Eclipses And Associated Science

Many people are awaiting the upcoming solar eclipse. This would be a good time to review what eclipses are all about as an event like an eclipse can be the beginning of an interest in science.

The principle behind eclipses is simple. The moon orbits the earth as the earth orbits the sun. When the moon is on the far side of the earth from the sun the earth may cast it's shadow on the moon, this is known as a lunar eclipse. When the moon is between the earth and the sun the moon may cast it's shadow on the earth, this is known as a solar eclipse. 

It is just by sheer chance that the moon and the sun appear as just about exactly the same size in the sky, about half an angular degree. This is why the moon can cover the sun during a solar eclipse. The diameter of the sun is about four hundred times that of the moon but it is about four hundred times as far away as the moon.

Both the earth and the moon get their light from the sun. Since we can only see the half of the moon that is lit by the sun the moon appears to go through phases as it orbits the earth. The following diagram shows how the phases of the moon operate. You can see why a solar eclipse can only occur at new moon and a solar eclipse at full moon. All diagrams in this posting are drawn for clarity and are not to scale.

When the phases of the moon are proceeding from new moon to full moon the first half moon is referred to as the "first quarter", because the phase cycle is one quarter complete. The second half moon is referred to as the "third quarter" because, at that point, the cycle is three quarters complete. Leading up to full moon, when the phase is increasing every day, the phase is referred to as "waxing". After full moon, when the phase is decreasing every day, the moon is referred to as "waning".

The moon goes through it's phase cycle every 29 days. The earth rotates every 24 hours. 24 hours divided by 29 equals 50 minutes. The moon orbits the earth in the same direction that the earth rotates, which is eastward. This is why the moon rises 50 minutes later each day.

The earth orbits the sun in the same direction as the earth rotates and the moon orbits the earth, which is eastward. The direction overhead at sunrise is the direction that the earth is moving through space as it orbits the sun.

The moon is higher in the sky during the winter, and lower in the summer. If the orbit of the moon around the earth and the orbit of the earth around the sun are in close to the same geometric plane, and the sun is higher in the sky during the summer and lower in the winter, then the moon, which is more visible when opposite the sun, must be the opposite.

The reason that there isn't both a lunar and a solar eclipse every month is that the orbit of the moon around the earth and the orbit of the earth around the sun are not in exactly the same geometric plane. There is a difference of about five degrees between the planes of the two orbits. If the two orbits were in the same plane there would be both a lunar and a solar eclipse every month. The plane of the moon's orbit actually undergoes a precession cycle that takes 18.6 years.

The earth also goes through phases, as seen from the moon. One day I looked at the moon and realized that the phase of the moon, as seen from the earth, and the phase of the earth, as seen from the moon, must always add up to a full circle.

A solar eclipse can be seen as total or partial. Since the sun is larger than the moon the zone of total solar eclipse forms a cone in space. This zone is known as the umbra. The zone of partial solar eclipse is known as the penumbra. The following diagram shows the umbra and the penumbra. We could say that a solar eclipse is going on continuously, since there is always a zone where the sun's light is blocked by the moon, we see the eclipse when the earth passes through this zone.

The solid lines are the umbra lines and the broken lines are the penumbra lines. A total solar eclipse is seen within the umbra and a partial eclipse in the penumbra. Since the sun and moon are about the same angular diameter in the sky, the umbra only just reaches earth and the total eclipse is visible in only a limited area.

The diameter of the moon is about a quarter that of the earth. This means the earth has 64 times the volume of the moon. But the earth is more dense than the moon so that the earth has 81 times the mass of the moon. The reason is that the moon is made of rock but the earth has a heavy iron core that the moon lacks. The moon thus has almost no magnetic field.

According to my calculations, when you look at a full moon you see an area about the size of Russia. When you look at a half moon you see an area about the size of the U.S., or China, or Canada.

While the principle behind eclipses is simple, it does get a little bit more complicated than this. For one thing neither the orbit of the moon around the earth nor the orbit of the earth around the sun are perfectly circular. Sometimes the moon is further from earth relative to earth's distance from the sun. When the moon is closer to earth it appears larger in the sky and covers the sun during a total solar eclipse. When the moon is further away from earth, relative to the distance to the sun, it may not completely cover the sun during a solar eclipse. 

In January the earth is closest to the sun and in July it is furthest away. When the sun is closer, and thus appears larger in the sky, it is less likely that the moon can completely cover it. What that means is that the zone of total solar eclipse, the umbra, does not reach the earth.

The orbits of the moon around the earth and the earth around the sun are in the form of ellipses, rather than perfect circles. The orbiting object moves faster when it is closer so that a line between the two objects moves over equal areas of space in equal periods of time. But this means that the average distance from the moon to the earth or the earth to the sun is a matter of definition. We might take the furthest distance in the orbit and the closest distance and simply average them together. But the orbiting object moves faster when it is closer. That means the orbiting object spends less time closer and more time further during the course of it's orbit. So if we took a distance measurement every day during the course of the orbit, and averaged them together, we would get a further distance than the simple average of the closest and furthest distance. 

