In the beginnings of science, astronomers studied the motion of the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars. They discovered patterns in the motion of these objects. But since the heavens were the abode of the gods, when something unusual happened in the sky, it seemed to presage something momentous or even terrible on Earth. Here are some of those celestial omens.
May 28, 585 BCE: Day Becomes Night
The Greek historian Herodotus mentions that in a battle during a five-year war between the Lydians and the Medes, “suddenly day became night” (translated by David Grene). The astronomer Thales had already predicted that an eclipse was to happen that year, and he so informed the people of the Ionian Islands. The Lydians and the Medes, however, had no such knowledge and, “when they saw night instead of day before their eyes, gave over the fight.”
Spring 1066 CE: Halley’s Comet Dictates English Politics
On January 5, 1066, Edward the Confessor, king of England, died. He had named Harold Godwineson as his successor. However, in 1051 he had most likely promised the throne to William, duke of Normandy. Harold’s brother Tostig and Harald III Hardraade, king of Norway, also coveted England’s throne. In the spring, while English politics was in turmoil, Halley’s Comet appeared. Later that year, Harold defeated the combined forces of Tostig and Harald on September 25 at Stamford Bridge but was beaten in turn by William at the Battle of Hastings in October. William’s successful invasion became known as the Norman Conquest and was commemorated in a 70-meter- (230-foot-) long embroidery known as the Bayeux Tapestry. One scene shows the comet as an omen. Halley’s Comet flies through the sky over concerned onlookers and a nervous Harold, with the caption “Isti mirant stella” (Latin: “They marvel at the star”).
August 2, 1133: King Henry’s Eclipse
This total solar eclipse was seen in London and was recorded by contemporary chronicles. William of Malmesbury said that “the sun on that day, at the sixth hour, shrouded his glorious face, as the poets say, in hideous darkness, agitating the hearts of men by an eclipse.” About this time, King Henry I of England left for Normandy, which he also ruled. He died there in 1135, having never returned to England. William saw the eclipse as a presage of the king’s death, saying “The providence of God, at that time, bore reference in a wonderful manner to human affairs: for instance, that he should embark, never to return alive.”
February 29, 1504: Columbus’s Bloody Moon
On his fourth voyage, Christopher Columbus and his crew were marooned on the shores of Jamaica in 1503. The indigenous people were hospitable to Columbus and his crew, but they tired of the sailors’ stealing from them. After several months of thievery, the native Jamaicans told Columbus there would be no more food. Columbus had with him a book of astronomical tables that predicted a lunar eclipse for February. He called a meeting with the leader of the indigenous people and told them that Columbus’s God was angry with him and unless he treated Columbus and his crew better, the moon would rise red as blood. The eclipse happened exactly as Columbus predicted. The indigenous people pleaded with Columbus to restore the moon. He said he would intercede with God. The eclipse passed, and the supplies resumed.
1456: Calixtus III and Halley’s Comet
An urban legend of science history has been that Pope Calixtus III excommunicated Halley’s Comet to counter its baleful influence on the outcome of the siege of Belgrade (July 4–22, 1456), which was encircled by the forces of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. In actuality, Halley’s Comet was prominent in Rome’s skies in June. On June 29 the pope ordered in a bull that loud bells should be rung three times in the afternoon and that on the first Sunday of each month there should be general processions and sermons about the cruelty of the Turks. On July 4 the Turks began their siege, and the comet disappeared from view on July 8. The Turks were defeated on July 22, and the news reached Rome on August 6. Platina (1421–81), in his Lives of the Popes, said that Calixtus ordered the processions “to avert the wrath of God” presaged by the comet. However, the bull did not mention the comet, and no one writing in 1456 considered the bull and the comet connected. Platina’s error was compounded by later scientists, such as the 18th-century astronomer Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace, who said that Calixtus “exorcised the comet,” and François Arago, who first mentioned excommunication, in 1832.
1006: The Good Supernova
In late April–early May 1006, a supernova appeared in the constellation of Lupus. It was about as bright as a crescent moon and was recorded from Switzerland to Egypt and even possibly by the Hohokam of Arizona. In China some interpreted it as ominous. However, one astronomer, Zhou Keming, put the opposite spin on the situation. He told the emperor it was an “auspicious star” and “would bring great prosperity.” Zhou asked the emperor to command his officials “to celebrate the occasion to calm the people.” The celebrations were a success, and Zhou was promoted to librarian and escort of the crown prince.
May 22, 1453: Lunar Eclipse Eclipses Constantinople
In April 1453 the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II laid siege to Constantinople, the capital of the ailing Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman forces vastly outnumbered the Byzantines and brought to bear a large naval armada, more than 100,000 troops, and a cannon that fired stones weighing more than half a ton. On May 22, 1453, when the moon rose, it was in eclipse. That the moon rose in its crescent phase, the symbol of Islam, was seen as a sign of doom in the city. Constantinople fell one week later.
August 28, 413 BCE: Lunar Eclipse Dooms Athenian Forces
In 415 BCE, Athens sent a huge expedition to Sicily to aid its ally, the city of Segesta, against its enemies—most notably the city of Syracuse, which Athens feared could come to the aid of its main enemy, Sparta. Despite some early victories, the Athenians were unable to overcome the Syracusan advantage in cavalry. By 413 Sparta had come to the aid of Syracuse, and the only choice for the Athenians was to leave the island. However, just as they were about to depart on August 28, 413, a lunar eclipse happened. Nicias, the Athenian general, decided to delay the expedition’s departure the 27 days that the soothsayers recommended. The Spartan and Syracusan forces blockaded the Athenian fleet and annihilated it on September 9. The Athenians, now trapped on the island, were almost entirely destroyed. Seven thousand prisoners were captured and imprisoned in a quarry. A few prisoners were sold into slavery, and the rest were left to die.
January 27, 632 CE: The Sun Mourns Ibrahim
On January 27, 632, Ibrahim—the son of Muhammad, the founder of Islam—died. He was only about 18 months old. A partial solar eclipse also happened on that day. Many people saw the eclipse as a sign that had been caused by Ibrahim’s death. Muhammad, however, said that the Sun and the Moon were signs of God and do not eclipse for anyone’s death. He exhorted the people that when an eclipse happened, they were to pray until it ended.