excerpt from article by Dr. Louis J. Rubbo is an associate professor of physics & astronomy at Coastal Carolina University.
In China it was once believed that during a solar eclipse, a dragon
would devour the sun. To prevent such a catastrophe, imperial
astronomers were charged with tracking celestial motions & predicting
eclipses. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
With enough warning people could organize, bang gongs, beat
drums, and even arm themselves with bows & arrows to ward off the
dragon.
According to one legend, the imperial astronomers Hsi & Ho
spent too much time drinking, which prevented them from predicting an
eclipse in 2137 BCE. Their punishment? Beheading.
According to Inuit folklore, the moon god Anningan & his sister,
the sun goddess Malina, once fought as siblings often do. Malina ran off
across the sky.
Her brother followed in pursuit in an attempt to
apologize. Every now & then Anningan catches up with his sister &
when he does there is a solar eclipse.
The earliest record of a solar eclipse dates back over 5,000 years.
In 1999 archeoastronomer Paul Griffin discovered Neolithic rock carvings
in Ireland that correspond to a solar eclipse that occurred on Nov. 30,
3340 BCE.
Like the story of Hsi & Ho, this eclipse may have also
resulted in a gruesome ending. A nearby basin held the charred remains
of nearly 50 individuals, the possible result of a human sacrifice
ritual to the sky god.
Not all solar eclipses end with a horrifying story. Eclipses have also shaped history.
According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, a solar eclipse
in 585 BCE stopped a long standing war between the Medes & the Lydians
in what is now Turkey.
The warring nations interpreted the solar
eclipse as a sign from the gods about their desire to end the conflict.
It is said that immediately following the eclipse, soldiers laid down
their weapons & agreed to a truce.
In more modern times a solar eclipse played a prominent role in
promoting the career &popularity of a fairly obscure physicist by the
name of Albert Einstein.
In 1915, Einstein published his general theory
of relativity. At first, Einstein’s theory was met with skepticism
because of the difficult math involved & the use of thought
experiments. Four years later, that all changed.
One of the remarkable predictions from relativity is that a massive
object will cause light to deflect form its path as it passes near the
object. The effect is small but measurable, especially if the object is
very massive – say the mass of the sun.
To test Einstein’s prediction the English astronomer Sir Arthur
Eddington led an expedition in 1919 to photograph a total solar eclipse
visible from the small island of Principe, located off the west coast of
Africa. Eddington’s team measured the position of stars near the limb
of the sun during the eclipse.
Normally the stars wouldn't be visible,
but by using the moon to block out the sun’s glare, Eddington was able
to photograph the nearby stars & compare their positions to
expectations.
Sure enough, the stars’ positions were slightly shifted
just as Einstein had predicted. From that moment on, Einstein became a
household name.
Eddington’s photos weren't the first time an eclipse was caught
on film. That distinction goes to Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski’s
photos of the July 28, 1851 solar eclipse visible in Prussia. It also
marks the first accurate recording of the sun’s outer atmosphere known
as the solar corona.
Normally the corona is not visible because the sun’s central disk
outshines the fainter corona. Only during a total solar eclipse, like
the upcoming eclipse on Aug. 21, does the solar corona become visible.
Prior to Berkowski’s photo of the 1851 eclipse, records of the
solar corona were made through rapidly drawn sketches.
Astronomers create artificial eclipses all the time by including an
instrument called a coronagraph. A coronagraph is a disk placed on a
telescope to block out the overly bright sun. However, because the
coronagraph is close to the observer, it causes distortions around the
edge of the disk, making precise measurements near the sun’s surface
difficult.
Luckily for astronomers, by a cosmic coincidence the moon &
sun are the same size when viewed from earth. During a solar eclipse
the moon covers just enough of the sun, allowing astronomers to study
the sun’s atmosphere right down to its surface.
For the Aug. 21 eclipse, the National Solar Observatory is working
with citizen scientists, high schools, universities, & national
laboratories along the path of totality to gather thousands of pictures
of the eclipse.
By combining the images from the 68 different sites,
astronomers plan to produce a 90 minute movie of the inner solar corona,
a feat never accomplished before.
What was once considered a bad omen, solar eclipses are now bringing
together people all across the country in the name of science.
Thailand's King Narai, his
court & French astronomers observing the total solar eclipse of 30
April 1688 at Lopburi, while the nobleman Phetracha crouches to view the
eclipse projected on a screen.
