There is due to be an eclipse in North America tomorrow and some strange things are being written by people about it.  Anyone would think it had never happened before, when it’s a regular astronomical phenomenon.

We’ve had a couple in the UK over the last few decades and nothing bad happened, no ending of the world, no real catastrophes (except maybe Brexit!).

But humans are good at seeing portents. They tie religion to events and make up stories to fit the events. Centuries ago we could not predict the occurrence of eclipses and thought that things like dragons were swallowing the sun.

Some tips for viewing eclipses:

I viewed an eclipse in the UK in the 1990s by looking at its reflection in my car window as I had no viewing goggles. You can also see its reflection in water. And if you make a small hole in card or paper you can see multiple crescent moon shaped patterns on the surface it’s projected onto. (explanations of how to do this can be found on the net,) Remember DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN! Even approaching totality when the moon is covering the majority of the sun you can damage your sight. You can be blinded by the light from the sun including ultraviolet light that can burn your retina without you feeling it.