A letter to the Naval Observatory

The Naval Observatory Washington, D.C. Gentlemen: Yesterday, during the eclipse here in Atlanta, while walking home I noticed the pattern of leaf shadows beneath the trees I passed was like wave shapes or the tops of bubbles, depending on which way I looked at them. They were perfectly beautiful! I noticed that all of the trees I passed - dogwood, elm, oak, mulberry - had the same leaf patterns on cement or asphalt. Apparently, the kind of tree had nothing to do with it. Later, someone in my neighborhood also noticed this. He thought the eclipse caused it. I couldn't see how because when the wind blew and the leaves moved, the shadow patterns moved too. However, after the eclipse was over, these beautiful leaf patterns were gone, too. So it must have had something to do with the eclipse. Could you explain to me what caused this phenomenon? Thank you very much. Sincerely yours,

(''As the light from the Sun passed through the leaves of trees, it projected on to the sidewalk pavement tiny wedgelike images of its own crescent silhouette.'' - The New York Times)

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