🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 143 (from laksa112)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa143.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/solar-eclipses-in-history/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/solar-eclipses-in-history/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/pictures\/solar-eclipses-in-history\/","crawl_time":1775470012,"first_indexed_time":1492385548,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,cbsnews!www,\/pictures\/solar-eclipses-in-history\/ s443","src_root_hash":"10008871826360721943","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Einstein's eclipse - The most famous solar eclipses in history","meta_descriptions":["Solar eclipses, documented since ancient times, have represented everything from a divine omen to the triumph of modern science"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"February 14, 2017 \/ 11:49 AM EST\n\/ CBS News\nAdd CBS News on Google\nHinode\/XRT via Live Science\nSince ancient times, people have viewed the moon completely blacking out the sun for mere minutes — the entire solar eclipse, as the \nmoon’s shadow moves across Earth,\n can take hours — as omens that indicate an impending miracle, the wrath of God, or the doom of a ruling dynasty. \nFrom the earliest recorded eclipse, described on an ancient clay tablet, in Ugarit in modern-day Syria, to one that was linked to an uprising in an ancient Assyrian city, to \na total solar eclipse that will surely go down in history\n when it dazzles the world in 2017, here are some of the most famous eclipses.\nBy Tia Ghose \/\nLive Science\nGreat American Total Solar Eclipse\nNASA TV via Live Science\nThe first total solar eclipse (when the moon moves directly between Earth and the sun) visible in the United States in nearly four decades is expected to dazzle on Aug. 21, 2017. During the so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse, the 70-mile-wide (110 kilometers) shadow cast by the moon will darken skies from Oregon to South Carolina, \naccording to Space.com\n, Live Science’s sister site. During most solar eclipses, the moon takes just a “bite” out of the sun — these are called partial solar eclipses.\nThis eclipse is particularly rare for its accessibility. The path of most total eclipses falls over water or unpopulated regions of the planet. The August event will go down as the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality stays completely in the United States since 1776, experts say, according \nthe Space.com Total Solar Eclipse 2017 guide\n.\nFor anyone who plans to check out the summer eclipse, remember to NEVER look directly at the sun without proper eye protection, except during the brief period of totality when the moon has moved completely between the sun and Earth. [Here’s how to make \na solar eclipse viewer\n.]\nShown here:\nNASA image of a total solar eclipse in March 2016.\nUgarit eclipse\nAnton_Ivanov\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\nOne of the earliest solar eclipses recorded, the Ugarit eclipse darkened the sky for 2 minutes and 7 seconds on May 3, 1375 B.C., according to an analysis of a clay tablet, discovered in 1948. Then, a report \nin the journal Nature\n in 1989 suggested, in fact, the eclipse actually occurred on March 5, 1223 B.C. That new date was based on an historical dating of the tablet as well as an analysis of the tablet’s text, which mentions the visibility of the planet Mars during the eclipse.\nMesopotamian\n historians in Ugarit, a port city in Northern Syria, recount that the sun was “put to shame” during this total eclipse.\nAssyrian eclipse\nU.S. Army photo via Live Science\nIn 763 B.C., the \nAssyrian empire\n, which occupied what is now Iraq, the sun was completely eclipsed for 5 minutes. Early records from the period mention the eclipse in the same passage as an insurrection in the city of Ashur, now known as Qal’at Sherqat (shown in the image) in Iraq, suggesting that the ancient people linked the two in their minds.\nEarly Chinese eclipse\nEd Lemery\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\nIn 1302 B.C., Chinese historians documented an epic total eclipse that blocked out the sun for 6 minutes and 25 seconds. Because the sun was a symbol of the emperor, an eclipse was seen as a warning to the leader. After an eclipse, an emperor would eat vegetarian meals and perform rituals to rescue the sun, according to a 2003 study in the \nJournal of Astronomical History and Heritage\n. [\nFiery Folklore: 5 Dazzling Sun Myths\n]\nKevin D. Pang, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and colleagues analyzed inscriptions on ancient turtle shell fragments (called oracle bones) to figure out the date of the eclipse — June 5, 1302 B.C. Part of the inscription reads: “Diviner Ko asks if the following day would be sunny or not,” \naccording to a NASA press release\n. On the reverse side of the fragment, the inscription continued “... 52nd day, fog until next dawn. Three flames ate the Sun, and big stars were seen.” Pang interpreted “three flames” as “coronal streamers licking out from the Sun’s surface, visible only during total eclipses,” according to the NASA statement. During the solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow covered the sun, “big stars” would be visible to Earthlings during the day.\nShown here:\n A total solar eclipse seen from Xiamen, China, on May 20, 2012.\nCrucifixion of Jesus\nStephanie Pappas, LiveScience\nThe Christian gospels say that the sky was darkened for hours after the crucifixion of \nJesus\n, which historians viewed either as a miracle or a portent of dark times to come. Later historians used astronomy to pinpoint the death of Christ based on this eclipse mention. Some historians tie the crucifixion to a \ntotal solar eclipse\n lasting 1 minute and 59 seconds that occurred in the year 29 C.E.; others say a second total eclipse, blocking the sun for 4 minutes and 6 seconds, in 33 C.E., marked Jesus’ death.\nThe birth of Mohammed\nemkaplin\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\nThe Koran mentions an eclipse that preceded the birth of Mohammed. Historians later tied this to a total eclipse that lasted 3 minutes and 17 seconds in 569 C.E. The sun also disappeared for 1 minute and 40 seconds after the death of Mohammed’s son Ibrahim. But the world’s first Muslims didn’t believe that eclipse was a sign from God. Instead, according to Islamic texts called the Hadiths, Mohammed proclaimed “the sun and the moon do not suffer eclipse for any one’s death or life.”\nShown here:\nThe Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which was built in the 1420s, is considered one of the great observatories in the Islamic world.\nKing Henry's eclipse\nNeil Thompson, Flickr via Live Science\nWhen King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror, died in A.D. 1133, the event coincided with a total solar eclipse that lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. In the manuscript “\nHistoria Novella\n,” William of Malmesbury recounts that the “hideous darkness” agitated the hearts of men. After the death, a struggle for the throne threw the kingdom into chaos and civil war.\nIn the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,” a passage also recounts this eclipse: “In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died on the following day after St Andrew’s Mass-day, Dec 2 in Normandy,” \naccording to a NASA statement\n.\nShown \nhere\n:\nThe ruins of Reading Abbey, where King Henry I was interred.\nEinstein's eclipse\nPublic Domain via Live Science\nWhile the ancients viewed eclipses as signs of great acts of God, physicists viewed the 1919 solar eclipse (shown here) as a triumph of science. During 1919’s epic eclipse, in which the sun vanished for 6 minutes and 51 seconds, scientists measured the bending of light from the stars as they passed near the sun. The findings confirmed \nEinstein’s theory of general relativity\n, which describes gravity as a warping of space-time.