The fact that the orbiting object moves faster in it's orbit when it is closer results in what I refer to as the "Solstice Gap". By the rules of celestial mechanics it would seem that the solstices should align with the aphelion and perihelion of the earth's orbit around the sun, when the earth is furthest and closest to the sun, since the earth's northern hemisphere is heavier than the southern hemisphere. But there is actually a gap of two weeks. The northern winter solstice is around December 21 while the earth is closest to the sun on January 4. The northern summer solstice is around June 21 while the earth is furthest from the sun on July 4. This two week gap is because the change in length of day and night is constant but the velocity in orbit is not. The earth moves faster in it's orbit when it is closer to the sun.

Related to eclipses are tides. Gravity operates by the Inverse Square Law, diminishing with distance from the source. This means that, when the moon is overhead, the oceans are deep enough that the moon's gravitational force on the surface of the ocean is significantly greater than on the bottom of the ocean. This causes a tidal "bulge" in the water as the earth rotates. There is also a tidal bulge on the opposite side of the earth as the moon pulls the earth away from the water. This causes two high and two low tides each day. Obviously a body of water must be deep enough to manifest tides, which is why there is no visible tides in the Great Lakes.

The sun also exerts tidal force. But since the sun is so much further away than the moon it's tidal force is only about forty percent that of the moon, despite it's great mass. Remember that tidal force is not just gravity but a difference in gravity. The further away a source of gravity is, relative to the diameter of the earth, the weaker it's tidal force must be even if it's gravitational force is very strong. Tides are strongest, Spring Tides, at new or full moon when the moon and sun are pulling together. Tides are weakest, Neap Tides, at half moon when the sun and moon are pulling perpendicular to each other.

The moon was once much closer to the earth. What happens is that the moving tidal bulge that is induced by the moon's gravity as the earth rotates also affects the moon. It transfers energy from the earth's rotation to the moon's orbit. Over a long period of time the moon has been boosted into a higher orbit at the expense of slowing the earth's rotation. When the moon was close to the earth it's tidal effect must have been much greater, especially since the earth was rotating faster. If the moon has tidal effects on the ocean it should also have an effect on magma within the earth and I believe this was a major factor in early volcanism.

The same side of the moon always faces earth. This is because the moon is tidally locked by the earth's gravity. On the side of the moon facing earth the earth would always appear in the same place in the sky, meaning that it would be useful for navigation. If the moon's gravity causes the tides on earth then what about the effect of earth's gravity on the moon, since the earth is 81 times the mass of the moon? This is what caused the dark "seas" that we see on the moon, which are actually lava plains. There is no such "seas" on the far side of the moon.

The far side of the moon is often referred to as "the dark side of the moon". This is incorrect. It actually gets more sunlight than the side of the moon that faces us. Both sides of the moon spend an equal amount of time facing the sun as the moon orbits the earth. But the far side of the moon faces the sun around new moon, when the moon is closer to the sun than the earth. The side of the moon that faces us faces the sun around full moon, when the moon is further from the sun than the earth. That is why I say that the far side of the moon gets more sunlight than the side that faces us.

We say that the moon orbits the earth while the earth orbits the sun, and that is a convenient way of looking at it. But some simple calculations show that, from the moon, the gravity of the sun is more than twice as strong as that of the earth. This means that the earth and moon are more like co-planets whose orbits interweave while they both orbit the sun. The moon moves much more than the earth simply because the earth's mass is 81 times greater. 

The moon seems to orbit the earth because it is moving around the sun slower than the earth at new moon, because the gravitational pulls of the sun and earth are on opposite sides and opposing each other, and faster than the earth at full moon, because the earth and sun are pulling together. What this interweaving means is that the earth is a little bit further from the sun than it would be otherwise at new moon and a little bit closer to the sun at full moon.

In the following diagram, with the bottom toward the sun, the blue line represents the orbit of the earth and the red line represents the moon. Each "F" represents a full moon and each "N" a new moon. The weave in the earth's orbit is so much less than that of the moon because it's mass is 81 times that of the moon. We perceive this interweaving as the moon orbiting the earth. The line of the center of mass of the earth and moon remains constant.

A lunar eclipse, when the earth casts it's shadow on the moon, is much more easily visible than a solar eclipse. The moon often appears red during a lunar eclipse. That is because the earth's atmosphere refracts sunlight that would otherwise be completely blocked. Both air and water refract short wavelength blue light more than long wavelength red light. The earth's atmosphere refracts the blue and other colors away altogether so that it is only red light that continues on, in a relatively straight line, to the moon. 

