passed from one end of our country to the other. Its shadow began off the cost of Oregon and went from Depot bay across the country exiting in South Carolina. I saw it myself with my wife Katy and Jacqueline in Dallas Oregon. This picture is moments before the solar eclipse.
I had gone onto my astronomy program back in 2012 or 2013 and I saw something to do with this eclipse that just floored me. I noticed that the path, or center line of the path of the eclipse traveled through Jackson County Missouri. The center line went in between the Temple block of Independence and Adam-Ondi-Ahman to the north. But that is not all. I decided to take a look at the constellation that would be behind it and saw that it was Leo the Lion. Or the Lion of the tribe of Judah! Zooming into the program I saw a bright star near the solar eclipse, it was Regulas the king star! Regulas is where we get the word “regal” from, it means “prince” So think of this…. The brightest time of the day (just after 2pm) September 21st the sky was darkened such that at the zenith of the eclipse it was dark enough to see with the naked eye the king star Regulas, (with the longest duration) over the top of the land of the New Jerusalem. The star of the prince was directly over Jackson County, Missouri; if a line was to be drawn at the center of the line of the eclipse, the path of that line was exactly between the Temple lot to the south in Independence and Adam-Ondi-Ahman to the north. I was not so interested in the solar eclipse as I was to see Regulas in broad daylight. When the sun went into full darkness, I took off my solar glasses and saw with my own two eyes Regulas. Not me alone but my daughter Jacqueline also saw it. In the picture below Regulas is the star to the left.
I have not as of this day heard of anyone else who may have noticed it, but that was the only thing worth looking at. What a wonder in the heavens! What mathematics would have been needed to calculate the positioning of such an event. We were two eyewitnesses, which made the event spectacular, and for the record, part of the reason why I felt I needed and was compelled to write this account. I have come to see the Lord’s hands in all things, perfection!
I believe this to be the sign of the eminent return of The Messiah to his people. And then what happened? Nothing! Signs are just that. Signs. When driving on the way to Salt Lake City for instance, we see signs telling us information, distances to reaching the city. As such these heavenly signs are just that. For those who are alert they can “see” where they are at in relation to another place, time, or event. How grateful I am that I was allowed to see these things. In His previous first coming, the sign of his coming occurred nearly 31years before his ministry.
First look at the 2024 total solar eclipse
Posted by Michael Bakich
on Sunday, September 23, 2018
in Texas and ends in Maine
2,024 days to go. I’m posting this blog September 23, 2018, and, yes, there are 2,024 days until the next great American total eclipse, which will occur April 8, 2024. Citizens of and visitors to the United States are still abuzz about the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. Videos, photos, and social media reports still abound. I hope you saw it. But maybe you missed it — at least the total part.
Why you may have missed it doesn’t matter. Whether you were serving on a submarine at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, just awoke in a hospital after a bad dream, or were hampered by the thickest (and darkest!) clouds anyone ever saw, you failed to experience the awesome wonder of the 2017 total solar eclipse.
Now what? Well, perhaps you’ll want to plan a trip to South America for the next two such events. Or Antarctica. I urge you, however, to look carefully at April 8, 2024. And although 2,024 days from this post sounds like a lot, it’s much shorter than the average time between eclipses in a specific location (330 years in the Northern Hemisphere and 550 years for locations south of the equator).
A few details
The length of totality varies from one eclipse to the next. The reason is that Earth is not always the same distance from the Sun, and the Moon is not always the same distance from Earth. The Earth-Sun distance varies by 3 percent and the Moon-Earth distance by 12 percent. The result is that the maximum duration of totality from 2000 B.C. to AD., 3000 is 7 minutes, 29 seconds. (That eclipse will occur July 16, 2186, so don’t get too excited for it.)
While the maximum length of totality during the April 8, 2024, eclipse won’t be that long, it’s still a worthy chunk of time: 4 minutes, 28 seconds — 67 percent longer than the one in 2017. And as with that one, everyone in the contiguous U.S. will see at least a partial eclipse. In fact, as long as you have clear skies on eclipse day, the Moon will cover at least 16.15 percent of the Sun’s brilliant surface. That minimum comes at Tatoosh Island, a tiny speck of land west of Neah Bay, Washington. And although our satellite covering any part of the Sun’s disk sounds cool, you need to aim higher.
