An eclipse of the sun is nothing new. In fact, solar eclipses have been recorded in history for thousands of years, long before any kind of solar filters or viewers were invented. However, some eclipses are very well-known and mark some very important dates. Here is a look at some of the most renowned eclipses since recorded time.
Mesopotamia
About 3200 years ago, one of the first eclipses was reported in the Mesopotamian city of Ugarit (now the northern part of Syria). This event was a total eclipse and the entire city was dark for a little over two minutes. The historic record was discovered in 1948 inscribed on a clay tablet from ancient Mesopotamia. It described the event as putting the sun to shame and it was so dark the planet Mars could be viewed during the eclipse. Instead of viewing eclipses with solar filters and appreciating the rarity of the event, most people in the ancient world believed solar eclipses were bad signs and some cultures would make as much noise as possible to scare away the evil entity trying to consume or overtake the sun.
Biblical
According to the New Testament, the sky was dark for a very long time during the crucifixion. This was believed to be a miraculous event or a sign of dark times ahead. However, some historians believe it points to a total solar eclipse which happened somewhere around 33 AD and it lasted for approximately four minutes.
Helium is Discovered
Although most solar eclipses were believed to be a bad sign, one eclipse in the mid 19th Century actually led to the discovery of the noble gas helium. In 1868, an astronomer named Jules Janssen was studying a total eclipse in India. During the event, he noticed something in the chromosphere of the sun and it could only be seen when it was darkened by an eclipse. This strange presence became known as helium, and is derived from “Helios” the Greek god of the sun.
Einstein’s Relativity Theory
Did you know the theory of relativity (E=MC2) was just a hypotheses until it was proven by a long solar eclipse in 1919? In order to prove space-time could warp one needed to measure light bending as it passed from distant stars close to the sun. This was only possible during the eclipse which lasted nearly 7 minutes.
The best viewing area for the 1919 eclipse was western Africa’s coast and people in the expedition of Sir Arthur Eddington had the distinction of viewing the eclipse (with modern solar filters of the 20the Century) and verifying one of the most important scientific theories in history.