\nBy Tia Ghose \/ Originally published on \nLive Science","attrs_markdown":"- [Latest](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/pictures\/solar-eclipses-in-history\/)\n  - [U.S.](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/us\/)\n  - [Iran War](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/live-updates\/iran-war-us-trump-warns-more-coming-oil-gas-strait-hormuz\/)\n  - [Artemis II](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/artemis-ii-crew-moon-flight-smooth-flight-toilet-issue\/)\n  - [World](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/world\/)\n  - [Politics](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/politics\/)\n  - [Entertainment](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/entertainment\/)\n  - [HealthWatch](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/healthwatch\/)\n  - [MoneyWatch](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/moneywatch\/)\n  - [Crime](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/crime\/)\n  - [Space](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/space\/)\n  - [Sports](https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/)\n  - [Brand Studio](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/brandstudio\/)\n  - 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During the so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse, the 70-mile-wide (110 kilometers) shadow cast by the moon will darken skies from Oregon to South Carolina, [according to Space.com](http:\/\/www.space.com\/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html), Live Science’s sister site. During most solar eclipses, the moon takes just a “bite” out of the sun — these are called partial solar eclipses.\n\nThis eclipse is particularly rare for its accessibility. The path of most total eclipses falls over water or unpopulated regions of the planet. The August event will go down as the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality stays completely in the United States since 1776, experts say, according [the Space.com Total Solar Eclipse 2017 guide](http:\/\/www.space.com\/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html).\n\nFor anyone who plans to check out the summer eclipse, remember to NEVER look directly at the sun without proper eye protection, except during the brief period of totality when the moon has moved completely between the sun and Earth. \\[Here’s how to make [a solar eclipse viewer](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/33906-solar-eclipse-viewer.html).\\]\n\n**Shown here:** NASA image of a total solar eclipse in March 2016.\n\n## Ugarit eclipse\n![3-ugarit-city-ruins.jpg ](https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/36878fc1-4a62-418b-82a8-b688abfd4b0f\/thumbnail\/620x411\/f439119e51ba91695f6ba16c9e39ce4b\/3-ugarit-city-ruins.jpg)\n\nAnton\\_Ivanov\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\n\nOne of the earliest solar eclipses recorded, the Ugarit eclipse darkened the sky for 2 minutes and 7 seconds on May 3, 1375 B.C., according to an analysis of a clay tablet, discovered in 1948. Then, a report [in the journal Nature](http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v338\/n6212\/abs\/338238a0.html) in 1989 suggested, in fact, the eclipse actually occurred on March 5, 1223 B.C. That new date was based on an historical dating of the tablet as well as an analysis of the tablet’s text, which mentions the visibility of the planet Mars during the eclipse.\n\n[Mesopotamian](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/19153-ancient-settlements-satellites-surveys.html) historians in Ugarit, a port city in Northern Syria, recount that the sun was “put to shame” during this total eclipse.\n\n## Assyrian eclipse\n![4-ashur-iraq-city.jpg ](https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/86bdf4b0-5c5b-4d83-b8c0-add7df8a79e3\/thumbnail\/620x414\/ce91c91197ddc18ea8ea432c89841aac\/4-ashur-iraq-city.jpg)\n\nU.S. Army photo via Live Science\n\nIn 763 B.C., the [Assyrian empire](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/15486-3000-year-lion-statue-gate.html), which occupied what is now Iraq, the sun was completely eclipsed for 5 minutes. Early records from the period mention the eclipse in the same passage as an insurrection in the city of Ashur, now known as Qal’at Sherqat (shown in the image) in Iraq, suggesting that the ancient people linked the two in their minds.\n\n## Early Chinese eclipse\n![5-solar-eclipse-china-2012.jpg ](https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/89c6b6e9-7a0e-477b-8e43-9878d689a2d4\/thumbnail\/620x411\/05da9803ea842b9360ed7eef39c0905c\/5-solar-eclipse-china-2012.jpg)\n\nEd Lemery\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\n\nIn 1302 B.C., Chinese historians documented an epic total eclipse that blocked out the sun for 6 minutes and 25 seconds. Because the sun was a symbol of the emperor, an eclipse was seen as a warning to the leader. After an eclipse, an emperor would eat vegetarian meals and perform rituals to rescue the sun, according to a 2003 study in the [Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage](http:\/\/adsabs.harvard.edu\/full\/2003JAHH....6...53L). \\[[Fiery Folklore: 5 Dazzling Sun Myths](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/23028-fiery-folklore-5-dazzling-sun-myths.html)\\]\n\nKevin D. Pang, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and colleagues analyzed inscriptions on ancient turtle shell fragments (called oracle bones) to figure out the date of the eclipse — June 5, 1302 B.C. Part of the inscription reads: “Diviner Ko asks if the following day would be sunny or not,” [according to a NASA press release](http:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/releases\/80s\/release_1989_1245.html). On the reverse side of the fragment, the inscription continued “... 52nd day, fog until next dawn. Three flames ate the Sun, and big stars were seen.” Pang interpreted “three flames” as “coronal streamers licking out from the Sun’s surface, visible only during total eclipses,” according to the NASA statement. During the solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow covered the sun, “big stars” would be visible to Earthlings during the day.\n\n**Shown here:** A total solar eclipse seen from Xiamen, China, on May 20, 2012.\n\n## Crucifixion of Jesus\n![6-crucifixion-120405.jpg ](https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/34708e91-e02b-406b-a2ac-2630a0c51dd4\/thumbnail\/620x583\/078f4cbff4bcc4220b26f346a18fd071\/6-crucifixion-120405.jpg)\n\nStephanie Pappas, LiveScience\n\nThe Christian gospels say that the sky was darkened for hours after the crucifixion of [Jesus](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/3482-jesus-man.html), which historians viewed either as a miracle or a portent of dark times to come. Later historians used astronomy to pinpoint the death of Christ based on this eclipse mention. Some historians tie the crucifixion to a [total solar eclipse](http:\/\/www.space.com\/15584-solar-eclipses.html) lasting 1 minute and 59 seconds that occurred in the year 29 C.E.; others say a second total eclipse, blocking the sun for 4 minutes and 6 seconds, in 33 C.E., marked Jesus’ death.\n\n## The birth of Mohammed\n![6-ulugh-beg-observatory.jpg ](https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/89a402a3-9a27-4149-ac61-d11f5d0f840b\/thumbnail\/620x461\/4b71525ba2ee416e0bbf9b4caa994421\/6-ulugh-beg-observatory.jpg)\n\nemkaplin\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\n\nThe Koran mentions an eclipse that preceded the birth of Mohammed. Historians later tied this to a total eclipse that lasted 3 minutes and 17 seconds in 569 C.E. The sun also disappeared for 1 minute and 40 seconds after the death of Mohammed’s son Ibrahim. But the world’s first Muslims didn’t believe that eclipse was a sign from God. Instead, according to Islamic texts called the Hadiths, Mohammed proclaimed “the sun and the moon do not suffer eclipse for any one’s death or life.”