Water absorbs light, starting with the longest wavelength red, so that only blue light survives long enough to be refracted back to the surface. This is why deep water appears blue. In underwater photos you may notice that nothing red is ever seen below about 9 meters (30 feet) depth.

At Niagara Falls the water sometimes appears green because the current keeps rock on the river bottom clear of sediment so that it reflects some light back to the surface. The green light has not yet been absorbed and is reflected back to the surface whereas, given it's refractive index, it would otherwise be absorbed before having the chance to be refracted back to the surface and only blue light would get back to the surface. 

There is a compound posting, "The Moon", August 2023.

Prevailing Wind Reversal

I have written about this previously here and have noticed it a number of times. I live within sight of a really tall smokestack. I don't often follow the weather because I can see what it is going to be just by looking at this smokestack.

Obviously if the wind is from the north it is going to get colder but warmer if the wind is from the south. The prevailing wind where I live in from the west. A west wind means a likely change in the weather, but probably without a great change in temperature.

It is rare that the wind is from the east, because that would be a reversal of the prevailing wind. What I have noticed, on a number of occasions, is that whenever there is a major storm system in the eastern United States, it tends to reverse the prevailing wind, even though it may be calm here.

An east wind here is sometimes the result of remnants of a hurricane along America's east coast. During Hurricane Sandy, which flooded the subway of New York City in 2012, there were powerful winds from the east here.

Madrid

Madrid, Spain's capital city near the geographical center of the country, originated in the 9th Century as a Moslem fortress. We saw in the posting on this blog, "When The Moors Ruled Spain", that Toledo was an important city of the time. The fortress that would eventually become Madrid was built to defend Toledo. Some remnants of Moor walls can still be seen.

The Moors, Moslems from north Africa, who founded Madrid were of the same Umayyad Caliphate that built the two mosques that stand today on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Remember that we visited the Temple Mount in the posting on this blog, "Esau And The Temple Mount". When the Umayyads were later displaced by the Abbassid Caliphate, who moved their capital from Damascus to newly-built Baghdad, the Umayyad Caliphate continued on in Spain.

The Catholics completed their reconquest of Spain in 1492, the same year that the country commissioned Christopher Columbus to try to find a way to the east by sailing west. The basis of Spain becoming a united country was the first royal couple, Ferdinand and Isabella. Each was from one of the two largest states that would unite to form Spain. Ferdinand was from Aragon and Isabella from Castile.

Their daughter was Catherine of Aragon, who was married to Henry VIII (The Eighth). Because she did not produce a male heir, he wanted to divorce her in order to marry Anne Boleyn. The pope refused to grant the divorce so Henry just abandoned the Catholic Church and started his own church. That was the beginning of the Reformation in England.`

A later Spanish king, Phillip II, moved the capital from Toledo to Madrid in 1561. Phillip II (Felipe in Spanish) is the king for whom the Philippines, long a Spanish colony, is named. In another royal link between Spain and England, he married the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, who became Mary I of England.

She was the queen who tried to bring England back to Catholicism by force. The effort was ultimately unsuccessful but did get her a mixed drink named for her. the "Bloody Mary". Phillip II sent the Spanish Armada to bring England back to Catholicism but it turned out to be a great boost for the Protestant movement, as it's failure made it look as if God was on the Protestant side.

The Catholics answered the Reformation with their own Counter-Reformation. So much of what the Catholic Church is today stems not from the original church but from the Counter-Reformation. The Counter-Reformation greatly reformed the church. Ironically, Protestant leaders like Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli got the reforms in the church that they had originally wanted, but only by splitting the church. The Catholic Church was based in Rome but the Counter-Reformation had a very Spanish character to it and the best-known figure of the Counter-Reformation is Ignatius Loyola, a Spaniard who founded the Jesuit missionary order, from which the current Pope Francis comes.

Madrid would become the center of the vast Spanish Empire and it today one of the few largest cities in Europe.

The Habsburg Dynasty, of the Holy Roman Empire, built what is now the old center of Madrid. Remember that we saw the Habsburgs in our visit on this blog to "Vienna And The Habsburgs". But there was a Spanish and an Austrian branch of the Habsburgs, with the Spanish branch being the senior. Vienna was the capital of the Austrian Branch.

Habsburg rule was a great time for Spain but the line died out, without a suitable heir, in 1700. This led to what is known as the war of the Spanish Succession, between the two next in line which were the Austrian Habsburgs and the French Bourbons. The Bourbons won and the Spanish royal family today is still of the Spanish Branch of the house of Bourbon.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >,  After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

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In France, where the House of Bourbon originated, it is long gone. It was overthrown in the French Revolution of 1789, made a limited comeback after the time of Napoleon, but was displaced by it's cadet branch the House of Orleans, before the monarchy in France was finally ended for good by the revolutions which swept Europe in 1848.

