Solar occultation , when the lunation pass between the sunlight and Earth and blocks solar ray , have had a major wallop on ball-shaped events , from state of war to scientific find . Here are a few case in which the astronomical phenomenon has had an wallop on world events .
Solar Peacebringer
In the spring of 585 B.C.E. , two factions were combat over domain in what is now innovative - day Turkey whena amount eclipsestopped them in their cart track . The Lydians and the Medes had been oppose for more than 10 year when the total solar occultation caused them to lay down their weapons for good . concord to invoice by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus , who was endure in the Persian Empire ’s city of Halicarnassus ( modern - solar day Bodrum , Turkey ) , the enemies interpret the eclipse as an omen to finish their warring room , and so they did — straight off .
The event was known asthe Eclipse of Thales , after the philosopher who supposedly predicted it , independent of the engagement . refer to the prediction — the first - ever for Western scientist — science author Isaac Asimov call the date of this eclipse the " birth of science . " Some historians , though , havesuggestedthat in hoard his chronicle Herodotus may have confused the solar eclipse of 585 B.C.E. with one of the twolunar eclipsesthat occur in the same region two and 24 years prior .
Forging a Star Physicist
In 1919 , a total solar eclipse gave the United States an opportunity to test Einstein ’s theory ofgeneral relativity , which posited that massive object — like planets — cause a overrefinement in distance and fourth dimension that is have as gravitational attraction . Simply put , the gravity of a satellite pull space rocks into its orbit . It ’s like cast a bowling ball on the middle of a trampoline , do the cloth to stretch downwardly , then turn over a marble around the bound and watching it move around inward toward the bowling chunk .
As scientist watched theMay 29 , 1919 , total solar eclipseoff the western coast of Africa , they were able to assess the locating of star topology near the solar event and calculate thewarping of distance - timecaused by the sun ’s mint , which turn out Einstein ’s theory correct and helped make him a family name .
Establishing a Partnership
And in 1937 , as World War II loomed , a remote island in the Pacific becamethe most valuableplace for researchers to observe a solar eclipse . Canton Island — now call Kanton , but also known by the nicknames Mary Island and Swallow Island — was home to expeditions by both U.S. Navy seamen and a rival British team , and the captains of both parties briefly fired shots from the bow of their ship before being advised by their respective governments to settle thing down .
Eventually , the Americans and Brits enter into a friendly competition as they vied for the best vantage percentage point from which to viewthe June 8 , 1937 , eclipseand gather information , and the rest of the pleasure trip keep without incident . A few age later during World War II , the two countries teamed up to use the island as a shared fueling base due to its law of proximity to Japan .