\n\n**Shown here:** The Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which was built in the 1420s, is considered one of the great observatories in the Islamic world.\n\n## King Henry's eclipse\n![7-reading-abbey.jpg ](https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/77263451-99c3-4554-a797-14b0720680c2\/thumbnail\/620x349\/98621ece866498259f01625f7b3d4828\/7-reading-abbey.jpg)\n\nNeil Thompson, Flickr via Live Science\n\nWhen King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror, died in A.D. 1133, the event coincided with a total solar eclipse that lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. In the manuscript “[Historia Novella](https:\/\/cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk\/view\/MS-FF-00001-00025-00003\/1),” William of Malmesbury recounts that the “hideous darkness” agitated the hearts of men. After the death, a struggle for the throne threw the kingdom into chaos and civil war.\n\nIn the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,” a passage also recounts this eclipse: “In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died on the following day after St Andrew’s Mass-day, Dec 2 in Normandy,” [according to a NASA statement](https:\/\/eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov\/SEhistory\/SEhistory.html#1133).\n\n**Shown** [**here**](https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/williamsdb\/)**:** The ruins of Reading Abbey, where King Henry I was interred.\n\n## Einstein's eclipse\n![8-total-solar-eclipse-1919.jpg ](https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/8222e87e-2983-46f5-b6c7-b186a9774947\/thumbnail\/620x599\/6d053137680f9060593dbe8d759c20d3\/8-total-solar-eclipse-1919.jpg)\n\nPublic Domain via Live Science\n\nWhile the ancients viewed eclipses as signs of great acts of God, physicists viewed the 1919 solar eclipse (shown here) as a triumph of science. During 1919’s epic eclipse, in which the sun vanished for 6 minutes and 51 seconds, scientists measured the bending of light from the stars as they passed near the sun. The findings confirmed [Einstein’s theory of general relativity](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/16270-general-relativity-gravitational-redshift-galaxies.html), which describes gravity as a warping of space-time.\n\n*By Tia Ghose \/ Originally published on* [*Live Science*](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/57865-famous-solar-eclipses.html)\n\nCBS News Live\n\n[CBS News 24\/7 Live](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/live\/)\n#### CBS News 24\/7\n\n- [What NASA is looking for in the coming days as Artemis II loops around the moon ![ ](https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/05\/31\/7fedf351-209e-4449-a722-63792b018f00\/thumbnail\/1200x630g2\/36afcc246049bfaf140ed853a640d847\/gettyimages-2209386518.jpg)](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/what-nasa-jared-isaccman-looking-for-artemis-ii-loops-around-the-moon\/?intcid=CNR-01-0623)\n- [Big Bear bald eaglets hatch as Jackie and Shadow's family grows by 2 ![ ](https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/04\/05\/d69ef8ea-2272-4ca7-ad03-5e47feb3c0e9\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/538db424366be55d0b16140973c7c1c1\/screenshot-2026-04-05-091619.png)](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/losangeles\/news\/big-bear-bald-eagles-jackie-and-shadow-eggs-hatching-second-pip\/?intcid=CNR-01-0623)\n- [Jackie and Shadow have first \" pip\" of the season at Big Bear nest ![ ](https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/04\/03\/e84f3b37-436a-40df-928c-4fde2fc1d1e2\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/c6b05bdfbf7b9c5f581382e3993cd99d\/eagles-pip.png)](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/losangeles\/news\/jackie-and-shadow-egg-pip-big-bear-fbbv\/?intcid=CNR-01-0623)\n- [The Ayatollah’s Regime Is Crumbling ![ ](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/%24s_!LqxU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fef5bdc59-cbe5-4b41-8668-802072e496f1_1024x708.jpeg)](https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/the-ayatollahs-regime-is-crumbling?utm_source=cbs_news&utm_campaign=cbs_news_recirculation&utm_content=right_rail)\n\nFeatured\n\n[Iran War Coverage](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/us-iran-tensions\/)\n\n[Jobs Report](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/jobs-report-today-march-2026-economy-iran-war-bls\/)\n\n[Men's March Madness Schedule](https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/college-basketball\/news\/final-four-2026-tv-schedule-channels-announcers-where-to-watch-march-madness-ncaa-tournament\/)\n\n[Women's March Madness Schedule](https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/womens-college-basketball\/news\/womens-march-madness-schedule-bracket-2026\/)\n\nFollow Us On\n\n[YouTube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/CBSNews\/)\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CBSNews\/)\n\n[Instagram](https:\/\/instagram.com\/cbsnews\/)\n\n[X](https:\/\/x.com\/CBSNews\/)\n\nPrivacy\n\n[Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.viacomcbsprivacy.com\/policy)\n\n[California Notice](https:\/\/privacy.paramount.com\/en\/policy#additional-information-us-states)\n\n[Your Privacy Choices](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/pictures\/solar-eclipses-in-history\/#onetrust-pc-sdk)\n\n[Terms of Use](https:\/\/legal.paramount.com\/us\/en\/cbsi\/terms-of-use)\n\nMore from CBS News\n\n[Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/newsletters\/)\n\n[Podcasts](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/podcasts\/)\n\n[Download Our App](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/app\/)\n\n[Brand Studio](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/brandstudio\/)\n\n[Sitemap](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/sitemap\/)\n\nCompany\n\n[About Paramount](https:\/\/www.paramount.com\/about\/)\n\n[Advertise With Paramount](https:\/\/www.paramount.com\/about\/businesses\/advertising)\n\n[Join Our Talent Community](https:\/\/pages.beamery.com\/paramount\/page\/cbsnewsstations)\n\n[Help](https:\/\/help.cbsnews.com\/s\/)\n\n[Feedback](https:\/\/www.cbs.com\/showfeedback\/)\n\n[Contact the Ombudsman](https:\/\/ombudsman.cbsnews.com\/)\n\nCopyright ©2026 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.\n\nView CBS News In\n\nCBS News App\n\n[Open](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/app\/?ftag=CNM-16-10abd6g&url=https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/pictures\/solar-eclipses-in-history\/)\n\nChrome\n\nSafari\n\n[Continue](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/pictures\/solar-eclipses-in-history\/#app)","attrs_readable_markdown":"February 14, 2017 \/ 11:49 AM EST \/ CBS News\n\n[Add CBS News on Google](https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=cbsnews.com)\n\n![1-annular-solar-eclipse-jan-2011.jpg ](https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/1ab78e72-bdf3-4447-ba7c-9dda722212ac\/thumbnail\/620x488\/a9d3530f2be119c0d4fd1d48ebe3eb9f\/1-annular-solar-eclipse-jan-2011.jpg)\n\nHinode\/XRT via Live Science\n\nSince ancient times, people have viewed the moon completely blacking out the sun for mere minutes — the entire solar eclipse, as the [moon’s shadow moves across Earth,](http:\/\/www.space.com\/18453-total-solar-eclipse-2012-stages-explained.html) can take hours — as omens that indicate an impending miracle, the wrath of God, or the doom of a ruling dynasty.\n\nFrom the earliest recorded eclipse, described on an ancient clay tablet, in Ugarit in modern-day Syria, to one that was linked to an uprising in an ancient Assyrian city, to [a total solar eclipse that will surely go down in history](http:\/\/www.space.com\/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html?_ga=1.63229039.1960616585.1475614797) when it dazzles the world in 2017, here are some of the most famous eclipses.