But ,,,,
I short while back I was a short term member within a Quantum Mechanics discussion group and one of my fellow QM nerds challenged me to ‘discover’ the formula which would ‘disclose’ the exact times and locations at which eclipses would occur on this here planet.
SO I got serious and set out to see if a formula existed or if one was even a possibility only to discover that it ‘AIN’T”.
Here is an explanation in a nutshell as explained by one of the world's smartest guys from India (I think),
“There is no simple formula to calculate the times and locations of eclipses.
The calculation of eclipses is tedious work requiring many observations or calculations of the positions of the Moon and the Sun.
The lunar orbit data must then be extrapolated to find the months when eclipses might occur and then the exact times determined to see where the eclipse will be visible.
The eclipse path can then be projected into the Earth's surface to find if a total eclipse will be visible from a given location at a particular time.
This work requires a lot of patience and an understanding of the geometry involved and cannot be reduced to a formula.”
So how did this last one come to be known beforehand?!
I think that smart guy form India may be proven to be wrong once a big leap occurs among intelligent computers.
That is …. Unless a real smart GetBigger can figure it out and place that formula on this here GetBig Board.