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| Solar eclipse at the ruins of Chichén Itzá. |
It is hard to overestimate how important solar eclipses were to early humans. The names of several ancient Hawaiian leaders provide evidence of the significance of these dramatic celestial events: Keke-la (thin sun), Ku-ko-hu (appearing blotted), He-ma (to become faded) and Pa-le-na (not shining). Entire civilizations, such as the Aztec empire, were said to have begun and ended, in part, because of omens tied to solar eclipses, and their effect on viewers.
“The impact of solar eclipses on Mesoamerican culture and on virtually all other early civilizations cannot be overstated,” according to Bruce Masse, formerly of the University of Hawaii and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
In a paper published in the journal Vistas in Astronomy, he said that such celestial events pervade “cosmology, art iconography, chiefly symbols, architecture, time reckoning, and religious and chiefly rituals,” as well as myths and historical accounts.
Witnessing, and then surviving, an eclipse must have seemed like coming back from the dead.
The origin of the word “eclipse” comes from the Greek term ekleipsis, meaning an abandonment, a feeling shared by the Inca of South America. Worshippers of the sun god Inti, the Inca felt that their leader was mad at them whenever the moon obscured the sun. They rarely practiced human sacrifice, but a wave of killing would follow solar eclipses. The irony is that the leaders were desperately trying to give Inti what they were supposed to value the most.
While such a response would be unthinkable today, solar eclipses continue to captivate. From likely prehistoric gatherings at Stonehenge to anticipation of this year’s August 21 total solar eclipse, these incredible sky shows remain some of the solar system’s most compelling events.
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| Partial solar eclipse visible through rocks that form the monument Stonehenge in Wiltshire, Southwest England. |
Construction of the megalith Stonehenge, located in England, began in 3100 BC. While historians still debate the monument’s underlying meanings, there is consensus that astronomical alignments inspired much of its design. For example, lines of it point to either sunrise at the summer solstice or sunset at the winter solstice. Some scholars believe that eclipses can be predicted via various methods involving study of Stonehenge. As photographer Ben Stansall shows, portions of the monument can frame certain solar eclipses.
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| People use protective glasses to catch a
glimpse of a solar eclipse in front of the Pyramids of Giza and the
Sphinx on March 20, 2015, in Giza, Egypt. |
Pyramids and temples of ancient Egypt show stellar alignments, some of which are attested in inscriptions. A 25-year solar-lunar calendar, dating to 1257 BC during the reign of Ramses II, reveals how astronomers at the time were attempting to understand sun and moon cycles. How the pyramids fit into that process remains a mystery, but viewing solar eclipses at or near these monuments often provides some of the most striking visuals.
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| Babylonian clay tablet that records eclipses between 518 and 465 BC. |
The earliest records of specific solar eclipses are found on clay tablets. The oldest known mention is a description of a total solar eclipse said to have occurred on May 3, 1375 BC. Modern assessment of the event — recorded on a clay tablet from the ancient city of Ugarit, in what is now Syria — determined that the eclipse actually happened on March 5, 1223. In a paper published in Nature, authors T. De Jong and W. H. Van Soldt wrote, “This new date implies that the secular deceleration of the Earth’s rotation has changed very little during the past 3,000 years.”
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| Solar eclipse at the ruins of Chichén Itzá. |
Chichén Itzá, a massive Mayan step pyramid dating to about 600 AD, is a masterpiece of astronomical special effects. On the spring equinox, light and shadows on the Temple of Kukulcán make it look as though a feathered serpent god is crawling down the side of the pyramid. From certain angles during a solar eclipse, the darkened orb can look as though it is ascending the temple’s steps.
Read more at
Discovery News
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