\n\n*By Tia Ghose \/* [*Live Science*](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/57865-famous-solar-eclipses.html)\n\n## Great American Total Solar Eclipse\n![2-total-solar-eclipse-2016-nasa-totality.jpg ](https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/603f2ef1-e17e-4fad-99ed-786afd80b5ec\/thumbnail\/620x349\/7bb7a06f328c4eeb7fbc35dbde72afe0\/2-total-solar-eclipse-2016-nasa-totality.jpg)\n\nNASA TV via Live Science\n\nThe first total solar eclipse (when the moon moves directly between Earth and the sun) visible in the United States in nearly four decades is expected to dazzle on Aug. 21, 2017. During the so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse, the 70-mile-wide (110 kilometers) shadow cast by the moon will darken skies from Oregon to South Carolina, [according to Space.com](http:\/\/www.space.com\/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html), Live Science’s sister site. During most solar eclipses, the moon takes just a “bite” out of the sun — these are called partial solar eclipses.\n\nThis eclipse is particularly rare for its accessibility. The path of most total eclipses falls over water or unpopulated regions of the planet. The August event will go down as the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality stays completely in the United States since 1776, experts say, according [the Space.com Total Solar Eclipse 2017 guide](http:\/\/www.space.com\/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html).\n\nFor anyone who plans to check out the summer eclipse, remember to NEVER look directly at the sun without proper eye protection, except during the brief period of totality when the moon has moved completely between the sun and Earth. \\[Here’s how to make [a solar eclipse viewer](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/33906-solar-eclipse-viewer.html).\\]\n\n**Shown here:** NASA image of a total solar eclipse in March 2016.\n\n## Ugarit eclipse\n![3-ugarit-city-ruins.jpg ](https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/36878fc1-4a62-418b-82a8-b688abfd4b0f\/thumbnail\/620x411\/f439119e51ba91695f6ba16c9e39ce4b\/3-ugarit-city-ruins.jpg)\n\nAnton\\_Ivanov\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\n\nOne of the earliest solar eclipses recorded, the Ugarit eclipse darkened the sky for 2 minutes and 7 seconds on May 3, 1375 B.C., according to an analysis of a clay tablet, discovered in 1948. Then, a report [in the journal Nature](http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v338\/n6212\/abs\/338238a0.html) in 1989 suggested, in fact, the eclipse actually occurred on March 5, 1223 B.C. That new date was based on an historical dating of the tablet as well as an analysis of the tablet’s text, which mentions the visibility of the planet Mars during the eclipse.\n\n[Mesopotamian](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/19153-ancient-settlements-satellites-surveys.html) historians in Ugarit, a port city in Northern Syria, recount that the sun was “put to shame” during this total eclipse.\n\n## Assyrian eclipse\n![4-ashur-iraq-city.jpg ](https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/86bdf4b0-5c5b-4d83-b8c0-add7df8a79e3\/thumbnail\/620x414\/ce91c91197ddc18ea8ea432c89841aac\/4-ashur-iraq-city.jpg)\n\nU.S. Army photo via Live Science\n\nIn 763 B.C., the [Assyrian empire](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/15486-3000-year-lion-statue-gate.html), which occupied what is now Iraq, the sun was completely eclipsed for 5 minutes. Early records from the period mention the eclipse in the same passage as an insurrection in the city of Ashur, now known as Qal’at Sherqat (shown in the image) in Iraq, suggesting that the ancient people linked the two in their minds.\n\n## Early Chinese eclipse\n![5-solar-eclipse-china-2012.jpg ](https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/89c6b6e9-7a0e-477b-8e43-9878d689a2d4\/thumbnail\/620x411\/05da9803ea842b9360ed7eef39c0905c\/5-solar-eclipse-china-2012.jpg)\n\nEd Lemery\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\n\nIn 1302 B.C., Chinese historians documented an epic total eclipse that blocked out the sun for 6 minutes and 25 seconds. Because the sun was a symbol of the emperor, an eclipse was seen as a warning to the leader. After an eclipse, an emperor would eat vegetarian meals and perform rituals to rescue the sun, according to a 2003 study in the [Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage](http:\/\/adsabs.harvard.edu\/full\/2003JAHH....6...53L). \\[[Fiery Folklore: 5 Dazzling Sun Myths](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/23028-fiery-folklore-5-dazzling-sun-myths.html)\\]\n\nKevin D. Pang, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and colleagues analyzed inscriptions on ancient turtle shell fragments (called oracle bones) to figure out the date of the eclipse — June 5, 1302 B.C. Part of the inscription reads: “Diviner Ko asks if the following day would be sunny or not,” [according to a NASA press release](http:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/releases\/80s\/release_1989_1245.html). On the reverse side of the fragment, the inscription continued “... 52nd day, fog until next dawn. Three flames ate the Sun, and big stars were seen.” Pang interpreted “three flames” as “coronal streamers licking out from the Sun’s surface, visible only during total eclipses,” according to the NASA statement. During the solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow covered the sun, “big stars” would be visible to Earthlings during the day.\n\n**Shown here:** A total solar eclipse seen from Xiamen, China, on May 20, 2012.\n\n## Crucifixion of Jesus\n![6-crucifixion-120405.jpg ](https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/34708e91-e02b-406b-a2ac-2630a0c51dd4\/thumbnail\/620x583\/078f4cbff4bcc4220b26f346a18fd071\/6-crucifixion-120405.jpg)\n\nStephanie Pappas, LiveScience\n\nThe Christian gospels say that the sky was darkened for hours after the crucifixion of [Jesus](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/3482-jesus-man.html), which historians viewed either as a miracle or a portent of dark times to come. Later historians used astronomy to pinpoint the death of Christ based on this eclipse mention. Some historians tie the crucifixion to a [total solar eclipse](http:\/\/www.space.com\/15584-solar-eclipses.html) lasting 1 minute and 59 seconds that occurred in the year 29 C.E.; others say a second total eclipse, blocking the sun for 4 minutes and 6 seconds, in 33 C.E., marked Jesus’ death.\n\n## The birth of Mohammed\n![6-ulugh-beg-observatory.jpg ](https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/89a402a3-9a27-4149-ac61-d11f5d0f840b\/thumbnail\/620x461\/4b71525ba2ee416e0bbf9b4caa994421\/6-ulugh-beg-observatory.jpg)\n\nemkaplin\/Shutterstock.com via Live Science\n\nThe Koran mentions an eclipse that preceded the birth of Mohammed. Historians later tied this to a total eclipse that lasted 3 minutes and 17 seconds in 569 C.E. The sun also disappeared for 1 minute and 40 seconds after the death of Mohammed’s son Ibrahim. But the world’s first Muslims didn’t believe that eclipse was a sign from God. Instead, according to Islamic texts called the Hadiths, Mohammed proclaimed “the sun and the moon do not suffer eclipse for any one’s death or life.”\n\n**Shown here:** The Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which was built in the 1420s, is considered one of the great observatories in the Islamic world.\n\n## King Henry's eclipse\n![7-reading-abbey.jpg ](https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/77263451-99c3-4554-a797-14b0720680c2\/thumbnail\/620x349\/98621ece866498259f01625f7b3d4828\/7-reading-abbey.jpg)\n\nNeil Thompson, Flickr via Live Science\n\nWhen King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror, died in A.D. 1133, the event coincided with a total solar eclipse that lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. In the manuscript “[Historia Novella](https:\/\/cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk\/view\/MS-FF-00001-00025-00003\/1),” William of Malmesbury recounts that the “hideous darkness” agitated the hearts of men. After the death, a struggle for the throne threw the kingdom into chaos and civil war.