Credit: National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand
At least twice in Thai history, the science of eclipses
has played a curious part in the affairs of kings: first in April 1688,
when King Narai viewed a solar eclipse from his palace at Lopburi in
central Thailand, & then in August 1868, when King Mongkut led an
international expedition to the southern village of Wa Ko to observe a
solar eclipse — an event now known among astronomers as "The King of
Siam's Eclipse," after the former name for Thailand. [Sun Shots: Amazing Eclipse Images]
The 2 kings had very different reasons for their interest in
astronomy & eclipses, Euarchukiati said. For King Narai, who enjoyed
diplomatic ties with the "Sun King," Louis XIV of France, the "new
astronomy" taught by French Jesuit missionaries had important uses for
time-keeping &map-making.
(Louis XIV himself, after ordering France to be accurately measured
with the latest astronomical techniques, grumbled that his astronomers
had lost more of his territory than his generals.)
After hearing from visiting French missionaries about the Observatory
at Beijing, which had been refitted by Jesuit astronomers for the
emperor of China, Narai ordered an observatory built on the grounds of
his palace at Lopburi (the ruins of which can be seen today).
It
was equipped with the latest European technology, & in 1685, under
the guidance of French astronomers, King Narai watched through a
telescope an eclipse of the moon.
"Although he knew about eclipses from his court astronomers, this was
probably the first time that he'd ever seen one taking place, the first
time that anyone had ever shown him," Euarchukiati said.
On April 30, 1688, King Narai had his first chance to observe an
eclipse of the sun at Lopburi, but it would also be his last. A Thai
court painting from the time shows the king with the Thai & foreign
guests at the observatory.
The painting also shows a Thai nobleman named
Phetracha watching the eclipse projected on a screen while crouched on
his elbows & knees in the style of the court.
Phetracha resented the
king's friendships with foreigners, & may have feared that the king
might convert to Christianity, according to historians in "Southeast
Asia in the Early Modern Era" (Cornell University Press, 1993).
Sketches of the solar eclipse of Aug. 18, 1868, at Wa Ko by French astronomer Edouard Stephan.
Credit: Natural History Museum Library, London According to legend, a fortune teller had warned Phetracha to watch for
a sign from heaven that he'd become king, & it seems he took the
eclipse as a premonition of his ascension: Just days later, he deposed
Narai, crowned himself king, & either executed or ordered foreigners
out of the kingdom.
The science of eclipse astronomy returned to Thailand around 150 years
later, under King Mongkut of Siam (the monarch played by actor Yul
Brynner in the 1956 movie "The King and I").
The real King Mongkut was
much more scholarly than his movie portrayal, & his passion for
astronomy arose from his dedication to Buddhism& his plans to reform the Siamese religious calendar, Euarchukiati said.
Mongkut had been a Buddhist monk for more than 20 years before becoming
king, & he had studied European astronomy & mathematics alongside
the traditional Siamese astronomy that was used to fix the dates of
religious ceremonies, which was based on astronomical texts from India
& the Bagan kingdom of Myanmar.
After taking the throne, Mongkut
criticized his court astronomers as old-fashioned & inaccurate,&
set about to reform the calendar with the help of scientific astronomy.
For the solar eclipse on Aug. 18, 1868, King Mongkut invited foreign
astronomers & important guests to the village of Wa Ko, near the
southern port of Prachuap Khiri Khan, which his astronomical
calculations had determined would be the best site for scientific
observations of the event.
Steamships ferried workers & supplies from
the capital to build an observatory & residences for hundreds of
guests & dignitaries, including almost the entire Thai court, senior
French & British diplomats, & a French-led astronomical team. [Fiery Folklore: 5 Dazzling Sun Myths]
Mongkut’s predications of the exact timing of the eclipse would be
proof of his efforts to reform the Siamese calendar & astronomy — &
his rebuke to his court astronomers.
According to a report from a French
diplomat who was present, the king proudly reported that the French
astronomers had confirmed that his predictions were of greater accuracy
than their own, says historian Thongchai Winichakul in his book “Siam
Mapped”.
But for King Mongkut, as for King Narai, this first solar
eclipse would also be his last; like many who journeyed to Wa Ko,
Mongkut caught malaria & died in Bangkok a few weeks later.
When Euarchukiati gives public lectures about the history of astronomy
in Thailand, people are most interested in the eclipse seen by King
Mongkut, he said.
"Whenever I mention eclipses, everyone wants to talk about the eclipse at Wa Ko," Euarchukiati said.
The date of the 1868 eclipse —Aug.18 —is celebrated as National Science
Day in Thailand, & Wa Ko is now a national park & the site of an
observatory involved in astronomy public outreach.
It's one of several
observatories in Thailand hosting events to help members of the public
view today's eclipse safely. From this location, people may see a
partial eclipse, where between 40% & 60% of the sun's
light will be blocked.
