Eclipses of the Sun and of the Moon have been described by nearly every culture. In cultures without an astronomical explanation, eclipses were often attributed to supernatural causes or regarded as b
Astronomers Studying an Eclipse, Antoine Caron, 1571
French Jesuits observing an eclipse with King Narai and his court in April 1688, shortly before the Siamese revolution
An illustration from al-Biruni's astronomical works that explains the different phases of the moon, with respect to the position of the Sun.
Rahu swallows the Sun, referred to as Rahukalam
Antikythera mechanism
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The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek hand-powered orrery built in the 2nd century BC and discovered in 1901. It is the oldest known example of an analogue computer. It could be used to predic
Eclipses in mythology and culture
…astronomers in the sixth century BCE, and the periodicity of solar eclipses was deduced in first century BCE by Greek astronomers, who developed the Antikythera mechanism and had understood the Sun, Moon, and Earth to be spherical celestial bodies since Aristotle. The astronomical understanding of eclipses was thus well…
Derek J. de Solla Price (1922–1983) with a model of the Antikythera mechanism
Computer-generated front panel of the Freeth model
Front panel of a 2007 re-creation
Computer-generated back panel