\n\nIn the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,” a passage also recounts this eclipse: “In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died on the following day after St Andrew’s Mass-day, Dec 2 in Normandy,” [according to a NASA statement](https:\/\/eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov\/SEhistory\/SEhistory.html#1133).\n\n**Shown** [**here**](https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/williamsdb\/)**:** The ruins of Reading Abbey, where King Henry I was interred.\n\n## Einstein's eclipse\n![8-total-solar-eclipse-1919.jpg ](https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2017\/02\/14\/8222e87e-2983-46f5-b6c7-b186a9774947\/thumbnail\/620x599\/6d053137680f9060593dbe8d759c20d3\/8-total-solar-eclipse-1919.jpg)\n\nPublic Domain via Live Science\n\nWhile the ancients viewed eclipses as signs of great acts of God, physicists viewed the 1919 solar eclipse (shown here) as a triumph of science. During 1919’s epic eclipse, in which the sun vanished for 6 minutes and 51 seconds, scientists measured the bending of light from the stars as they passed near the sun. The findings confirmed [Einstein’s theory of general relativity](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/16270-general-relativity-gravitational-redshift-galaxies.html), which describes gravity as a warping of space-time.\n\n*By Tia Ghose \/ Originally published on* [*Live Science*](http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/57865-famous-solar-eclipses.html)","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	February 14, 2017 / 11:49 AM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Hinode/XRT via Live Science Since ancient times, people have viewed the moon completely blacking out the sun for mere minutes — the entire solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow moves across Earth, can take hours — as omens that indicate an impending miracle, the wrath of God, or the doom of a ruling dynasty. From the earliest recorded eclipse, described on an ancient clay tablet, in Ugarit in modern-day Syria, to one that was linked to an uprising in an ancient Assyrian city, to a total solar eclipse that will surely go down in history when it dazzles the world in 2017, here are some of the most famous eclipses. By Tia Ghose / Live Science Great American Total Solar Eclipse NASA TV via Live Science The first total solar eclipse (when the moon moves directly between Earth and the sun) visible in the United States in nearly four decades is expected to dazzle on Aug. 21, 2017. During the so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse, the 70-mile-wide (110 kilometers) shadow cast by the moon will darken skies from Oregon to South Carolina, according to Space.com , Live Science’s sister site. During most solar eclipses, the moon takes just a “bite” out of the sun — these are called partial solar eclipses. This eclipse is particularly rare for its accessibility. The path of most total eclipses falls over water or unpopulated regions of the planet. The August event will go down as the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality stays completely in the United States since 1776, experts say, according the Space.com Total Solar Eclipse 2017 guide . For anyone who plans to check out the summer eclipse, remember to NEVER look directly at the sun without proper eye protection, except during the brief period of totality when the moon has moved completely between the sun and Earth. [Here’s how to make a solar eclipse viewer .] Shown here: NASA image of a total solar eclipse in March 2016. Ugarit eclipse Anton_Ivanov/Shutterstock.com via Live Science One of the earliest solar eclipses recorded, the Ugarit eclipse darkened the sky for 2 minutes and 7 seconds on May 3, 1375 B.C., according to an analysis of a clay tablet, discovered in 1948. Then, a report in the journal Nature in 1989 suggested, in fact, the eclipse actually occurred on March 5, 1223 B.C. That new date was based on an historical dating of the tablet as well as an analysis of the tablet’s text, which mentions the visibility of the planet Mars during the eclipse. Mesopotamian historians in Ugarit, a port city in Northern Syria, recount that the sun was “put to shame” during this total eclipse. Assyrian eclipse U.S. Army photo via Live Science In 763 B.C., the Assyrian empire , which occupied what is now Iraq, the sun was completely eclipsed for 5 minutes. Early records from the period mention the eclipse in the same passage as an insurrection in the city of Ashur, now known as Qal’at Sherqat (shown in the image) in Iraq, suggesting that the ancient people linked the two in their minds. Early Chinese eclipse Ed Lemery/Shutterstock.com via Live Science In 1302 B.C., Chinese historians documented an epic total eclipse that blocked out the sun for 6 minutes and 25 seconds. Because the sun was a symbol of the emperor, an eclipse was seen as a warning to the leader. After an eclipse, an emperor would eat vegetarian meals and perform rituals to rescue the sun, according to a 2003 study in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage . [ Fiery Folklore: 5 Dazzling Sun Myths ] Kevin D. Pang, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and colleagues analyzed inscriptions on ancient turtle shell fragments (called oracle bones) to figure out the date of the eclipse — June 5, 1302 B.C. Part of the inscription reads: “Diviner Ko asks if the following day would be sunny or not,” according to a NASA press release . On the reverse side of the fragment, the inscription continued “... 52nd day, fog until next dawn. Three flames ate the Sun, and big stars were seen.” Pang interpreted “three flames” as “coronal streamers licking out from the Sun’s surface, visible only during total eclipses,” according to the NASA statement. During the solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow covered the sun, “big stars” would be visible to Earthlings during the day. Shown here: A total solar eclipse seen from Xiamen, China, on May 20, 2012. Crucifixion of Jesus Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience The Christian gospels say that the sky was darkened for hours after the crucifixion of Jesus , which historians viewed either as a miracle or a portent of dark times to come. Later historians used astronomy to pinpoint the death of Christ based on this eclipse mention. Some historians tie the crucifixion to a total solar eclipse lasting 1 minute and 59 seconds that occurred in the year 29 C.E.; others say a second total eclipse, blocking the sun for 4 minutes and 6 seconds, in 33 C.E., marked Jesus’ death. The birth of Mohammed emkaplin/Shutterstock.com via Live Science The Koran mentions an eclipse that preceded the birth of Mohammed. Historians later tied this to a total eclipse that lasted 3 minutes and 17 seconds in 569 C.E. The sun also disappeared for 1 minute and 40 seconds after the death of Mohammed’s son Ibrahim. But the world’s first Muslims didn’t believe that eclipse was a sign from God. Instead, according to Islamic texts called the Hadiths, Mohammed proclaimed “the sun and the moon do not suffer eclipse for any one’s death or life.” Shown here: The Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which was built in the 1420s, is considered one of the great observatories in the Islamic world. King Henry's eclipse Neil Thompson, Flickr via Live Science When King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror, died in A.D. 1133, the event coincided with a total solar eclipse that lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. In the manuscript “ Historia Novella ,” William of Malmesbury recounts that the “hideous darkness” agitated the hearts of men. After the death, a struggle for the throne threw the kingdom into chaos and civil war. In the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,” a passage also recounts this eclipse: “In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died on the following day after St Andrew’s Mass-day, Dec 2 in Normandy,” according to a NASA statement . Shown here : The ruins of Reading Abbey, where King Henry I was interred. Einstein's eclipse Public Domain via Live Science While the ancients viewed eclipses as signs of great acts of God, physicists viewed the 1919 solar eclipse (shown here) as a triumph of science. During 1919’s epic eclipse, in which the sun vanished for 6 minutes and 51 seconds, scientists measured the bending of light from the stars as they passed near the sun. The findings confirmed Einstein’s theory of general relativity , which describes gravity as a warping of space-time. By Tia Ghose / Originally published on Live Science