But are the Bourbons really gone? We saw in the compound posting on this blog, "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris" how America's Republicans are really the continuation of the Bourbons. But at any rate, the Bourbons actually do live on today in Spain.

Napoleon invaded Spain, but it proved to be a costly move for him. We often refer to guerilla warfare, but "guerilla" is a Spanish word that originated to describe the techniques used against Napoleon's troops. Napoleon brought the French Revolution to an end, but carried it's ideals throughout his field of conquest. The French Revolution overthrew the House of Bourbon. I wonder if part of Napoleon's decision to invade Spain was because that was where the House of Bourbon lived on.

Here is more of central Madrid.

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These views of central Madrid begin on the famous street known as the Gran Via. The first three images are from Google Street View.

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This is some more scenes of the Royal Palace in central Madrid. This palace is built on the site of what was once a Moslem fortress. But the Spanish royals today actually live in the Zarzuela Palace. 

The first two images, of the Royal Palace, are from Google Earth and Street View. 

These four images, from Google Earth and Street View, are of the cathedral. The first one, from Google Earth, shows the cathedral with the palace in the background.

The following scenes begin in Madrid's cathedral, which is next to the palace.

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Outside of Madrid, not far from the Zarzuela Palace, is the El Pardo Palace. This is where Francisco Franco lived as ruler of Spain. We saw his coming to power, in the Spanish Civil War, in the posting on this blog "The War That We Really Should Understand". Franco ruled Spain until his death in 1975.

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Here is part of Madrid's modern business district. The first image is from Google Earth. 

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This is another part of modern Madrid, the area of the Four Towers. The first image is from Google Earth. 

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Outside of Madrid is El Escorial. This is the monastery and fortress that was built by Phillip II, who we saw moved the capital of Spain to Madrid from Toledo. We have seen El Escorial already, I showed it on our visit to "Manila", because the Philippines were named for Phillip II. I think of El Escorial as the Spanish version of Versailles. The first four images are from Google Earth and Street View.

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Here is an everyday area in the northern part of Madrid.

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This is another residential area of Madrid.

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The Bourbons in France And Spain

After the Spanish Habsburg royal line died out, without an heir, the two next-in-line parties for the crown of Spain went to war. The war is known as the War of the Spanish Succession and was between the French House of Bourbon and the Austrian Habsburgs. It was won by the House of Bourbon, which still reigns in Spain today.

The French House of Bourbon was overthrown in the French Revolution of 1789, which made way for the First French Republic. That was brought to an end by Napoleon, which ruled over the First French Empire. Napoleon conquered a vast area, lands such as Germany and Italy and much of Russia, spreading the ideals of the French Revolution.

Ironically, while Napoleon's attempt to conquer Russia was ultimately unsuccessful the following century would see a revolution, the October Revolution, that was remarkably similar to the French Revolution, the ideals of which Napoleon was spreading, overthrow the Romanov Dynasty in Russia that had resisted Napoleon's invasion.

The monarchy, the House of Bourbon, made a limited comeback after the time of Napoleon, until it was displaced by it's cadet branch the House of Orleans. The French monarchy was ended for good by the series of revolutions that swept Europe in 1848.

The republic, led by a president, was then restored which was the Second French Republic. But Napoleon's nephew, known as Napoleon III, became president. When his term of president was over, in true Napoleonic fashion, he simply declared himself as emperor. This brought the republic to an end and inaugurated the Second French Empire. That ended with the capture of Napoleon III during the Franco-Prussian War, and brought in the Third Republic.

In France, a new republic simply means a new constitution. The Third Republic continued until the Second World War, and the Fourth Republic was ended by the Algeria Crisis in 1958. We are in the Fifth Republic today.

Now, let's look at Spain and how developments there compare with that of France.

The House of Bourbon still rules Spain, although it is a republic constitutional monarchy where the president holds the effective power. Napoleon conquered Spain, and appointed his brother Joseph as king. Just as the French House of Bourbon was interrupted by the First Republic and then by Napoleon, the Spanish House of Bourbon was interrupted by the brief First Spanish Republic, an unsuccessful attempt to end the monarchy, in 1873.

France never had a civil war as such, but there was the long battle between Protestants and Catholics after the Reformation. Spain's counterpart was the 1930s Civil War between the Nationalists and the Republican forces of Francisco Franco, which ultimately prevailed.

The monarchy had actually been ended to make way for the Second Spanish Republic, during the 1930s. Francisco Franco seems to be very much the Spanish counterpart of Napoleon, and he ended a republic just as had Napoleon, and the monarchy was restored after the end of his rule, his death in 1975. But instead of following the French Revolution hostility to the church, Franco expressed support for the Catholic Church.

