Cabinet of Curiosity: The Solar Eclipse

The Solar Eclipse

What is it?

A Solar Eclipse, is a type of eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and when the moon fully or partially blocks the Sun. There are four types of solar eclipses: Total Eclipse, Annular Eclipse, Hybrid Eclipse, and Partial Eclipse. A total eclipse is when the moon completely covers the sun, only allowing a little corona of the sun to be visible. An annular eclipse is when the sun and moon are in line with the earth, but the size of the moon is smaller than the sun. Hybrid eclipses are not common and either look like a total or annular eclipse, and partial eclipses occur when the sun and moon are not in line with the earth and the moon only partially covers the sun. It’s rare that we ever get to actually see these but, on August 21, 2017, there was a solar eclipse and that was the first total solar eclipse visible across the United States since the total solar eclipse in March 1979. The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. is to be on April 8, 2024, but it will not be visible from as many U.S. locations as in 2017.

The Magic behind it:

The word eclipse comes from the Greek word ecleípō meaning disappearance or abandonment. The ancient Greeks viewed the solar eclipse as an act of abandonment or some horrible crisis or treat. When a solar eclipse occurred they would think awful things like that their world would get flooded with misfortunes or that it was a sign their king would die. They would get peasants or prisoners to stand in as their king, so when the eclipse came their real king wouldn’t get hurt or die. Other cultures believed the sun was getting eaten by a demon or some animal. In ancient China, the word eclipse, shih, meant to eat and they believed the sun was being eaten by a dragon, while in Vietnam it was a frog eating the sun, or in Yugoslavia it was a werewolf, everyone had their own idea. Many other cultures like the Incas, saw the darkening of the sun as a sign that the gods were very angry and were going to punish them in some way. Another myth was that the sun and moon were a married couple and that when an eclipse occurred it was them working out their issues. However, not everyone saw the eclipse as something horrible, for some cultures the eclipse was an act of creation, the sun and moon were together creating more stars.

The Science behind it:

Around 130 BC Astronomers like Hipparchus used an eclipse to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Through much research and calculations other scientists like Newton were able to predict when eclipses would occur and how the planets orbit by applying the law of gravity. Many other scientists like Einstein also played a big role in discovering more about the solar eclipse and how it worked through the General Theory of Relativity. Science proved all those theories of demons and different animals eating the sun wrong showing that a solar eclipse is really just the moon passing between the Sun and Earth, resulting in the Earth falling into the shadow of the moon. Each year between 2-5 solar eclipses occur, but they are usually not able to be seen by us. Science has also shown that, due to the rate of movement of the sun, the moon, and the earth, a solar eclipse never lasts more than 7min and 31sec.