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SOLAR eclipses always bring about myths and wild conspiracy theories.
A solar eclipse happens when the moon’s orbit takes it between the sun and the Earth, blocking its rays from view.
Today’s eclipse is a rare total one in the US, Mexico and Canada, while the UK and Ireland should see a partial eclipse.
Here are some of the ancient myths about solar eclipses, as well as the conspiracy theories that come back around each time.
How ancient people explained a solar eclipse
In the absence of science, many ancient cultures were obviously confused about solar eclipses.
Some thought it was the work of the gods or a beast in the sky.
In ancient western Asia, some people thought the sun was being devoured by a dragon.
Meanwhile, the Vikings thought two sky wolves were responsible for biting the sun.
FUN FACT
In China, an ancient myth suggests a total eclipse occurs when a sky dog is trying to eat the sun.
One of the first accounts of an eclipse in China dates back to 2136 BC and suggests Emperor Chung K’ang killed his royal astronomers for not predicting an eclipse.
It was a Chinese tradition to bang drums during an eclipse in an attempt to scare the ‘sky dog’ away.
Doomsday solar eclipse
In more recent years, most rare celestial events come with cries that doomsday is upon us.
Back in 2017, a group of hardcore Christians claimed a solar eclipse seen in the UK and America would bring about an apocalypse.
Doomsayers expressed their concerns on Christian website Unsealed.
The conspiracy theorists pointed to passages from The Book of Revelation to support their predictions.
They highlighted passages describing a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon at her feet.
Scripture says the woman will be hunted by a Satanic seven-headed dragon looking to eat her unborn child.
Of course, we lived to tell the tale and no doomsday event happened after the 2017 solar eclipse.
The conspiracy theorists did hint at some uncertainty in their predictions as they’ve also said that scripture warns “no one knows” the hour of the apocalypse.
Find out more about science
Want to know more about the weird and wonderful world of science? From the Moon to the human body, we have you covered…
- When is the next Full Moon?
- What is a Super Moon?
- What is SpaceX?
- Where is the edge of space?
- How many bones are in the human body?
- How many chromosomes do humans have?
- What causes a volcano to erupt?
- Which sharks attack the most humans?
- What are the conspiracy theories about the world ending?
- All the UFO sightings and whether aliens are real
- Which country has the most earthquakes?
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