I find it amazing how Franco was the inverse of Napoleon when it came to the nations that had formerly been in Napoleon's field of conquest. Napoleon invaded countries like Germany, Italy and, Russia. Franco, in an inversion of this, had those countries involved in his civil war at home, Germany and Italy supporting Franco's side and Russia supporting the other side.

Franco was, in this way, the inverse of Napoleon but the two leaders who supported him, Hitler and Mussolini, would go on to dominate a field of conquest that was virtually identical to that of Napoleon.

In France, there was an unsuccessful attempt to repeat the French Revolution, by the Communards or Paris Commune in 1871. In Spain there was likewise an unsuccessful attempt to being back Francoism by a coup in 1981.

The case of rule by the House of Bourbon in both France and Spain provides interesting insights into how history repeats and reflects itself.

The War That We Really Should Understand

Let's definitely review this posting, considering how the latest tanks, warplanes and, missile systems are being sent to Ukraine by the west. More has been added to it. The war in Ukraine is a proving ground for the world's latest weaponry. It is about how the Spanish Civil War acted as such a proving ground to get the world ready for the Second World War.

There is a war that tends to get buried somewhere among memory of the many, many wars of the Twentieth Century. Falling between the two world wars, it seems like just a minor hill between two great mountains. But, given how history tends to repeat itself and we tend to reenact it, often without realizing it, this long-ago war is something that the whole world should be aware of today.

Some readers may have not even heard of the war to which I am referring. It is the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39.

The Spanish Civil War was between the ruling Republicans, and the uprising Nationalists. The Republicans, in contrast with those in the U.S., were leftward in economic slant. The Nationalists who rose up against them were rightward and generally supportive of the Catholic Church. The best-known name to emerge from the Spanish Civil War was that of General Francisco Franco. He would lead the Nationalists to ultimate victory, and then lead Spain until his death in 1975.

This was the era of dictators in Europe, and many saw this conflict as being not between right and left, but as between democracy and dictatorship, with the ruling Republicans representing democracy and Francisco Franco being the would-be dictator who was trying to replace it.

The way that Spain was divided by the war was not neatly defined. Both the population and the military was split between the two sides. In general terms, the Nationalists controlled the western part of the country, and steadily advanced against the Republicans, who eventually held only the southeastern part of the country.

The course of the war somewhat resembled the "Reconquista", against the Moors, that we saw in the posting on this blog, "When The Moors Ruled Spain", except that the Reconquista proceeded from north to south while the Spanish Civil War proceeded from west to east. But Franco emerged as the strong leader that was congruent to Ferdinand and Isabella, after the Reconquista.

If the Spaniards had fought out the war themselves, until one side or the other won, it may have ended up being of no lasting global significance. But that was not the way the war turned out. What is so important about the Spanish Civil War is that so many other nations got involved in it, on one side or the other.

Two nations sided with the ruling Republicans, the Soviet Union and Mexico. The Republicans supported a leftward view of economics, and the Communists naturally wanted them to triumph. Mexico had undergone it's own revolution, against Porfirio Diaz in 1910, who allowed a few people to amass great wealth at the expense of the rest of the people.

While it is the Russian Revolution of 1917 that is considered as the real beginning of world Communism, it was predated by the Mexican Revolution seven years before. Land redistribution was a central component of the Mexican Revolution, and it wanted the Spanish leftward party, the Republicans, to win in the civil war taking place in it's former colonial power.

A force of Communist sympathizers, known as the International Brigades, sent volunteers from many nations to support the Republican side.

The Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco who were trying to overthrown the Republican government, had more international support than the Republicans.

Hitler and Mussolini were consolidating their power and saw Franco as a potential future ally. Mussolini sent supplies, as well as air and ground forces in his support. But not all Italians sympathized with Franco, and some joined the other side. The Nazis sent the force known as the Condor Legion in support of Franco. It had army, air force and, navy elements.

It was not the outcome of the Spanish Civil War that was so significant about it. What it did was to give the nations that would soon be engaged in the Second World War a chance to gain combat experience with the latest weapons and tactics. The Condor Legion became adept with the use of modern tanks, planes and, submarines, even though the victorious Franco never turned into the ally that Hitler had hoped for.

One thing that came out of the Spanish Civil War was the Pablo Picasso painting "Guernica". The surreal painting is about the Luftwaffe and Italian Air Force bombing of the town in northern Spain by that name. Several hundred civilians were killed. Franco had requested the bombing of the Republican-held town, and it turned out to be the prototype of the mass bombing of civilians in the soon-to-come Second World War. Image from the Wikipedia article "Guernica (Picasso)".

Now that the nations in the brewing global war had gained combat experience with the latest land, air and, sea weapons and tactics, the Second World War began a few months after the Spanish Civil War had ended. 

