RE: New shuttle

> Sailors always knew it. They could plainly see a ship sink below the 
> curve as it sailed away. Partial eclipses were also a pretty 
> good clue. Haaaaay, lookit that big round shadow on the moon!

You're thinking that sailors knew that this shadow was the earth blocking
the light getting from the sun to the moon and back before Newton figured
out celestial motion and the effects of gravity?  Seems unlikely to me.

P