Texas Matters: The Great American Eclipse of 1878
The last time a total solar eclipse crossed Central Texas was in 1878 – the heyday of the Wild West. That eclipse was crucially important to America’s rise as a scientific power and saw many of the era’s great scientists (including Thomas Edison) trek out to unsettled lands to witness the event firsthand. On April 8, Texas gets another gander at a solar eclipse—but this time without the train robberies and frontier backdrop.