Conny Waters – MessageToEagle.com – Scientific curiosity and the search for knowledge can sometimes be dangerous. This is a lesson American astronomer and geographer George Davidson learned when he traveled with his research team to Klukwan, near Haines in southeast Alaska in 1869.
Ancient people have always been fascinated with solar eclipses, but the understating of this natural phenomenon has varied among civilizations.
Famous Greek philosopher and scientist Thales of Miletus (625 BC – 545 BC) who was recognized as one of the seven sages of ancient Greece was a brilliant astronomer who predicted an eclipse of the sun which occurred on 28 May 585 B.C.
Ancient civilizations found astronomical phenomena fascinating and many studied the Sun, Moon and other celestial objects regularly. Solar eclipses are often used as a fixed point to date events in the ancient world. Using a combination of a Biblical text and an ancient Egyptian text, scientists have been able to pinpoint the date when world’s oldest solar eclipse took place.
The event, which occurred on 30 October 1207 BC, is mentioned in the Bible and could have consequences for the chronology of the ancient world.
Ancient people studied solar eclipses regularly. Our ancestors were so impressed that some ancient solar eclipses re-wrote history. There were also moments when the darkness of the skies was seen as an omen or sign from God. Some ancient solar eclipses have stayed in the memory of people for generations.
Some civilizations found solar eclipses very frightening, and this fact saved George Davidson’s life.
Source: AncientPages.com – Read rest of the article here