Ring Of Fire

Even during the baseball game on ESPN last night, the media provided coverage of the annular lunar eclipse, showing live images as the Moon began to slip between Earth and the Sun.

Of course, eclipses are dramatic events, and they produce compelling time-lapse video.  Televison loves compelling video, even though, since eclipses are completely predictable, they are not exactly news.  Television types would no doubt argue they perform a public service by informing the people about such eclipses and warning them not to look directly at it.

Fair enough, but a lot of people seem to have only the loosest grasp of what an eclipse actually is.  If television is really interested in doing a public service, it would do better to cover science and technology consistently and thoroughly instead of just focusing on gee-whiz moments.

By the way, you should never look directly at the Sun, eclipse or no.  By not stressing that, the media may be doing a tiny disservice.