Likening a partial eclipse to a total eclipse is like comparing almost dying to dying. If you’re outside during a solar eclipse with 16 percent coverage, you won’t even notice it getting dark. And it doesn’t matter whether the partial eclipse above your location is 16, 56, or 96 percent. Only totality reveals the true celestial spectacles: the two diamond rings, the Sun’s glorious corona, 360° of sunset colors, and solar prominences (through a Hydrogen-alpha filter).
To see any of these, you must be in the path of totality. That said, your next goal is to be as close to the center line as possible. The fact that the Moon’s shadow is round means that the longest eclipse occurs at its center line because that’s where you’ll experience the lunar shadow’s full width.
The big day
On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow first touches Earth just north of Penrhyn Island, one of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. That location will experience a 98-percent partial eclipse. Seventy-three minutes later, totality first strikes land at Socorro Island, a possession of Mexico. If, for some reason, you choose that location to view the eclipse, be sure to position yourself at the island’s far southeastern tip — you’ll enjoy an extra 34 seconds of totality there. (The span is 3 minutes, 36 seconds.)
The shadow’s path covers a few more tiny islands before it encounters North America just southeast of Mazatlán, Mexico. Hey! That city was my base of operations for the 1991 total solar eclipse. Viewers from that location will enjoy 4 minutes, 27 seconds of totality. And if you wish to stay in Mazatlán, you’ll lose only 10 seconds off that span.
The greatest duration of totality — 4 minutes, 28.1 seconds — occurs when the shadow reaches San Martín, north of Torreón and roughly half the distance from the coast to the Mexican border with Texas. In fact, the duration of totality along the center line is never more than 1 second less than this maximum during the shadow’s more than 550-mile (885 kilometers) voyage through Mexico.
Border crossing
Totality first occurs in the United States as the shadow crosses the Rio Grande River at the wonderfully named Radar Base, Texas, which lies in Maverick County. There, totality lasts 4 minutes, 27 seconds. As the eclipse progresses through the Lone Star State, a huge number of people won’t have to travel anywhere to see it. That said, just a few miles’ journey to the center line can increase their duration of totality.
San Antonio, Austin, Waco (Baylor University will enjoy 4 minutes, 10 seconds of darkness), Dallas, and Fort Worth all lie under the shadow, although none is on the center line. Still, that’s more than 11 million people who can experience the total phase of the eclipse by simply walking outside. And we’re not even out of Texas yet.
The center line then passes through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Vermont, and Maine. Those wishing to observe the eclipse from the same location the center line crossed during the August 21, 2017, eclipse should head to a location near Makanda, Illinois, which lies just south of Carbondale. A word of warning, if I may: The weather in Illinois in April — and here I’m specifically talking about cloud cover — will be a lot different from what it was for the August 2017 event. Your chances of actually seeing the 2024 eclipse increase dramatically as you head to the southwest. Not to mention that you’ll pick up an extra 15 seconds of totality from center line locations near San Antonio.
Other cities in the path include Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis; Dayton and Cleveland, Ohio (with northwestern parts of Cincinnati and Columbus under the shadow); Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, New York; and about half of Montréal, Québec, Canada.
This spectacular photographic sequence around totality shows some of the features you’ll see if your sky is clear and you’re in the path of totality April 8, 2024.
Be there!
If you miss the 2024 total solar eclipse, you’ll have a 20-year wait until August 23, 2044, for the next one that touches the lower 48 states. That eclipse will be visible only in northeastern Montana and a tiny segment of North Dakota. Its greatest duration of totality, 2 minutes, 4 seconds, happens over Canada’s Northwest Territories.
For those of you who stood beneath the Moon’s umbra in August 2017, no convincing is necessary to get you to darkness in 2024. It’s a sight you’ll never rate as anything other than awesome. Just be sure to check the weather first.
While “we” may think of Pisecs is a constellation to itself, nonetheless it is part of a bigger picture tied to the the neck of Cetus. Below are pictures of the 2024 solar eclipse with the constellations behind it. One can see the solar eclipse cuts or relases the second fish cord from the monster Cetus. The second pic not so bright shows it on the cord line (subjective, although there are stars forming the cord when zoomed in all the way connected to the second fish).
