On this day · archive
The afternoon that briefly became night
On August 21, 2017, a solar eclipse crossed the continental United States. Along its path, an astronomical alignment became a shared experiment in looking up.
8
events in todayish file
2017
A solar eclipse traverses the continental United States.
The Moon’s shadow crossed a continent, turning precise celestial mechanics into a few minutes of altered daylight.
A total eclipse is an alignment drawn at planetary scale and experienced in ordinary places: parking lots, fields, rooftops, schoolyards, and roadsides. On August 21, 2017, the shadow connected them across the United States.
The event rewarded preparation. Timetables, maps, protective glasses, and forecasts all led toward a brief interval when daylight changed character and familiar surroundings looked newly arranged.
The date holds a useful union of knowledge and awe. The eclipse could be calculated precisely; seeing it still required people to stop what they were doing and look up together.
The full record
8 entries from the day’s archive, filed year by year with a note on what each one leaves behind.
A solar eclipse traverses the continental United States.
The eclipse turned a predictable alignment into a shared continental experience.
Science
Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria.
The chemical attacks killed hundreds in Ghouta and became a defining atrocity of the Syrian war.
Conflict
American golfer Tiger Woods wins the 82nd PGA Championship and becomes the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in a calendar year.
The victory completed a rare three-major season and added to Woods’s record-setting year.
Sports
Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, attempts to divert to West Georgia Regional Airport after the left engine fails, but the aircraft crashes in Carroll County near Carrollton, Georgia, killing nine of the 29 people on board.
Engine failure led to a crash that killed nine people despite the attempted diversion.
Disaster
Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 crashes in Douar Izounine, Morocco, killing all 44 people on board.
The crash killed everyone aboard and brought mourning in Morocco and beyond.
Disaster
NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.
The loss of contact ended hopes for the Mars Observer mission before orbital operations began.
Space
Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after its occupation by the Soviet Union since 1940.
The declaration restored Latvia’s full independence after decades of Soviet occupation.
Independence
James Anderson Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
The posthumous award marked a first for an African American U.S. Marine.
Military