SAN ANTONIO – The total solar eclipse is about to slice through the U.S. and captivate millions as the day turns dark. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event — and it’s passing right through the Hill Country and parts of South Texas on Monday, April 8.
A total solar eclipse is when the moon lines up perfectly between the sun and Earth, making it safe enough for people in the path of totality to remove eye protection and stare at the blotted star (**ONLY during totality**).
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Because the moon will be closer to Earth (223,000 miles away) on April 8, the moon will appear slightly larger, meaning the eclipse will last even longer than the one in 2017. Many surrounding cities will even see totality for more than four minutes.
It’s a rare spectacle. The contiguous U.S. won’t experience a total solar eclipse again until 2044, and then in 2045. Only the 2045 path touches Texas, and even then it’s just a corner of the Panhandle.
The cosmic sensation can be explained by pure science and mathematics based on decades of research, but it wasn’t always that way. In ancient times, many cultures believed an eclipse hung on a paranormal or mythical factor.
Ancient Chinese people believed solar eclipses occurred when celestial dragons devoured the sun, and lunar eclipses happened when dragons attacked the moon.
In Incan culture, people believed solar eclipses were a sign of displeasure from the sun god Inti. For the Choctaw Nation, tribes believed the mischievous Fvni Lusa, the “Black Squirrel,” would get hungry and eat the sun, causing the eclipse.
Cultures have told this type of folklore for generations, but NASA says some ideas are “remarkably resistant” to science and live on in today’s world.
Here’s a look at some of those myths, superstitions and misconceptions, based on NASA’s blog from the 2017 eclipse.
Can an eclipse harm pregnant women?
No, an eclipse will not harm pregnant women or their fetuses.
NASA said that myth stems from a false idea that the sun emits harmful radiation during an eclipse.
“Although the electromagnetic radiation from the corona, seen as light, is perfectly safe, there is another form of radiation that travels to Earth from the sun,” NASA states. “Deep in the solar interior where nuclear fusion takes place to light the sun, particles called neutrinos are born, and zip unimpeded out of the sun and into space.”
Every person is pelted by trillions of neutrinos, whether night or day, and they are harmless, NASA said.
Do pregnant women really need to wear safety pins?
In some cultures, especially Hispanic communities, there is a belief that babies could be born with facial defects due to a change in the atmosphere.
The superstition is that pregnant women should stay inside and take precautions because the sun’s magnetic field could suck or eat away the lip area of the fetus.
Pregnant women are told to wear red undergarments or red ribbons and place safety pins (or some type of metal) on their bellies to protect themselves. In some cultures, pregnant women are told to lie flat on the floor and not move during the eclipse, or keep something metallic, like scissors, underneath a pillow or bed.
According to NASA and Space.com, there has been no evidence that shows an eclipse can harm a pregnant woman or her unborn baby or cause birth defects.
Can an eclipse signal bad health?
A common belief is that a solar eclipse can indicate bad health if your birthday lands six months before or six months after the solar event.
According to NASA, this is “only supported by confirmation bias.”
“There is no physical relationship between a total solar eclipse and your health, any more than there is a relationship between your health and a new moon,” NASA says.
Is it safe to prepare food during the event?
One myth is that solar rays will poison food that’s prepared during the eclipse. Just like the superstition involving pregnant women, this belief is also false.
NASA said if a solar eclipse had harmful radiation that poisoned food in preparation, then food in pantries, stores and crops would also turn bad.
“The basic idea is that total solar eclipses are terrifying and their ghostly green coronae look frightening, so it is natural to want to make up fearful stories about them and look for coincidences among events around you,” NASA said.
Can total solar eclipses cause blindness?
If you’re in the path of totality, you can look directly toward the sun without protection ONLY DURING THE MOMENTS OF TOTALITY because the moon will completely block the sun out. You will be able to see the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which emits electromagnetic radiation.
That radiation will not cause blindness because, according to NASA, it is a million times fainter than the light from the sun.
However, it is unsafe to view the sun at all other times without protective eyewear. Even when 99% of the sun’s surface is obscured, the remaining sun is still intense enough to cause retinal burn, experts say.
Before you buy a pair of eclipse-viewing glasses, make sure you check the safety authenticity to ensure the glasses meet the basic proper viewing standards that NASA recommends on its website.
Eclipse glasses and hand-held solar viewers should meet all the following criteria:
- Have certification information with a designated ISO 12312-2 international standard.
- Have the manufacturer’s name and address printed somewhere on the product.
- Not be used if they are more than three years old, or have scratched or wrinkled lenses.
- Viewers of the eclipse should not use homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses — not even very dark ones — because they are not safe for looking directly at the sun.