The constellation of Pisces we know are part of the 12 signs of the zodiac. As discussed in the book “Pattern of the Heavens” by this same author; the twelve signs cordinate with the twelve ensigns for each tribe of the sons of Jacob. Pisces is the ensign for the tribe of Lehi. Remember it was the tribe of Lehi that was the “priestly class”. As such God would have us to be a nation of Kings and Priests. Of all the signs in the heavens two are types of the church. Virgo the Virgin with her linen garments clean and white, a representation of the righteousness of the saints[1]. These representations, like the scriptures are of ancient date. We say “symbols are the language of the spirit; if this is so, lets see what the scriptures have to say about these symbols we are looking at in the Heavens.
10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.
19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment. (2 Nephi 9:10, 19)
7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.
9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.
10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell? (Alma 5: 7,9,10)
16 ¶ Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.(Jeremiah 16:16)
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19)
The monster = the Devil,
Death = the end of our temporal lives (thus our lives are temporary)
Hell = spiritual death
God = he who breaks the bands and frees His saints
Fish = his saints
How amazing that the symbol of the Latter-day Church being released from that awful monster the adversary is the center sign of the saints coming out of darkness with the soon or imminent return of Christ. Also that there is a seven year space from the first Solar Eclipse across America to the second. And that North America only gets two eclipses on average at the same location every 330 years. The X marks the spot will be twice in seven years, not ever to happen again in our lifetimes!
[1] Revelation 19:8
Tim Adams Husband, Father, Author, Iconology Expert
Tim Adams is first and foremost a father of six children and married to the love of his life Katy Ann MacArthur. Raised and lived around the US spending middle and High school years in Upstate New York. I remember well camping as a boy scout on the backside of the Hill Cumorah. Sneaking out at night as our leaders slept, digging with sticks looking for that stone box that held the plates. Professors hadn’t taught me yet that New York’s Hill was the wrong one. Nonetheless we moved there when I was 13; and I identified strongly with the boy prophet. My Father became a professor of Art History working on organizing an iconografical index for the Cathedral of Chartres. Having read a few of my Fathers papers and having him as a Seminary teacher trained me to “see” what the scriptures looked like in stone. Latter served a mission in the Netherlands Amsterdam mission, where I had fun with my companions seeing if they could identify the apostles and prophets in the large Catholic churches.
Tim attended Ricks College as it was then known; and found his girlfriend Katy MacAurthur (and yes; she is related to that famous General), and married her in the Washington DC Temple.
Tim attended a meeting in Portland Oregon where he lives; where a Christian man gave a presentation on the constellations, and how they testified of Christ. Having an acute interest in Greek mythology, I thought how strange that he fears using the icons that are Greek to testify of Christ’s godliness. Someone should write a book about it that understands iconology. So “Pattern of the Heavens” became my first book written in 2009. This year in March I completed a second book called “Similitude’s”. One could call it the iconology of Old Testament stories. This new book is a twist on a topic about typology, taking it to new places it has yet to go.
Tim graduated from Ricks College earning an associate degree in general education. He has not gone on to further his studies in any direction. No masters degree, no PHD, preferring instead to be a self made man; husband, Father, follower of Christ, and yes a dreamer.
Purchase Tim’s new book today: Similitudes: Typology of our Day
Anticipating the Aug 2024 Eclipse!
Center of the Land. X marks the spot?
Notice that the eclipse of 2024 will be going directly over Kirtland, Ohio and the Hill Cumorah. The eclipse of 2017 went right over Adam-Ondi-Ahman and Independence, Missouri. These are probably not just coincidences.
In year 16-18 AD, Lachoneus gathered all the people to the center of the land. 3 Nep 3:21-24. We believe the center of the land to be at the southern tip of Illinois. There is perfect protection with the Mississippi River on the west and the Ohio River or the Wabash River on the East. In the tip of Illinois is an escarpment and remains of old fortifications and walls all the way across. The article below talks all about those stone walls and fortifications of southern Illinois.
See Blog here about Makanda, Illinois Stone Walls https://bookofmormonevidence.org/stone-walls-of-southern-illinois/
