Human perception of Solar Eclipse: From Myths to Science
Saloni Deepak & Ananya Tuli
Graduate Students
University of Notre Dame
It is really intriguing to see how different cultures across the world have historically perceived solar eclipse and performed various rituals during the event over the years. How the ancient civilizations perceived solar eclipse is very different from what we know today. The oldest record of a solar eclipse is, as old as 4000 years, stone carving of circles capturing the eclipse with the caption ‘Sun being eaten’. Our understanding of the significant celestial event of the solar eclipse has evolved from ‘Sun being eaten’ to ‘earth entering the Moon’s shadow’. In this short talk I am going to walk you through the myths of solar eclipse across cultures and how and when we started to understand the event more scientifically and what science we can do today with a solar eclipse.