THE TALES OF THE ECLIPSES

How do you feel when the light in your room suddenly goes out at night? Do you feel afraid that there might be bad elements lurking somewhere in the darkness?

What about if the sky suddenly becomes dark during the daytime? This time, you are allowed to be surprised because the sun should be shining during the day. If sudden darkness occurs, then there must be an eclipse.

In the old days, appearance of an eclipse not only caused fear among people, it also made them cling to certain beliefs and practices surrounding the phenomena. Today, eclipses, whether lunar or solar, are met with excitement among individuals.

BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ABOUT ECLIPSES

In the days of our great grandparents and before that, people were very afraid of eclipses. Some believed that it meant the coming of an immense catastrophe. Others believed that a giant monster had swallowed the sun or the moon and that the world would end very soon.

Our ancestors feared eclipses because they really did not know much about eclipses. Compared to other phenomena, eclipses happened suddenly and without any signs. People then did not have much scientific knowledge about eclipses.

In those days, our ancestors believed a lot in the influence of animals on the activities and lives of people. Thus, their explanations of a sudden darkness-an eclipse-were mostly attributed to animals. For instance, when the Sun disappeared from view during a solar eclipse, they believed that a large animal named BAKUNAWA had swallowed the sun, and this is the same animal that swallowed the moon during the lunar eclipse. The reddish color observed during the lunar eclipse was interpreted as the blood of the Moon.

Some believed that the Bakunawa was a dragon; other called it a giant snake, and some claimed it was a really huge crocodile.

To help the sun and the moon return to the sky, our ancestors created very loud noises. They believed that the Bakunawa did not like noise, and as a result, it would spew out the Sun and the Moon back to the sky.

Eclipses were also thought to affect the daily activities of our folks. During eclipses, people stopped what they were doing. No one was allowed to cook because harmful bacteria were believed to be proliferating in greater amounts. Pregnant women were prevented from going out of the house and joining the sound making revelry. The belief was that if a pregnant woman did so, her baby would be prone to mental illness or that black spots would appear on the baby’s skin.

At present, we do not hear these beliefs and superstitions anymore. If we do, we simply laugh at them because we know that they are not true. Thanks to our astronomers, we now know a lot about eclipses and why they occur.

ECLIPSES EXPLAINED

Modern sky watchers do not fear eclipses; rather they excitedly await these phenomena. Witnessing the effect of the alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth during a solar eclipse can be a memorable experience, especially if you happen to be in the darker shadow or umbra of the Moon.

Solar eclipses can leave a lasting impression, even if they last for only a few minutes, or maybe precisely because they happen so fast that their effects are even more breathtaking. By contrast, lunar eclipses often go unnoticed because they occur slowly and last for an hour or so.

PREDICTABLE NATURE OF ECLIPSES

A long time ago, Thales, a Greek philosopher, had made a public announcement that the Sun would disappear. He was actually predicting a solar eclipse.

At first, he was not believed by the public. What happened was that the umbra of the Moon passed by the battle field of Medes and Lydians during the battle of HALIS, also known as the BATTLE OF ECLIPSE. When the warring kings saw this, they decided to have a peace agreement after six long years of war. For both camps, this sudden darkness brought a message from their gods, which was to stop the war.

Early astronomers had studied how Thales predicted the eclipse. They have found out that he used the basic science principles such as motions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun to predict its occurrence.

WHEN DOES ECLIPSE HAPPEN?

Eclipses are somewhat common to us. It was listed that there were 228 total of solar eclipse happened during the 20^th century and 147 lunar eclipses. But not every place on Earth can see all the eclipses. People can only see an eclipse from an area on Earth that is line up straight with the Sun and the Moon. Wherever the place you are living, you may only see one eclipse in every few years.

Though, because of the great astronomers, they know when and where does eclipse happen, which they tell it to the public sooner to prepare for the exciting occurrence of the said event. Astronomers use math to figure out when does eclipse will happen.