The Most Famous Solar Eclipses Ever Seen
Mar 19, 2021

Reading time 3 min.

Since ancient times, people have watched the moon completely blacking out the sun for a few minutes — the entire solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow moves across Earth, can take hours — as omens that indicate an impending miracle, the wrath of God, or the doom of a ruling dynasty.

Great American Total Solar Eclipse

The first total solar eclipse (when the moon moves directly between Earth and the sun) seen in the USA in nearly four decades dazzled on Aug. 21, 2017. During the so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse, the 70-mile-wide (110 kilometers) shadow cast by the moon darkened the skies from Oregon to South Carolina. During the majority solar eclipses, the moon takes just a “bite” out of the sun — these are called partial solar eclipses. This eclipse is particularly rare for its accessibility. The path of most total eclipses falls over water or unpopulated regions of the planet. The August event went down as the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality stayed completely in the United States since 1776, experts say.

Ugarit Eclipse

One of the earliest solar eclipses recorded, the Ugarit eclipse darkened the sky for 2 minutes and 7 seconds on May 3, 1375 B.C., according to an analysis of a clay tablet, discovered in 1948. Then, a report in the journal Nature in 1989 suggested, in fact, the eclipse actually happened on March 5, 1223 B.C. That new date was based on an historical dating of the tablet as well as an analysis of the tablet’s text, which mentions the visibility of the planet Mars during the eclipse. Mesopotamian historians in Ugarit, a port city in Northern Syria, recount that the sun was “put to shame” during this total eclipse.

Assyrian Eclipse

In 763 B.C., the Assyrian empire, which was located in the place of modern Iraq, the sun was completely eclipsed for 5 minutes. Early records from the period mention the eclipse in the same passage as an insurrection in the city of Ashur, now known as Qal’at Sherqat in Iraq, claiming that the ancient people linked the two in their minds.

Early Chinese Eclipse

In 1302 B.C., Chinese historians recorded an epic total eclipse that blocked out the sun for 6 minutes and 25 seconds. Because the sun was a symbol of the emperor, an eclipse was seen as a warning to the leader. After an eclipse, an emperor would eat vegetarian meals and perform rituals to rescue the sun, according to a 2003 study in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. Kevin D. Pang, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and colleagues analyzed inscriptions on ancient turtle shell fragments (called oracle bones) to determine the date of the eclipse — June 5, 1302 B.C. Part of the inscription reads: “Diviner Ko asks if the following day would be sunny or not,” according to a NASA press release. On the reverse side of the fragment, the inscription continued “… 52nd day, fog until next dawn. Three flames ate the Sun, and big stars were seen.” Pang interpreted “three flames” as “coronal streamers licking out from the Sun’s surface, visible only during total eclipses,” according to the NASA statement. During the solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow covered the sun, “big stars” would be visible to Earthlings during the day.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

The Christian gospels suggest that the sky was darkened for hours after the crucifixion of Jesus, which historians saw either as a miracle or a portent of dark times to come. Later historians used astronomy to pinpoint the death of Christ based on this eclipse mention. Some historians tie the crucifixion to a total solar eclipse lasting 1 minute and 59 seconds that occurred in the year 29 C.E.; others say a second total eclipse, blocking the sun for 4 minutes and 6 seconds, in 33 C.E., marked Jesus’ death.

Birth of Mohammed

The Koran mentions an eclipse that preceded the birth of Mohammed. Historians later connected this with a total eclipse that lasted 3 minutes and 17 seconds in 569 C.E. The sun also disappeared for 1 minute and 40 seconds after the death of Mohammed’s son Ibrahim. But the world’s first Muslims didn’t think that eclipse was a sign from God. Instead, according to Islamic texts called the Hadiths, Mohammed announced that “the sun and the moon do not suffer eclipse for any one’s death or life.”

King Henry’s Eclipse

When King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror, died in A.D. 1133, the event coincided with a total solar eclipse that lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. In the manuscript “Historia Novella,” William of Malmesbury mentions that the “hideous darkness” agitated the hearts of men. After the death, a struggle for the throne threw the kingdom into chaos and civil war. In the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,” a passage also recounts this eclipse: “In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died on the following day after St Andrew’s Mass-day, Dec 2 in Normandy,” according to a NASA statement.

Einstein’s Eclipse

While the ancients thought of eclipses as signs of great acts of God, physicists thought of the 1919 solar eclipse as a triumph of science. During 1919’s epic eclipse, in which the sun vanished for 6 minutes and 51 seconds, scientists measured the bending of light from the stars as they passed near the sun. The findings confirmed Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which describes gravity as a warping of space-time.


Leave your comments / questions for this practitioner

To write a comment please
or
Jess Rogers
May 13, 2021

Does these solar eclipses affect us?

Services
Category filter
Concern filter
Type filter
Sort
 

All categories

Western Astrology
$45 USD
consultation
Personal Astrology Chart And Reading

What do the stars have to say for you? Are you curious to go more in depth into your personal planet placements and learn what that means for your life trajectory? Sometimes we act unconsciously, and struggle with certain issues because we do not have clarity on our true natures and the influences we were born into. I would be happy to provide an analysis about your character, the areas you are weak and or strong in, your hidden powers, and what your soul purpose is.

I need your name, date of birth, time of birth and place of birth.

An insightful and illuminating read, delving into your Western Astrology planetary placements will open up many avenues to learn and explore about yourself. I look forward to working with you!

Xyla Grey
Western Astrology
$160 USD
healing session
Astrological Coaching and Reiki Healing Session

During a one-to-one session with me we will look at areas of your life which require healing, balance and development. Prior to the session you will be asked to send me your time, date and place of birth, along with a couple of questions you wish to focus upon.

This way I can spend some time preparing your astrological chart and look at where you are born to excel in life and areas which need a little more support and nurture.

I will also tell you what your unique soul path is and how to ‘tune in’ to this to feel more balanced, happy and fulfilled.

I specialise in healing and emotional cleansing. During a session with me you will receive reiki healing whilst we are on the video link and I will provide a 15 minute follow up distance reiki, at a time of your convenience.

After this I will send you a report with notes from our reading; tips on how to improve your health, one or two bach flower remedies which will support your growth and some manifestation / affirmation exercises to work on.

That way the knowledge, emotional healing and cleansing that you receive from me will continue on into the future.

Reiki blessings to you.

Joëlle O'Toole
Western Astrology
$80 USD
consultation
Your Year Ahead Astrology Reading

Get your personal year ahead report with all important transits and the exact dates to help you make the most of the upcoming planetary energies affecting you.

Includes your annual profections, major transits, secondary progressions and solar arc directions to give you a detailed guide of your potential opportune moments and challenges in the next 12 months. All broken down into easy to understand format.

Written report with free 20 mins video consultation on delivery. Approx 10-12 pages long, supplied as pdf.

Turnaround time is 10-14 days. Note: Exact birth time is required.

Galactic Gem
Western Astrology
$15 USD
consultation
Relocation Astrology - 15 Minutes Per City

relocation astrology reports where I explore how you are most likely to experience a given city or region of the world, using astrocartography and your unique natal chart. I can also make recommendations on places people should consider if they don’t have a specific place in mind, for the same rate per city.

Astrology by Tonia

Related Articles

View All
Registered individuals enjoy all the possibilities of Core Spirit.