But for many, the event will bring to mind the story of King Mongkut's
eclipse: "It’s part of our national psyche," Euarchukiati said. "When we
think of eclipses we think of Wa Ko."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- History of Solar Eclipses
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
In 585 BC, Thales of Miletus
predicted an eclipse which occurred during a war between Medians &
Lydians. Soldiers on both sides put down their weapons & declared to
peace as a result of the eclipse.
The date has been confirmed by
hundreds of ancient & modern authorities, it took place on May 28, 585 BC, probably near the Halys river, in the middle of the modern Turkey.
April 16, 1178 BC[?], a real total eclipse of the sun took place at Ithaca Greek island, about 4 years after the end of the Trojan War. Homer XIV, 151 states that at the failing of the old moon & the coming of the new shall Odysseus return to his home, & take vengeance on the suitors of Penelope.
Homer addas (XX, 356-357 and 390) that the sun vanished out of heaven & an evil gloom had covered all things about the hour of the midday
meal, during the celebration of new moon.
February 17, 478 BC: a real eclipse of the sun occurred at Sardis, when Xerxes was departing for his expedition against Greece, as Herodotus,
VII, 37 recorded. (Hind & Chambers, 1889: 323 have considered this
absolute date more than a century ago.)
During the next year, another
solar eclipse was observed in Sparta. It took place on August 1, 477 BC, says Herodotus IX, 10 & VIII, 131, & IX, 1.
The sky suddenly darkened in the middle of the sky, well after the battles of Thermopylae& Salamis, after the departure of Mardonius to Thessaly at the beginning of the spring (477 BC) & his 2nd attack on Athens, after the return of Cleombrotus to
Sparta.
Note that the modern conventional dates are different by a year
or two, & these 2 eclipse records have been ignored so far.
A new study claims that the Varronian date is superseded. Its
correctness haven't been proved scientifically but it is used
worldwide. The foundation of Rome took place 437 years after the capture
of Troy (1182 BCE), according to Velleius Paterculus (VIII, 5).
It took
place shortly before an eclipse of the Sun that was observed at Rome on
June 25, 745 BC& had a magnitude of 50.3%. Its beginning occurred at 16:38, its
middle at 17:28, & its end at 18:16. Varro may have used the consular
list with its mistakes, & called the year of the first consuls "245 ab
urbe condita" (a.u.c.).
According to Lucius Tarrutius of Firmum, Romulus was conceived in the
womb on the 23rd day of the Egyptian month Choiac, at the time of a
total eclipse of the Sun. (This eclipse occurred on June 15, 763 BCE,
with a magnitude of 62.5% at Rome.
Its beginning took place at 6:49, its
middle at 7:47 & its end at 8:51.) He was born on the 21st day of the
month Thoth. The first day of Thoth fell on March 2 in that year (Prof.
E.J. Bickerman, 1980: 115).
It means that Rhea Silvia's pregnancy lasted for 281 days. Rome was founded on the 9th day of the month Pharmuthi, which was the 21st of April,
as universally agreed.
The Romans add that about the time Romulus
started to build the city, an eclipse of the Sun was observed by
Antimachus, the Teian poet, on the 30th day of the lunar month.
This
eclipse (see above) had a magnitude of 54.6% at Teos, Asia Minor.
It started at 17:49 it was still eclipsed at sunset, at 19:20. Romulus
vanished in the 54th year of his life, on the Nones of Quintilis (July),
on a day when the Sun was darkened.
The day turned into night, which
sudden darkness was believed to be an eclipse of the Sun. It occurred on
July 17, 709 BC[?],
with a magnitude of 93.7%, beginning at 5:04 & ending at 6:57.
(All
these eclipse data have been calculated by Prof. Aurl Ponori-Thewrewk,
retired director of the Planetarium of Budapest.)
Plutarch placed it in
the 37th year from the foundation of Rome, on the 5th of our July,
then called Quintilis, on "Caprotine Nones," Livy
(I, 21) also states that Romulus ruled for 37 years. He was slain by
the senate or disappeared in the 38th year of his reign.
Dio in his Roman History (Book I)
confirms this data by telling that Romulus was in his 18th year of age
when he'd founded Rome. Therefore, 3 eclipse records prove that
Romulus reigned from 746 to 709 BCE.
At the above link, NASA has the history of solar eclipses:
Solar Eclipses: 2000 BCE to 1 BCE
Eclipses
have been the source of much fear, superstition, & also some scientific
studies for centuries.
Many
cultures have mythological stories associated with eclipses – usually
considered a ‘bad omen’ (crucifixion ofChrist, wars & famine, etc.)
