Navajo to Nat Turner, Solar Eclipses Have Played Important Cultural Roles Through a Colorful History

Solar eclipses always have a certain star power, stirring up excitement across countries, regions and communities as earthlings prepare to receive the astrological phenomenon. Sometimes this excitement leads to talk of the science behind eclipses, discussions that get to the bottom of why the visual rarity happens in the first place, other times, the talk is more mystical, as humans search for spiritual meaning, lending to the moment a certain sacrality as to honor respective beliefs. Keeping the pace with the tendency to get excited about sky events, the incoming April 8 solar eclipse has a good portion of the U.S. buzzing, with Dallas in particular gearing up for what’s certain to be an exciting few hours. Especially since Dallas lucked up and landed almost dead-center of the 115-mile wide path of totality that will be experienced by portions of the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Thirteen states lie along the viewing path, and while an estimated 31 million Americans already live on the path, millions more tourists are making the trip towards the path, including the Big D. & Dallas will be a prime viewing spot for the total solar eclipse, the likes of which won’t be seen again in...