So why should we be so concerned about the Spanish Civil War today? One reason is Catalan separatism. Many in the area of Catalonia that is centered around Barcelona would like to be a separate country, and that was an issue in the Civil War as Catalonia was on the losing Republican side. Catalonia voted for independence in 2017, which the central government declared illegal, but which certainly brought back memories of the Spanish Civil War.

Mercenaries from other countries are joining both sides of the war in Ukraine, in the same way as in the Spanish Civil War. But the most important reason for reviewing the Spanish Civil War is the advanced weaponry that is being tried out by both sides, that has been sent by other countries. For Ukraine it is tanks, warplanes, missile systems, and anti-missile systems. For Russia it is combat drones. The battlefield is one of the greatest proving grounds for the latest weaponry and tactics that the world has ever seen. This is repeating the history of the Spanish Civil War providing valuable battlefield experience to both sides before the Second World War.

What is mostly new in the Ukraine War is AI and drones. This is very much the war of the drone. Lethal and inexpensive drones are changing warfare. Tanks, long a staple of ground warfare, have proven to be very vulnerable to drones. Just as the Spanish Civil War was a testing ground for modern aerial bombing so the Ukraine War is for AI and drone warfare. 

Electronic warfare is also being perfected in the Ukraine War. Modern society is very dependent on services like phone and GPS. But phone towers can be taken out relatively easily by explosive drones. It is a simple matter to zero in on a phone tower because that is where signals come from. GPS can be either jammed or spoofed, tricked into giving incorrect coordinates. Even before the Ukraine War, Russian forces have proven adept at manipulating GPS in the Syrian Civil War. For that matter GPS satellites can be shot down.

Yemen And The Great Revolution Of Our Time

This is an illustration of what we saw in "The Great Revolution Of Our Time", January 2017.

In the 1960s there was conflict in Yemen, as there is today. But the conflict is fundamentally different and the difference illustrates the effect of what I have termed "The Great Revolution Of Our Time". That revolution was the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and I see how it has really changed the world. Both the past and present conflicts in Yemen reflect the patterns set in great global revolutions. But the conflict today is affected by the Iranian Revolution, which was still in the future during the conflict of the 1960s. 

The conflict in Yemen in the 1960s was about a king who had been overthrown and replaced by a military officer. This was the pattern set by the French Revolution that has been replicated across the world. Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, were overthrown and guillotined by the revolutionaries. The ultimate result of the French Revolution was the rise of Napoleon, who set the prototype of the modern dictator wearing a military uniform. Although this certainly was not the original intention of the revolutionaries and Napoleon himself had nothing to do with starting the revolution. 

There have been two major reenactments of the French Revolution, which began in 1789, as well as many minor ones. The two major reenactments each contributed elements that have been reenacted later in other reenactments. 

The first of these major reenactments was the October Revolution of 1917. This was the beginning of Communism as a global force. It had a very close similarity to the French Revolution. Like the French Revolution it overthrew an unpopular monarch, namely Tsar Nicholas. It's signature event was the storming of the Winter Palace, just as it had been the Storming of the Bastille in the French Revolution. 

Like the French Revolution the disposed monarch was first replaced by an unsatisfactory Provisional Government before the great leader that would follow the revolution emerged. In the French Revolution that leader was Napoleon and in the October Revolution it was Vladimir Lenin.

The two revolutions were not exactly identical. For one thing Lenin did initiate the October Revolution while Napoleon had nothing to do with initiating the French Revolution. But these two great revolutions were otherwise very similar. When Napoleon launched his ultimately unsuccessful invasion of Russia could he have imagined that, just over a century later, a revolution would overthrow the tsar that would be a reenactment of the French Revolution, the ideals of which he really believed in and was trying to spread? 

What the October Revolution added to the revolutionary reenactment series is that, while the two revolutions were against both monarchy and organized religion, the Communism that emerged from the October Revolution was officially atheist. Also, while it would often be a dictator from the military that would replace a deposed monarch, it could also be a civilian leader. Lenin hadn't been from the military. The reason for this is that the idea of civilian leaders who weren't king's, such as presidents and prime ministers, was in it's infancy when the French Revolution took place. 

The second great reenactment of the French Revolution, and the one that I call "The Great Revolution Of Our Time", is the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Like it's two predecessors it overthrew a monarch, the Shah. As the French Revolution had the Storming of the Bastille, and the October Revolution had the Storming of the Winter Palace, the Iranian Revolution had the Storming of the U.S. Embassy as it's signature event. The Iranian Revolution, like the two before it, had a great leader of the new social order replacing the deposed monarch, Ayatollah Khomeini. 

But the nature of Khomeini's leadership differed from the two preceding great revolutions just as Lenin had differed from Napoleon in that he had been a civilian. All three revolutions were intended to spread across the world. The French Revolution had the modern political ideals of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity". The October Revolution had Communism and the Iranian Revolution had Islam. 