The
earlier reference to a solar eclipse seems to be from 2 Chinese astronomers
in 2137 BCE, though these claims are somewhat dubious.
Mesopotamian
records from 1375 BCE mention an
eclipse: “On
the day of the new moon, in the month of Hiyar, the Sun was put to shame, & went down
in the daytime, with Mars in attendance”
Since
the Sun is this giant hot orb that EVERYONE on the planet can see, it
makes sense that pretty much every culture on the planet has a myth
about solar & lunar eclipses.
In ancient China, for example, it
was believed that there was a huge astral dragon that would munch on the
sun during an eclipse. In fact, the Chinese word for eclipse, “shi,”
literally means “sun eat.”
In Hindu
mythology, Rahu is the head of a terrifying serpent that swallows the
sun (& thankfully always spits it back out) during the eclipse. The Pomo Indian
tribes of Northern California have a myth of a large celestial bear
that roams the skies, which sometimes bumps into the Sun when it refuses
to get out of his way.
The bear eventually tries to bite the sun in a
battle before the 2 sky giants decide to continue along their journey.
Eventually the bear runs into the moon & this entire process is
repeated during a lunar eclipse. It was such a widely held belief that
the term for a solar eclipse among their tribe translates to “sun got
bit bear”.
Another native Californian tribe called the Serrano people
believed the cause of the eclipse was less animal & more ghostly.
Spirits of the deceased were rumored to come out & chow down on the
sun or moon respectively. Shamans would sing & chant as tribe members
shouted to scare away the spirits.
The Vikings
also had their own superstitions regarding the solar & lunar eclipses.
Their superstitions involved 2 large wolves named Skoll & Hati.
These 2 space wolves are constantly on the chase & occasionally one
of them will get lucky enough to take a momentary bite out of one or the
other, thus resulting in the momentary darkness during a solar eclipse & the blood red color of the moon during a lunar eclipse.
Vikings were
so serious about their beliefs that villages would come together to
shout & scream at the sky, making noise to frighten away the wolves.
Solar Eclipse Historical Happenings, Myths, Omens, & Just Weird Stuff
While
myths & superstitions abound with very little evidence for sky wolves& intergalactic dragons, some people were spooked by solar eclipses
due to true historical happenings.
On January 27, year 632, a
solar eclipse happened to coincide with the death of the Prophet
Mohammad’s son, Ibraham. While Mohammad brushed it away as a naturally
occurring phenomenon, people were quick to take the eclipse as an omen of death.
Roughly
500 years later King Henry I died shortly after a total solar eclipse.
This only reinforced the idea that eclipses were harbingers of death,
especially for members of the ruling class.
Eclipses & Pregnancy
Another
persistent & horrifying myth surrounding eclipses involves pregnant
women. Since eclipses were so frequently seen as a negative or scary
occurrence, myths eventually evolved prohibiting pregnant women from
viewing the eclipse less she experience a miscarriage or birth defect.
This myth is so pervasive that even today expecting mommy blogs offer
tips for surviving the eclipse unscathed. These tips range from avoiding
food during the eclipse to throwing out all food cooked prior to the
eclipse.
They also warn of holding scissors or sharp objects during the
eclipse & told to cover windows with newspapers or thick blankets to
block out the light.
Spooky Solar Eclipse Science
Perhaps the most concerning elements of eclipses that likely lead to the creation of these myths actually still occur today.
Prior
to an eclipse, there is something called “shadow bands.” Shadow bands
are thin wavy lines that move & undulate on the ground, buildings,
parking lots – basically any flat surface – directly before & after an
eclipse.
They can resemble lines of smoke or light reflecting through
water. No doubt watching this take place right before the entire world
goes black would instill fear in most people.
Shadow Bands from an Solar Eclipse
Another
odd occurrence is the documented behavior in animals. Nocturnal animals
will sometimes wake up & begin roaming about believing it is night.
Likewise, diurnal (active during the day) animals will appear confused,
howl or scurry away looking for shelter.
Previous generations often
relied on animal behavior to determine their actions. Animal migration
played a role in leading humans to sources of water or food, & still
today we know that animals fleeing an area en masse may be a warning of
earthquakes; so suddenly having the sky go dark while your pet Fluffy
takes cover would have probably been a scary ordeal.
Luckily for
us, the science behind both solar & lunar eclipses has been well
studied & documented. We no longer have to run for cover, nor do we
have to dance or shout at the sky to protect ourselves from astral
wolves & bears.
In fact, the biggest thing we have to worry about is looking directly at the sun while the eclipse moves into view. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
bc.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment