Eclipse: A Divine Miracle

An eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon. The word ‘eclipse’ has been derived from the Greek word, ‘ekleipsis’. Different kinds of eclipses keep taking place in space, but generally only two events of these kinds of eclipses are referred to as eclipses. One is the solar eclipse and the other is the lunar eclipse. Generally, solar eclipse occurs, two or three times in a year, while the lunar eclipse occurs twice a year. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place. Solar and lunar eclipses take place in accordance with unchangeable astronomical laws, making it possible to predict them well in advance. For instance, the solar eclipse which took place on January 15, 2010 was predicted by astronomers long before its occurrence. What is an eclipse? An eclipse is, in astronomy, a partial, or complete obscuring of one celestial body by another, as viewed from a fixed point. Solar eclipse occurs when the sun’s rays are obstructed by the moon, which happens two or three times in a year. Lunar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the earth falls on the Moon. Such events at the most are seen two times in a year. In ancient times there were strange kinds of superstitious beliefs about eclipses. For instance, there were some who thought that there was a big dragon in the sky, which, when angry swallowed the moon, thus causing a lunar eclipse. Similarly, some believed that when some king or some great man died on this earth, the sun went dark in grief, causing a solar eclipse, etc. Superstitious notions of this kind were prevalent for thousands of years in different communities, until finally, the telescope was invented and Galileo, for the first time used it to observe the planetary system in 1609. Subsequently, the telescope was further improved and more extensive observations were made. Finally, it was learned that solar eclipses and lunar eclipses had nothing to do with superstitious notions. Wholly related to astronomical phenomena, they