The year is 2134 B.C.

You live in a village in ancient China. There are no computers, cars, or electric lights. It would be several thousand years before those are invented. There are no books, newspapers, or even schools. Most people spend their days farming.

You rise with the sun and head to the fields to help your family gather rice. Suddenly, the sky goes dark. The bright yellow sun dims to a faint circle. An eerie shadow covers everything around you. People start to panic. Someone shouts: “A dragon is swallowing the sun!” Is this the end of the world?

The year is 2134 B.C.

You live in a village. It’s in ancient China. There are no computers, cars, or electric lights. They won’t be invented for several thousand years. There are no books, newspapers, or even schools. Most people spend their days farming.

You rise with the sun. You head to the fields. You help your family gather rice. Suddenly, the sky goes dark. The bright yellow sun dims. It becomes a faint circle. An eerie shadow covers everything around you. People start to panic. Someone shouts, “A dragon is swallowing the sun!” Is this the end of the world?

Today we know what happened that morning in 2134 B.C.  The world wasn’t really ending. The darkness that day was natural. It was caused by the location of Earth and the moon in space. 

You may feel like you’re sitting still. But you, Earth, and everything on it are in motion. Earth orbits, or circles, the sun. And the moon orbits Earth.

Sometimes the moon passes between Earth and the sun. It ends up in just the right position. This can happen during the day. Then the moon will block the sun’s light. Scientists call this event a solar eclipse (see What’s a Solar Eclipse?).

There are different types of solar eclipses. The moon may cover only part of the sun. This is called a partial eclipse. Sometimes, the moon blocks the center of the sun. This creates an annular eclipse.

A special solar eclipse happens every year and a half. It’s called a total solar eclipse. The moon totally covers the sun. It can be the middle of the day. But it will look as if it’s night! The eclipse can be seen only from some parts of Earth. And it can last up to seven minutes.

This is what was happening that day in ancient China. The darkness your village was experiencing was a total solar eclipse. But people back then didn’t know about solar eclipses. To them, the sun’s disappearance was an utterly terrifying mystery! So they made up a story to explain what was happening. 

Humans have long created stories to explain the world around them. These stories are called myths.  

In your village, people truly believed a dragon was swallowing the sun. Your fellow villagers made as much noise as possible to scare the dragon away. You and your family clanged tools together and yelled at the sky. Your friends and neighbors pounded on pots or banged drums. When the sun reappeared minutes later, you breathed a sigh of relief. The dragon had flown off—and your village was safe once again.  

This is what was happening that day in ancient China. The darkness your village saw was a total solar eclipse. But people back then didn’t know about solar eclipses. To them, the sun had vanished. It was a terrifying mystery! So they made up a story to explain what was happening.

Humans have long created stories. They help explain the world. These stories are called myths.

People truly thought a dragon swallowed the sun in your village. Your fellow villagers made as much noise as possible. They hoped to scare the dragon away. You and your family clanged tools together. You yelled at the sky. Your friends and neighbors pounded on pots or banged drums. Then the sun reappeared. You breathed a sigh of relief. The dragon had flown off. Your village was safe again.

Your culture wasn’t the only one that created myths to explain solar eclipses. In ancient Egypt, people thought a giant demon snake was trying to eat the sun! The snake was attacking Ra, the sun god who was considered to be the actual sun itself. When the sun came back into sight, it meant that Ra had escaped. 

Other cultures believed eclipses meant their gods were angry. They thought gods made the sun vanish to punish them. The only way to win back the gods’ favor was by offering the gods food,

Your culture wasn’t the only one with a myth to explain solar eclipses. Ancient Egypt had one too. People thought a giant demon snake was trying to eat the sun! The snake was attacking Ra. The god was thought to be the actual sun itself. The sun came back into view. That meant Ra had escaped.

Other cultures thought eclipses meant their gods were angry. They thought the gods made the sun vanish. It was to punish them. There was only one way to win back the gods’ favor. People gave the gods food, valuables, or humans. GULP!

We now know eclipses aren’t a sign of doom. In fact, many people celebrate them! Many cities in the U.S. host festivals. 

But solar eclipses are about more than just having fun. Scientists use the events to learn about the sun. A total solar eclipse gives them a rare opportunity. It gives them a chance to view the sun’s corona. It’s the sun’s wispy outer layer. Usually, the sun is too bright to see the corona. Even special devices can’t detect it. But that’s not the case during an eclipse. The moon blocks the brightest part of the sun. Then scientists can study the corona. 

Lucky for us, two solar eclipses are happening soon. One will occur this fall. Another will occur in the spring (see Paths of Solar Eclipses). On October 14, 2023, an annular solar eclipse will create a shadow. It will move from Oregon to Texas. A total solar eclipse will happen on April 8, 2024. It can be seen from Texas to Maine. Some people in the U.S. will get to see the sun totally vanish.

NASA has five experiments planned for the 2024 total solar eclipse. Two of these will focus on studying the sun’s corona. Scientists hope to learn important information about its structure and temperature.

If you live in the path of either solar eclipse, you might be tempted to look up at the sun. After all, the sun will be partially or fully covered. So it should be safe to look at, right?

Not so fast! 

Looking directly at the sun always harms human eyes. During any solar eclipse, a sliver of sun still peeks out around the edge of the moon. Even that tiny amount of direct sunlight can burn your eyes. The damage can happen in seconds.

What should you do if you live in the path of either solar eclipse? You might want to look up at the sun. After all, it will be partially or fully covered. So it should be safe to look at, right?

Not so fast!

Looking at the sun always harms human eyes. A sliver of sun may peek around the edge of the moon during any solar eclipse. Even that tiny amount of direct sunlight can burn your eyes. The damage can happen in seconds.

But don’t worry! There are a few ways to safely watch an eclipse. Engineers have created  special types of glasses that you can buy. They have filters to stop the sun’s harmful rays from reaching your eyes. Another option is to make a safe viewing device called a pinhole projector out of materials like foil, construction paper, and cardboard.   

So this fall or next spring, pop on your special specs or peek into your projector. Then you can safely sit back, relax, and enjoy the show in the sky. You now know why this spectacular event is happening and that the sun will return every time. 

But don’t worry! There are ways to safely watch an eclipse. Engineers have created special glasses you can buy. They have filters. They stop the sun’s harmful rays from reaching your eyes. Another option is to make a safe viewing device. It’s called a pinhole projector. You’ll need materials like foil, construction paper, and cardboard.

So get ready for this fall’s or next spring’s eclipse. Pop on your special specs. Or peek into your projector. Then you can safely enjoy the show in the sky. You now know why this amazing event is happening. And you know the sun will return every time.