NASA scientists "forgot to carry the one," miscalculating the date of an August 2017 solar eclipse by one year.
NASA scientists "forgot to carry the one," miscalculating the date of an August 2017 solar eclipse by one year.
On 17 August 2017, the Wyoming MagazineÂ web siteÂ published an article suggesting that NASA scientists had â€œmiscalculatedâ€ the dates of a then-imminent solar eclipse: < HOUSTON, TX â€” After double-checking their math, scientists have announced that the total lunar eclipse predicted for August 21, 2017, will occur August 3, 2018. â€œDue to a computational mishap, the eclipse we projected for later this month will actually take place late next year,â€ stated NASA astrophysicist Dr. Theodore Moneta at a hastily-planned press conference from Johnson Space Center in Houston. â€œWe were a bit off.â€ Dr. Moneta explained that in calculating the date of the eclipse, scientists utilized a complex formula involving geocentric ephemeris for the Sun and Moon, various parameters, constants, and the Besselian elements, but along the way an error went unnoticed. â€œIn laymanâ€™s terms, we forgot to carry the one,â€ explained Moneta, a mistake that has plagued 12-year-olds in 7th grade math for centuries. â€œItâ€™s disappointing,â€ stated Matt Mead, governor of Wyoming, upon hearing the news. â€œObviously, the NASA nerds really dropped the ball on this one.â€ > The item touched on floods of tourism expected by states in the path of the solar eclipse, â€œquotingâ€ Wyomingâ€™s governor as saying that â€œWyoming doesnâ€™t need an eclipse to shineâ€ and â€œ[a] visit to our state is spectacular with or without a once-in-lifetime astronomical occurrence.â€ Although the item was not marked as satire or fake news, that was clearly the case. NASA did not â€œmiscalculateâ€ the solar eclipseâ€™s dates â€” in fact, they tweeted about it on the same day the article was published:Â < LIVE NOW: @Tumblr #AnswerTime session with eclipse scientists: https://t.co/EsW83l2QEq pic.twitter.com/XRVS7HfH7J â€” NASA (@NASA) August 17, 2017 > Searches for â€œDr. Theodore Monetaâ€ led back exclusively to the 17 August 2017 item. The agency tweeted about the eclipse on the same day the article was published: Moreover, the Wyoming Office of Tourismâ€™s Facebook page commented on Wyoming Magazineâ€™s â€œmiscalculated eclipseâ€ post, saying that the outlet was â€œpranking everyoneâ€:
"scientists" AND "miscalculate" AND "solar" AND "eclipse" AND "actually" AND "next" AND "year"