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From the earliest recorded eclipse, described on an ancient clay tablet, in Ugarit in modern-day Syria, to one that was linked to an uprising in an ancient Assyrian city, to [a total solar eclipse that will surely go down in history](http://www.space.com/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html?_ga=1.63229039.1960616585.1475614797) when it dazzles the world in 2017, here are some of the most famous eclipses. By Tia Ghose / [Live Science](http://www.livescience.com/57865-famous-solar-eclipses.html) ## Great American Total Solar Eclipse ![2-total-solar-eclipse-2016-nasa-totality.jpg ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/603f2ef1-e17e-4fad-99ed-786afd80b5ec/thumbnail/620x349/7bb7a06f328c4eeb7fbc35dbde72afe0/2-total-solar-eclipse-2016-nasa-totality.jpg) NASA TV via Live Science The first total solar eclipse (when the moon moves directly between Earth and the sun) visible in the United States in nearly four decades is expected to dazzle on Aug. 21, 2017. During the so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse, the 70-mile-wide (110 kilometers) shadow cast by the moon will darken skies from Oregon to South Carolina, [according to Space.com](http://www.space.com/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html), Live Science’s sister site. During most solar eclipses, the moon takes just a “bite” out of the sun — these are called partial solar eclipses. This eclipse is particularly rare for its accessibility. The path of most total eclipses falls over water or unpopulated regions of the planet. The August event will go down as the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality stays completely in the United States since 1776, experts say, according [the Space.com Total Solar Eclipse 2017 guide](http://www.space.com/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html). For anyone who plans to check out the summer eclipse, remember to NEVER look directly at the sun without proper eye protection, except during the brief period of totality when the moon has moved completely between the sun and Earth. \[Here’s how to make [a solar eclipse viewer](http://www.livescience.com/33906-solar-eclipse-viewer.html).\] Shown here: NASA image of a total solar eclipse in March 2016. ## Ugarit eclipse ![3-ugarit-city-ruins.jpg ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/36878fc1-4a62-418b-82a8-b688abfd4b0f/thumbnail/620x411/f439119e51ba91695f6ba16c9e39ce4b/3-ugarit-city-ruins.jpg) Anton\_Ivanov/Shutterstock.com via Live Science One of the earliest solar eclipses recorded, the Ugarit eclipse darkened the sky for 2 minutes and 7 seconds on May 3, 1375 B.C., according to an analysis of a clay tablet, discovered in 1948. Then, a report [in the journal Nature](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v338/n6212/abs/338238a0.html) in 1989 suggested, in fact, the eclipse actually occurred on March 5, 1223 B.C. That new date was based on an historical dating of the tablet as well as an analysis of the tablet’s text, which mentions the visibility of the planet Mars during the eclipse. [Mesopotamian](http://www.livescience.com/19153-ancient-settlements-satellites-surveys.html) historians in Ugarit, a port city in Northern Syria, recount that the sun was “put to shame” during this total eclipse. ## Assyrian eclipse ![4-ashur-iraq-city.jpg ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/86bdf4b0-5c5b-4d83-b8c0-add7df8a79e3/thumbnail/620x414/ce91c91197ddc18ea8ea432c89841aac/4-ashur-iraq-city.jpg) U.S. Army photo via Live Science In 763 B.C., the [Assyrian empire](http://www.livescience.com/15486-3000-year-lion-statue-gate.html), which occupied what is now Iraq, the sun was completely eclipsed for 5 minutes. Early records from the period mention the eclipse in the same passage as an insurrection in the city of Ashur, now known as Qal’at Sherqat (shown in the image) in Iraq, suggesting that the ancient people linked the two in their minds. ## Early Chinese eclipse ![5-solar-eclipse-china-2012.jpg ](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/89c6b6e9-7a0e-477b-8e43-9878d689a2d4/thumbnail/620x411/05da9803ea842b9360ed7eef39c0905c/5-solar-eclipse-china-2012.jpg) Ed Lemery/Shutterstock.com via Live Science In 1302 B.C., Chinese historians documented an epic total eclipse that blocked out the sun for 6 minutes and 25 seconds. Because the sun was a symbol of the emperor, an eclipse was seen as a warning to the leader. After an eclipse, an emperor would eat vegetarian meals and perform rituals to rescue the sun, according to a 2003 study in the [Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2003JAHH....6...53L). \[[Fiery Folklore: 5 Dazzling Sun Myths](http://www.livescience.com/23028-fiery-folklore-5-dazzling-sun-myths.html)\] Kevin D. Pang, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and colleagues analyzed inscriptions on ancient turtle shell fragments (called oracle bones) to figure out the date of the eclipse — June 5, 1302 B.C. Part of the inscription reads: “Diviner Ko asks if the following day would be sunny or not,” [according to a NASA press release](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/80s/release_1989_1245.html). On the reverse side of the fragment, the inscription continued “... 52nd day, fog until next dawn. Three flames ate the Sun, and big stars were seen.” Pang interpreted “three flames” as “coronal streamers licking out from the Sun’s surface, visible only during total eclipses,” according to the NASA statement. During the solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow covered the sun, “big stars” would be visible to Earthlings during the day. Shown here: A total solar eclipse seen from Xiamen, China, on May 20, 2012. ## Crucifixion of Jesus ![6-crucifixion-120405.jpg ](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/34708e91-e02b-406b-a2ac-2630a0c51dd4/thumbnail/620x583/078f4cbff4bcc4220b26f346a18fd071/6-crucifixion-120405.jpg) Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience The Christian gospels say that the sky was darkened for hours after the crucifixion of [Jesus](http://www.livescience.com/3482-jesus-man.html), which historians viewed either as a miracle or a portent of dark times to come. Later historians used astronomy to pinpoint the death of Christ based on this eclipse mention. Some historians tie the crucifixion to a [total solar eclipse](http://www.space.com/15584-solar-eclipses.html) lasting 1 minute and 59 seconds that occurred in the year 29 C.E.; others say a second total eclipse, blocking the sun for 4 minutes and 6 seconds, in 33 C.E., marked Jesus’ death. ## The birth of Mohammed ![6-ulugh-beg-observatory.jpg ](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/89a402a3-9a27-4149-ac61-d11f5d0f840b/thumbnail/620x461/4b71525ba2ee416e0bbf9b4caa994421/6-ulugh-beg-observatory.jpg) emkaplin/Shutterstock.com via Live Science The Koran mentions an eclipse that preceded the birth of Mohammed. Historians later tied this to a total eclipse that lasted 3 minutes and 17 seconds in 569 C.E. The sun also disappeared for 1 minute and 40 seconds after the death of Mohammed’s son Ibrahim. But the world’s first Muslims didn’t believe that eclipse was a sign from God. Instead, according to Islamic