  There is some inconclusive evidence that measurement devices sensitive to
local gravitation exhibit anomalous behaviour during solar eclipses. We
investigate if these findings can be incorporated into the standard general
relativistic model of gravitation. The General Theory of Relativity (GTR)
describes gravitation as the response of an object to local spacetime
curvature. Gravitational waves travelling at the speed of light are then a
necessary mechanism to maintain the required consistency between local
curvature and distant gravitating mass. Gravitational waves will certainly be
subject to refraction by bodies such as the moon and we explore if such an
effect can result in an error in the apparent position of the sources and
thereby give rise to the characteristic pattern of response associated with the
eclipse anomaly. It is found there are phenomenological similarities, but only
if gravitational waves are considered not merely to respond to spacetime
curvature but are also significantly affected by the presence of mass, perhaps
in a manner analogous to electromagnetic waves propagating through matter.
