Solar Eclipses - Now and Then

The meaning given to these natural phenomena.

Contrary to popular belief, solar eclipses are not that uncommon. Every 18 months or so, the Sun, Moon and Earth come into perfect alignment and somewhere on the planet one of the different types of solar eclipse[i] happens. However, if you live in Ohio like me, seeing a total solar eclipse (especially one as long in duration as expected on April 8, 2024) is indeed a rarity. [ii]

The Solar Eclipse of 1806

The last total solar eclipse to traverse Ohio happened in 1806, just three years after Ohio became a state. The remaining indigenous people at the time – most notably the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandot and Miami tribes, were beset by hunger, disease and violence after years of warfare. In 1795, the region’s natives were forced to cede most of their lands to the federal government in exchange for peace under the Treaty of Greenville. Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother, Tenskwatawa – a charismatic, self-styled prophet, were not happy about the subsequent influx of white settlers and responded by unifying the remnant tribes intent upon restoring their traditional way of life.

William Henry Harrison, the territorial governor and future U.S. president, had other ideas. In his address to a large number of the prophet’s followers, Harrison said:

“My children, who is this pretended prophet who dares to speak in the name of the Great Creator? Examine him. If he really is a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still, the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow, or the dead to rise from their graves.”

According to historians, Harrison’s challenge to the Indians backfired badly. As legend has it, at just the right moment, dressed in full prophet regalia, Tenskwatawa pointed at the Sun and commanded it to “go dark”. Immediately, the eclipse of June 16, 1806, darkened the skies over Ohio. That validated the prophet’s powers and rallied the native people against American aggression. Sadly, the consequence of this “miracle” was a return to warfare which further decimated the Ohio Indian tribes.

There’s no explanation for how Tenskwatawa predicted the 1806 solar eclipse, if that is what really happened.

Other Accounts of the 1806 Eclipse

Ohio’s solar eclipse in 1806 was also described in the writings of James Fenimore Cooper, the author of The Last of the Mohicans (1826). Notwithstanding his worldwide travels with the Merchant Marines and the U.S. Navy, Cooper said his most vivid memory was the celestial event of June 16, 1806:

“I have passed a varied and eventful life, that it has been my fortune to see earth, heavens, ocean and man in most of their aspects, but never have I beheld any spectacle which so plainly manifested the majesty of the Creator, or so forcibly taught the lesson of humility to man as a total eclipse of the Sun . . . Three minutes of darkness, all but absolute, elapsed. [His family and friends] appeared strangely lengthened by the intensity of feeling and the flood of overpowering thought which filled their minds.” [iii]

Mark Twain, another famous American author, made a solar eclipse a key element of his time-travel tale, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. After his protagonist, Hank Morgan, is knocked unconscious and wakes up in 6^th century England, he encounters trouble and is sentenced to be burned at the stake. Fortunately, his knowledge of the history of eclipses spares him from death when he tricks the king into believing he has control over the Sun and the Moon. Although this just a fictional story, it was almost certainly inspired by an eclipse Twain saw during his lifetime.

Solar Eclipses in Ancient Times

Despite their limited understanding of celestial mechanics, ancient astronomers began predicting solar eclipses about 2300 BC. By observing the relative positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon, they figured out that astronomical alignments favorable to eclipses happened once every 6,585 days. This know-how was not limited to Europe and Asia. Prehistoric Americans also spent a great deal of time studying the heavens.

Ceremonial earthworks like Ohio’s Newark Mounds, recently recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site, reflect a remarkable understanding of lunar and solar cycles. Although the layout of these mounds does not appear to have been used to predict solar eclipses, it demonstrates an understanding of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth that was not “rediscovered” by Europeans until the Renaissance. Indeed, the builders of Ohio’s earthworks had an understanding of the heavens on par with the ancient Britons who erected Stonehenge. [iv]

There’s also evidence that the Puebloan culture responsible for the Chaco Canyon complex in northern New Mexico gave special attention to solar eclipses. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit this remarkable archaeological site and couldn’t understand why it’s still unknown to all but a handful of history buffs and subscribers to National Geographic Magazine. The photograph[v] at the top of this blog was taken of a Chaco Canyon petroglyph which arguably depicts the solar eclipse of July 11, 1097, at the height of the Chaco Canyon civilization.

The Meaning Given to Solar Eclipses

Nowadays, we accept total solar eclipses as natural occurrences – fascinating but easily explained. That was not always the case. The earliest recorded eclipse probably took place on November 30, 3340 BC. Its path crossed the British Isles and was depicted in a series of spiral-shaped and circular petroglyphs found at the Loughcrew Megalithic Monument in County Meath, Ireland. [vi] The Neolithic astronomer priests at this site were not only able to anticipate the eclipse, but also welcomed the celestial event with a “festival of light” because of its great spiritual importance to the Celtic people.

The solar eclipse of June 15, 763 BC most likely inspired the author of the Old Testament’s Book of Amos to write:

“In that day, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping.” [vii]

Corresponding Assyrian texts appear to confirm the date of that eclipse, which has allowed historians to improve their chronology of Biblical times.

Once rulers realized the influence astronomical phenomena had on their subjects, they used their knowledge of eclipses as an instrument of power. Conversely, when astrologers and astronomers learned how to predict eclipses, they used that knowledge to influence those in authority. Frequently, the positive or negative connation they gave an impending eclipse influenced the outcome of battles and other major events.

An Amazing Quirk of Trigonometry

Before we dismiss the importance our ancestors gave these occasional periods of daytime darkness, we shouldn’t ignore the coincidental nature of every solar eclipse. If the solar system had been formed slightly differently, and the Sun had not been 400 times the diameter of the Moon, while sitting 400 times further from Earth, the two bodies would not appear the same size when viewed from Earth. What an amazing quirk of trigonometry! Furthermore, when the heavenly object that sustains all life on Earth suddenly vanishes from the sky, why shouldn’t human beings be at least somewhat concerned?

After all, if modern people can be triggered by relatively minor variations in the composition of Earth’s atmosphere or long-term climatic changes that are difficult to explain, then a solar eclipse which drops surface temperatures by ten degrees or more in a matter of minutes certainly seems worthy of respect.

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[i] Annular eclipses occur when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and Sun but doesn’t completely cover the Sun’s disc. Because the Moon is further from the Earth, it appears smaller than it otherwise may be. A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are not perfect lined up, thereby causing the unobstructed portion of the Sun to have a crescent shape. A total solar eclipse occurs when these three bodies perfectly line up and the Moon is at the right distance from Earth to leave a shadow that completely blocks the sunlight except for the Sun’s corona.

[ii] The chances of seeing any eclipse in Ohio is further reduced by cloudy conditions in the Great Lakes region. In early April, that’s almost a certainty.

[iii] American Writers Museum, “Totality” (August 22, 2017).

[iv] Sarah Bahr, “A Push to Move the Golf Course atop a Native American Stonehenge”, New York Times, April 12, 2021.

[v] The swirling loop jutting from one side of the Sun is said to be a coronal mass ejection that was observed during that eclipse’s time of total darkness.

[vi] See “Loughcrew Cairn L” at www.newgrange.com.

[vii] Amos 8: 9-10 (NIV).