The year 2024 will undoubtedly be a feast for the eyes of astronomy enthusiasts, as the world's only total solar eclipse will be staged in the early morning of April 9, Beijing time, and the total solar eclipse will sweep across North America and be visible from many cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada, from noon to afternoon local time on April 8. Scientists have warned that fatal car accidents in the United States could spike during the April solar eclipse. Researchers at the University of Toronto analyzed road traffic data from the 2017 solar eclipse and found that road traffic deaths increased by more than 1,000 people across the United States in the three days before and after the eclipse.
These data will cause some people to misinterpret them as bad omens, so do these astronomical phenomena contain the doom of mankind? Why were the ancients so afraid of solar eclipses? Today, madmen will talk to you about the intertwined history of solar and lunar eclipses and human civilization.
Solar and lunar eclipses are two breathtaking celestial phenomena in astronomy. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon line up in a straight line in space, the Moon's shadow will fall on the Earth to form a solar eclipse, and the Earth's shadow will be cast on the Moon to form a lunar eclipse. In ancient times, when science was not yet developed, this rare astronomical phenomenon was often regarded as a mysterious omen and had a major impact on human history.
The earliest documentation of a solar eclipse dates back to October 22, 2134 BC. According to the ancient Chinese book "Shujing", on that day, "the sun and the moon did not meet, and did not accompany each other", and historians believe that this description should be about a total solar eclipse. Legend has it that at that time, there were two royal astronomical officials, Xi Hehao, who failed to predict the solar eclipse because of greed and misconduct, and were beheaded by the emperor for public display. This legend tells us that in ancient China, accurate prediction of celestial phenomena was an important duty of astronomical officials, and negligence could lead to death.
On May 28, 585 B.C., a total solar eclipse caused two warring nations to make peace with each other. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the Lydians and the Medes were fighting fiercely on the banks of the Harris River. Suddenly, day turned to night, and the sun and moon shone against each other. The warring sides saw this vision as an oracle, believing that the gods were warning them to call a truce. So the two sides withdrew their troops and signed an armistice on the banks of the Harris River. This war is also known as the "Battle of the Eclipse".
On August 27, 413 BC, the Athenian army was defeated in the Peloponnesian War. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch, when the Athenian army was fighting hard in Sicily, the commander Nicias decided to temporarily retreat and wait for the opportunity to make a comeback. But just as the Athenian army was preparing to return by boat, a total lunar eclipse suddenly occurred. Nicias was superstitious about the lunar eclipse as a bad omen and insisted on delaying the retreat. The enemy took the opportunity to attack, and the Athenian army suffered heavy losses. This defeat became a turning point in the decline of Athens and illustrated the sometimes disastrous consequences of superstition.
On February 29, 1504, during Columbus' fourth Atlantic crossing, his ship was infested with moths and forced to make an emergency landing on the island of Jamaica. At first, the local indigenous population warmly received Columbus and his party, providing them with food and shelter. But as time went on, Spanish sailors began to rob the indigenous population, and relations between the two sides became increasingly tense, and the indigenous population cut off supplies.
According to the account of Columbus's son Ferdinand, a desperate Columbus flipped through the almanac he had with him and found that a total lunar eclipse would occur in a few days. So he told the natives that the heavens were unhappy that they no longer provided for the Spaniards, and that they would appear during a total lunar eclipse, turning the bright moon blood-red. A few days later, the total lunar eclipse arrived as scheduled, and the indigenous population was shocked and resumed feeding the Spaniards.
Although this legend has been questioned by many historians, the indigenous people of the area had only witnessed a total lunar eclipse six years ago and are unlikely to easily believe Columbus's claims. But John McCall, a professor of anthropology at Southern Illinois University, points out that despite the need for skepticism in such stories, the path of the lunar eclipse of 1504 is known, and Columbus's account seems to coincide with the disgraceful side of his fame.
On August 7, 1869, a total solar eclipse resolved tensions between the native Alaska natives and the American expedition. Renowned astronomer and explorer George Davidson led an expedition to Alaska. Alaska was still an uncharted territory at the time, and Davidson had surveyed parts of Alaska several times, but he learned that the Chikat Indians, enraged by the Americans' provocative behavior, might greet him with guns and spears instead of welcoming them with open arms.
On 6 August, the two sides met in an atmosphere of tension. Davidson explained that his trip was purely for scientific purposes, and that he was particularly eager to observe the total solar eclipse that would occur the next day. It is unknown how the Chicats felt about this, but after the eclipse, Davidson and his party reported that they were able to continue their expedition. The eclipse seemed to ease the hostility between the two sides and cleared the way for the expedition to go ahead.
On May 29, 1919, a total solar eclipse helped confirm Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. Albert Einstein proposed the general theory of relativity in 1915, which believed that space-time is a continuum that can be bent, and that massive celestial objects will distort space-time, and this distortion will be manifested as gravity. To test this theory, a team of scientists led by British physicist Sir Arthur Eddington used the opportunity of a total solar eclipse to observe the positions of stars near the Sun when the Moon obscured the Sun's rays. Their observations confirmed that the stellar light was deflected near the Sun, supporting Einstein's theory. This is one of the earliest experimental evidences of general relativity.
Solar and lunar eclipses, as rare astronomical phenomena, have had a profound impact on human history. The ancients regarded it as a bad omen, believing that it foreshadowed major events such as wars, disasters, and dynastic changes, and also nourished the creative inspiration of literature and art. Lu You's "The sky is cloudy and rainy, and the wet sound is chirping, and the sorrow is urging changes." A round of bright moon is missing and round, and the three or five are full of Chanjuan", Li Shangyin's "frost falls and the sorrow is absolutely severe, and the sky seems to be worn." The moon will be full tonight, and the full moon will be full" and other poems, all of which express parting lovesickness with the help of the image of the full moon and the lack of the moon.
However, with the progress of science, people gradually realized that solar and lunar eclipses are nothing more than natural phenomena, determined by the laws of celestial motion, and can be predicted. Despite this, ancient legends about eclipses are still widely used today, illustrating the curious connection between astronomical phenomena and human history.