texts called the Hadiths, Mohammed proclaimed “the sun and the moon do not suffer eclipse for any one’s death or life.” Shown here: The Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which was built in the 1420s, is considered one of the great observatories in the Islamic world. ## King Henry's eclipse ![7-reading-abbey.jpg ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/77263451-99c3-4554-a797-14b0720680c2/thumbnail/620x349/98621ece866498259f01625f7b3d4828/7-reading-abbey.jpg) Neil Thompson, Flickr via Live Science When King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror, died in A.D. 1133, the event coincided with a total solar eclipse that lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. In the manuscript “[Historia Novella](https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-FF-00001-00025-00003/1),” William of Malmesbury recounts that the “hideous darkness” agitated the hearts of men. After the death, a struggle for the throne threw the kingdom into chaos and civil war. In the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,” a passage also recounts this eclipse: “In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died on the following day after St Andrew’s Mass-day, Dec 2 in Normandy,” [according to a NASA statement](https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEhistory.html#1133). Shown [here](https://www.flickr.com/photos/williamsdb/): The ruins of Reading Abbey, where King Henry I was interred. ## Einstein's eclipse ![8-total-solar-eclipse-1919.jpg ](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/8222e87e-2983-46f5-b6c7-b186a9774947/thumbnail/620x599/6d053137680f9060593dbe8d759c20d3/8-total-solar-eclipse-1919.jpg) Public Domain via Live Science While the ancients viewed eclipses as signs of great acts of God, physicists viewed the 1919 solar eclipse (shown here) as a triumph of science. During 1919’s epic eclipse, in which the sun vanished for 6 minutes and 51 seconds, scientists measured the bending of light from the stars as they passed near the sun. The findings confirmed [Einstein’s theory of general relativity](http://www.livescience.com/16270-general-relativity-gravitational-redshift-galaxies.html), which describes gravity as a warping of space-time. By Tia Ghose / Originally published on [Live Science](http://www.livescience.com/57865-famous-solar-eclipses.html) CBS News Live [CBS News 24/7 Live](https://www.cbsnews.com/live/) #### CBS News 24/7 - [What NASA is looking for in the coming days as Artemis II loops around the moon ![ ](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2025/05/31/7fedf351-209e-4449-a722-63792b018f00/thumbnail/1200x630g2/36afcc246049bfaf140ed853a640d847/gettyimages-2209386518.jpg)](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-nasa-jared-isaccman-looking-for-artemis-ii-loops-around-the-moon/?intcid=CNR-01-0623) - [Big Bear bald eaglets hatch as Jackie and Shadow's family grows by 2 ![ ](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2026/04/05/d69ef8ea-2272-4ca7-ad03-5e47feb3c0e9/thumbnail/1200x630/538db424366be55d0b16140973c7c1c1/screenshot-2026-04-05-091619.png)](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/big-bear-bald-eagles-jackie-and-shadow-eggs-hatching-second-pip/?intcid=CNR-01-0623) - [Jackie and Shadow have first " pip" of the season at Big Bear nest ![ ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2026/04/03/e84f3b37-436a-40df-928c-4fde2fc1d1e2/thumbnail/1200x630/c6b05bdfbf7b9c5f581382e3993cd99d/eagles-pip.png)](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/jackie-and-shadow-egg-pip-big-bear-fbbv/?intcid=CNR-01-0623) - [The Ayatollah’s Regime Is Crumbling ![ ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!LqxU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fef5bdc59-cbe5-4b41-8668-802072e496f1_1024x708.jpeg)](https://www.thefp.com/p/the-ayatollahs-regime-is-crumbling?utm_source=cbs_news&utm_campaign=cbs_news_recirculation&utm_content=right_rail) Featured [Iran War Coverage](https://www.cbsnews.com/us-iran-tensions/) [Jobs Report](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jobs-report-today-march-2026-economy-iran-war-bls/) [Men's March Madness Schedule](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/final-four-2026-tv-schedule-channels-announcers-where-to-watch-march-madness-ncaa-tournament/) [Women's March Madness Schedule](https://www.cbssports.com/womens-college-basketball/news/womens-march-madness-schedule-bracket-2026/) Follow Us On [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/CBSNews/) [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/CBSNews/) [Instagram](https://instagram.com/cbsnews/) [X](https://x.com/CBSNews/) Privacy [Privacy Policy](https://www.viacomcbsprivacy.com/policy) [California Notice](https://privacy.paramount.com/en/policy#additional-information-us-states) [Your Privacy Choices](https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/solar-eclipses-in-history/#onetrust-pc-sdk) [Terms of Use](https://legal.paramount.com/us/en/cbsi/terms-of-use) More from CBS News [Newsletters](https://www.cbsnews.com/newsletters/) [Podcasts](https://www.cbsnews.com/podcasts/) [Download Our App](https://www.cbsnews.com/app/) [Brand Studio](https://www.cbsnews.com/brandstudio/) [Sitemap](https://www.cbsnews.com/sitemap/) Company [About Paramount](https://www.paramount.com/about/) [Advertise With Paramount](https://www.paramount.com/about/businesses/advertising) [Join Our Talent Community](https://pages.beamery.com/paramount/page/cbsnewsstations) [Help](https://help.cbsnews.com/s/) [Feedback](https://www.cbs.com/showfeedback/) [Contact the Ombudsman](https://ombudsman.cbsnews.com/) Copyright ©2026 CBS Interactive Inc. 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Readable Markdown	February 14, 2017 / 11:49 AM EST / CBS News [Add CBS News on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=cbsnews.com) ![1-annular-solar-eclipse-jan-2011.jpg ](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/1ab78e72-bdf3-4447-ba7c-9dda722212ac/thumbnail/620x488/a9d3530f2be119c0d4fd1d48ebe3eb9f/1-annular-solar-eclipse-jan-2011.jpg) Hinode/XRT via Live Science Since ancient times, people have viewed the moon completely blacking out the sun for mere minutes — the entire solar eclipse, as the [moon’s shadow moves across Earth,](http://www.space.com/18453-total-solar-eclipse-2012-stages-explained.html) can take hours — as omens that indicate an impending miracle, the wrath of God, or the doom of a ruling dynasty. From the earliest recorded eclipse, described on an ancient clay tablet, in Ugarit in modern-day Syria, to one that was linked to an uprising in an ancient Assyrian city, to [a total solar eclipse that will surely go down in history](http://www.space.com/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html?_ga=1.63229039.1960616585.1475614797) when it dazzles the world in 2017, here are some of the most famous eclipses. By Tia Ghose / [Live Science](http://www.livescience.com/57865-famous-solar-eclipses.html) ## Great American Total Solar Eclipse ![2-total-solar-eclipse-2016-nasa-totality.jpg ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/603f2ef1-e17e-4fad-99ed-786afd80b5ec/thumbnail/620x349/7bb7a06f328c4eeb7fbc35dbde72afe0/2-total-solar-eclipse-2016-nasa-totality.jpg) NASA TV via Live Science The first total solar eclipse (when the moon moves directly between Earth and the sun) visible in the United States in nearly four decades is expected to dazzle on Aug. 21, 2017. During the so-called Great American Total Solar Eclipse, the 70-mile-wide (110 kilometers) shadow cast by the moon will darken skies from Oregon to South Carolina, [according to Space.com](http://www.space.com/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html), Live Science’s sister site. During most solar eclipses, the moon takes just a “bite” out of the sun — these are called partial solar eclipses. This eclipse is particularly rare for its accessibility. The path of most total eclipses falls over water or unpopulated regions of the planet. The August event will go down as the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality stays completely in the United States since 1776, experts say, according [the Space.com Total Solar Eclipse 2017 guide](http://www.space.com/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html). For anyone who plans to check out the summer eclipse, remember to NEVER look directly at the sun without proper eye protection, except during the brief period of totality when the moon has moved completely between the sun and Earth. \[Here’s how to make [a solar eclipse viewer](http://www.livescience.com/33906-solar-eclipse-viewer.html).