Now let's go back to the conflict in Yemen, today in contrast with the 1960s, and we can see how much the Iranian Revolution has changed the world. The long-term effect of the Iranian Revolution, in contrast to the great revolutions preceding it, has been to turn the global tide back toward religion, whereas the previous revolutions were progressively moving away from religion. This applies not only to Islam but to all religions.

The conflict in Yemen in the 1960s was secular. The monarchy had been overthrown by military officers. This paralleled what had happened in Egypt the decade before, King Farouk overthrown and army officers taking power. Gamal Nasser ultimately became president. 

Outside powers became involved in Yemen's conflict. At the time Yemen was two countries, North and South Yemen, and this was in North Yemen. Neighboring Saudis Arabia was ruled by a monarchy. Egypt was ruled by army officers that had overthrown the monarchy. Both countries supported the corresponding side in Yemen with military assistance. The Saudis supported the deposed monarchy and the Egyptians sent a considerable military force to assist the officers that had overthrown the monarchy.

You can see that, as with so many other revolutions, this overthrow in Yemen was a reenactment of the French Revolution, where the king and queen were overthrown and guillotined and which ultimately resulted in the emergence of Napoleon. The Houthis in Yemen today are related to the former monarchy and are an enemy of Israel. 

In one of the greatest of ironies it was the predecessors of the Houthis in the 1960s that greatly helped Israel in the 1967 Six Day War , in which Israel regained the Old City of Jerusalem in an event which has great significance to Bible prophecy, by tying down a significant portion of the Egyptian military while Egypt was leading the campaign against Israel.

The conflict in Yemen today involved many of the same parties as in the 1960s, yet it is very different. The conflict today is more about religion than the secular government matters of the 1960s. This time the Saudis are against the Houthis, and conducted an aerial bombing campaign for several years. The Houthis are allies with Iran, which has since undergone it's great Revolution. The fact that the Houthis and Iranians are fellow Shiites is what counts today. The emphasis is on religion, rather on the monarchy and republicanism. It is still a reenactment of the French Revolution but it reflects the Iranian Revolution turning the tide back toward religion.

Again we saw the long term importance of the Iranian Revolution in the posting "The Great Revolution Of Our Time", January 2017.

Travel Photos Of Europe

Last week we saw the travel photos of North America. I wanted to get all the travel photos in one posting, for each continent, and on this blog. But I don't miss traveling. With Google Earth and Street View I have been everywhere in the world without the hassle and expense. The usual weekly visits will resume next week.

MY BIRTHPLACE IN LYDBROOK. 

The white house at the center top was a duplex and I was born on the right side. It has since been enlarged and remodeled. The brown and white townhouses to the right were not there when I was a young boy.

HOLY JESUS CHURCH IN LYDBROOK

LOOKING ACROSS DRYBROOK FROM HARROW HILL 

The U-shape to the ground is from glacial movement during the last ice age.

FROM HARROW HILL LOOKING TOWARD CINDERFORD

Harrow Hill is part of Drybrook. The town of Cinderford is visible in the distance.

THE FOREST CHURCH ON HARROW HILL IN DRYBROOK

LOOKING ACROSS AT HARROW HILL FROM RUARDEAN HILL

VIEWS OF WYE RIVER FROM SYMONDS YAT 

The second and third photos were taken from the same point, but fifteen years apart, as were the fourth and fifth photos. In both pairs the newer photo is the top.

MONMOUTH AND IT'S NORMAN ARCH 

The statue is of Monmouth native Charles Rolls, of Rolls Royce.

ROSS-ON-WYE 

The red sandstone building is the Seventeenth Century marketplace. 

GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL

ME AND BEACH AT WESTON-SUPER-MARE 

The beach pavilion has since been destroyed but has been rebuilt. This place has the second greatest tidal range in the world, after Nova Scotia.

BLENHEIM PALACE, NEAR OXFORD 

This was a home of the nobility, and was not a royal palace.

BILL CLINTON'S FORMER DORM AT OXFORD

BRITISH AIRWAYS CONCORDE 

The Concorde was a British-French supersonic passenger plane. It remains the only successful supersonic transport in the world. The philosophy was to further transportation here on earth, rather than putting people in space as America and Russia were doing. It's cruising speed was twice the speed of sound, nearly three times that of a 747. It flew between JFK and Heathrow in less than three hours. 

The "prevailing wisdom" of the time, that it would produce a destructive sonic boom, proved to be false. The Concorde was actually quiet. For one thing it's cruising altitude was very high, around 15 km or 10 miles, where the air is thin.

The downside was that it couldn't carry that many people, meaning that it was expensive and tickets usually were the preserve of the wealthy. But the Concorde remains special to any Brit.

THE TOWER OF LONDON 

This Norman castle complex is nearly a thousand years old and was England's original royal palace.

