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Women offer prayers to the Sun God as they congregate on the banks of the River Ganges during solar eclipse in Varanasi, India, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century pitched a swath of Asia from India to China into near darkness Wednesday as millions gathered to watch the phenomenon. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) |
In Hindu and Buddhist cultures, solar eclipses are the result of the celestial dragon swallowing the sun. Today’s July 21, 2009 solar eclipse saw Asian citizens and religious devotees follow many traditions and ceremonial preparations to ward off evil effects from the eclipse. Prayers, offerings, and bathing in purification rituals were just some of the practices seen by Asia’s religious devotees. Others, fearing that something dreadful would occur, stayed behind closed doors, and didn’t venture out to see the longest solar eclipse of the century
While many in Asia still believe that solar eclipses are the result of Rahu, or the celestial dragon swallowing the sun, science presents a different reason. Solar eclipses happen when the moon is at its new moon phase and passes directly between earth and the sun. The moon doesn’t create light, it only reflects light that is aimed at it by the sun. It is the moon’s shadow that causes the darkness to descend upon earth during times of a solar eclipse.
When the moon passes between the earth and sun, the moon’s shadow falls upon earth, causing temporary darkness. Though many believe there is religious significance behind the occurrence, science shows that the sun is not in danger of being swallowed by a dragon.
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