\] Shown here: NASA image of a total solar eclipse in March 2016. ## Ugarit eclipse ![3-ugarit-city-ruins.jpg ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/36878fc1-4a62-418b-82a8-b688abfd4b0f/thumbnail/620x411/f439119e51ba91695f6ba16c9e39ce4b/3-ugarit-city-ruins.jpg) Anton\_Ivanov/Shutterstock.com via Live Science One of the earliest solar eclipses recorded, the Ugarit eclipse darkened the sky for 2 minutes and 7 seconds on May 3, 1375 B.C., according to an analysis of a clay tablet, discovered in 1948. Then, a report [in the journal Nature](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v338/n6212/abs/338238a0.html) in 1989 suggested, in fact, the eclipse actually occurred on March 5, 1223 B.C. That new date was based on an historical dating of the tablet as well as an analysis of the tablet’s text, which mentions the visibility of the planet Mars during the eclipse. [Mesopotamian](http://www.livescience.com/19153-ancient-settlements-satellites-surveys.html) historians in Ugarit, a port city in Northern Syria, recount that the sun was “put to shame” during this total eclipse. ## Assyrian eclipse ![4-ashur-iraq-city.jpg ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/86bdf4b0-5c5b-4d83-b8c0-add7df8a79e3/thumbnail/620x414/ce91c91197ddc18ea8ea432c89841aac/4-ashur-iraq-city.jpg) U.S. Army photo via Live Science In 763 B.C., the [Assyrian empire](http://www.livescience.com/15486-3000-year-lion-statue-gate.html), which occupied what is now Iraq, the sun was completely eclipsed for 5 minutes. Early records from the period mention the eclipse in the same passage as an insurrection in the city of Ashur, now known as Qal’at Sherqat (shown in the image) in Iraq, suggesting that the ancient people linked the two in their minds. ## Early Chinese eclipse ![5-solar-eclipse-china-2012.jpg ](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/89c6b6e9-7a0e-477b-8e43-9878d689a2d4/thumbnail/620x411/05da9803ea842b9360ed7eef39c0905c/5-solar-eclipse-china-2012.jpg) Ed Lemery/Shutterstock.com via Live Science In 1302 B.C., Chinese historians documented an epic total eclipse that blocked out the sun for 6 minutes and 25 seconds. Because the sun was a symbol of the emperor, an eclipse was seen as a warning to the leader. After an eclipse, an emperor would eat vegetarian meals and perform rituals to rescue the sun, according to a 2003 study in the [Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2003JAHH....6...53L). \[[Fiery Folklore: 5 Dazzling Sun Myths](http://www.livescience.com/23028-fiery-folklore-5-dazzling-sun-myths.html)\] Kevin D. Pang, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and colleagues analyzed inscriptions on ancient turtle shell fragments (called oracle bones) to figure out the date of the eclipse — June 5, 1302 B.C. Part of the inscription reads: “Diviner Ko asks if the following day would be sunny or not,” [according to a NASA press release](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/80s/release_1989_1245.html). On the reverse side of the fragment, the inscription continued “... 52nd day, fog until next dawn. Three flames ate the Sun, and big stars were seen.” Pang interpreted “three flames” as “coronal streamers licking out from the Sun’s surface, visible only during total eclipses,” according to the NASA statement. During the solar eclipse, as the moon’s shadow covered the sun, “big stars” would be visible to Earthlings during the day. Shown here: A total solar eclipse seen from Xiamen, China, on May 20, 2012. ## Crucifixion of Jesus ![6-crucifixion-120405.jpg ](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/34708e91-e02b-406b-a2ac-2630a0c51dd4/thumbnail/620x583/078f4cbff4bcc4220b26f346a18fd071/6-crucifixion-120405.jpg) Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience The Christian gospels say that the sky was darkened for hours after the crucifixion of [Jesus](http://www.livescience.com/3482-jesus-man.html), which historians viewed either as a miracle or a portent of dark times to come. Later historians used astronomy to pinpoint the death of Christ based on this eclipse mention. Some historians tie the crucifixion to a [total solar eclipse](http://www.space.com/15584-solar-eclipses.html) lasting 1 minute and 59 seconds that occurred in the year 29 C.E.; others say a second total eclipse, blocking the sun for 4 minutes and 6 seconds, in 33 C.E., marked Jesus’ death. ## The birth of Mohammed ![6-ulugh-beg-observatory.jpg ](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/89a402a3-9a27-4149-ac61-d11f5d0f840b/thumbnail/620x461/4b71525ba2ee416e0bbf9b4caa994421/6-ulugh-beg-observatory.jpg) emkaplin/Shutterstock.com via Live Science The Koran mentions an eclipse that preceded the birth of Mohammed. Historians later tied this to a total eclipse that lasted 3 minutes and 17 seconds in 569 C.E. The sun also disappeared for 1 minute and 40 seconds after the death of Mohammed’s son Ibrahim. But the world’s first Muslims didn’t believe that eclipse was a sign from God. Instead, according to Islamic texts called the Hadiths, Mohammed proclaimed “the sun and the moon do not suffer eclipse for any one’s death or life.” Shown here: The Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which was built in the 1420s, is considered one of the great observatories in the Islamic world. ## King Henry's eclipse ![7-reading-abbey.jpg ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/77263451-99c3-4554-a797-14b0720680c2/thumbnail/620x349/98621ece866498259f01625f7b3d4828/7-reading-abbey.jpg) Neil Thompson, Flickr via Live Science When King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror, died in A.D. 1133, the event coincided with a total solar eclipse that lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. In the manuscript “[Historia Novella](https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-FF-00001-00025-00003/1),” William of Malmesbury recounts that the “hideous darkness” agitated the hearts of men. After the death, a struggle for the throne threw the kingdom into chaos and civil war. In the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,” a passage also recounts this eclipse: “In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died on the following day after St Andrew’s Mass-day, Dec 2 in Normandy,” [according to a NASA statement](https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEhistory.html#1133). Shown [here](https://www.flickr.com/photos/williamsdb/): The ruins of Reading Abbey, where King Henry I was interred. ## Einstein's eclipse ![8-total-solar-eclipse-1919.jpg ](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/14/8222e87e-2983-46f5-b6c7-b186a9774947/thumbnail/620x599/6d053137680f9060593dbe8d759c20d3/8-total-solar-eclipse-1919.jpg) Public Domain via Live Science While the ancients viewed eclipses as signs of great acts of God, physicists viewed the 1919 solar eclipse (shown here) as a triumph of science. During 1919’s epic eclipse, in which the sun vanished for 6 minutes and 51 seconds, scientists measured the bending of light from the stars as they passed near the sun. The findings confirmed [Einstein’s theory of general relativity](http://www.livescience.com/16270-general-relativity-gravitational-redshift-galaxies.html), which describes gravity as a warping of space-time. By Tia Ghose / Originally published on [Live Science](http://www.livescience.com/57865-famous-solar-eclipses.html)
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