TOWER BRIDGE 

This is adjacent to the Tower of London and was built as a compliment to it in the late Nineteenth Century. The bridge was not popular when it first opened, although we couldn't imagine London without it today.

LOOKING SOUTH FROM TOWER OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL 

Westminster Cathedral is not the same thing as the nearby, but much older and better known, Westminster Abbey. The twin stacks are the old Battersea Power Station.

LOOKING EAST FROM TOWER OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL 

Below the red line is the Victoria Tower, at Parliament. Below the green line the top of Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is just visible behind the spires of Westminster Abbey. Below the yellow line the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is visible in the distance.

LOOKING NORTH FROM TOWER OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL 

The tall tower below the red line is the British Telecom Tower, formerly known as the Post Office Tower. Below the green line is the Victoria Memorial and below the yellow line is Buckingham Palace.

LIVERPOOL 

The fourth photo, of the buildings, is the "Three Graces". These are the prominent buildings along the waterfront, which is the last thing I saw of England when leaving by ship as a young boy.

In the days of sailing ships Bristol was England's primary port. The much larger ships later made possible by steam engines couldn't safely navigate the Avon River and Liverpool became the primary port. If part of continental Europe was hostile, Liverpool was safer for ships because it faces away from Europe. But with Europe friendly, Southampton has the port advantage because it faces toward Europe.

The fact that Britain has multiple rivers named Avon is a legacy from before it was a united country. The one in Bristol is called "Bristol's Avon". "Avon" is from the Celtic word for "river".

LIVERPOOL CATHEDRALS 

The Anglican Cathedral is at top and the Catholic Cathedral at bottom. The Anglican Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Britain and the longest cathedral in the world. People are like ants inside it. But neither cathedral is very old. The Liverpool-Manchester-Birmingham area is the "new" England that is the product of the Industrial Revolution. This is why it doesn't have medieval cathedrals or royal palaces.

PENNY LANE IN LIVERPOOL 

This street is the subject of the Beatles song by that name. You can see that the street signs are painted onto walls because the usual metal street signs were always stolen by Beatles' fans.

MANCHESTER 

The most famous sports team on this planet is Manchester United.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Below the red line in the first photo is the famous clock tower of the Balmoral Hotel. Below the green line in the second photo is the national monuments of Scotland, on Calton Hill.

EDINBURGH CASTLE

ALONG THE ROYAL MILE FROM EDINBURGH CASTLE TO HOLYROODHOUSE PALACE 

Scotland was ruled from the castle before Holyroodhouse was built. Edinburgh Castle can be thought of as Scotland's version of the Tower of London.

Below the red line in the first two photos is the crowned steeple of St. Giles Cathedral. This is Scotland's national cathedral and the central cathedral of Presbyterianism.

Below the red line in the third photo is Holyroodhouse Palace. This was the home of the King or Queen of Scotland before it joined Britain in 1707. The British sovereign spends one week a year here. Scotland's original crown jewels are at Edinburgh Castle. Scotland's Parliament building, from before it joined Britain, is next to St. Giles Cathedral. 

GLASGOW 

The first photo is looking East, along West George Street, toward the Church of St. George Tron. The tower in the second photo is at Glasgow University.

BELFAST CITY HALL, NORTHERN IRELAND

LEAVING HOLYHEAD PORT, IN WALES, BY FERRY FOR DUBLIN

DUBLIN, IRELAND 

All of the photos, except the last one, are north of the River Liffey.

WELLINGTON MONUMENT IN PHOENIX PARK

Arthur Wellesley was from Dublin when Britain and Ireland were one country. As a general he was the nemesis of Napoleon. He was given the title of Duke of Wellington and later became one of Britain's best known prime ministers. This is his monument in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

GUINNESS BREWERY IN DUBLIN 

The company came up with the idea of a book of world records for something to discuss while having a drink. The river in the foreground is the Liffey.

CITI EUROPE MALL, CALAIS FRANCE 

Near the French end of the Chunnel. Britain and France can do great things together. First there was the Concorde and then the 40 km tunnel under the English Channel.

OBELISK IN PLACE CONCORDE, PARIS, WITH EIFFEL TOWER IN DISTANCE

EIFFEL TOWER AND VIEW FROM THE TOP 

The dome below the red line, in the third photo, is Napoleon's Tomb. The modern buildings in the distance, in the fourth photo, is La Defense which is the modern business district.

The Eiffel Tower was only supposed to be temporary, as the entrance arch to the 1889 exhibition celebrating the centennial of the French Revolution. Many people wanted it dismantled following the exhibition. What I think saved it was that radio broadcasts had begun and it was the ideal place for a transmitter antenna.

ARC DE TRIOMPHE AND DOOR OF NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL 

This arch is to celebrate Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz, which is also what brought the Holy Roman Empire to an end, after a thousand years. So we could think of it as the tombstone of the Holy Roman Empire.