The Eclipse of the Sun

By Al Lowe
Contributor

The last major eclipse of the sun was in 1991. While it was not visible in Canada at all, the total eclipse passed directly over the big island of Hawaii. There, there are large, sophisticated telescopes. So millions of people could see this major phenomenon on T.V. The solar eclipse is certainly the most spectacular celestial event there is.
Almost all ancient people saw something sinister and frightening in the eclipse of the sun. It was an evil omen, and something awful was about to happen. Or the gods were angry at some transgression, and were about to come down with a violent hand. Or the gods decided to remove the sun for a while just to demonstrate who was the boss. Even today, when we know exactly what is going on, you find you get an eerie feeling when the sun disappears in the middle of the day.
What is happening is that the sun, moon and earth are precisely lined up. The moon comes in between the earth and the sun. But what is the most fantastic thing about it is that the moon, seen from earth, just exactly covers the sun. The possibility of that happening by chance must be billions to one.
A story from ancient China concerns two astronomers who failed to predict an eclipse correctly. Due to their miscalculations, the eclipse came earlier than expected. So the sun grew dark before anyone, especially the emperor, knew that anything was going to happen. The result - the two astronomers were put to death. It didn't pay to make astronomical mistakes in those days!
The most famous eclipse in all history was one which occurred in the middle east, on May 28, 585 B.C. A great war was going on between the Lydians and the Medes. About noon, the battle was raging, with thousands of soldiers on each side. The sun grew dim and finally disappeared. The soldiers in both armies were terrified. They made peace with each other and went home. That peace lasted for several generations.
There are several references to eclipses in the Bible. One, from Amos, refers to an eclipse in 763 A.D. "And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth on a clear day."
The last eclipse in Canada was fairly recent - 21, February, 1979. Perhaps you remember it. It was total at Brandon, Winnipeg and Red Lake. There won't be another eclipse here for about 400 years. The next eclipse in Canada will be in 2024, and it will be total only in the Maritimes.
We can just as accurately determine the actual days of previous eclipses for several thousand years of history. In historical writings, when we come upon mention of an eclipse, we can pinpoint the date, and even the time, of the event. An eclipse of the moon, for instance, has enabled historians to tell exactly when the Athenians were destroyed at the Greek city of Syracuse.
It was August 27, 413 B.C.