Annular solar eclipse, a celestial occurrence when the sun is almost completely covered by the shadow of the moon. It is also called as the 'ring of fire' as it appears resulting into a very thin ring around the shadow. The annular solar eclipse of 2020 will take place on June 21, which is also a date for doomsday according to some conspiracy theorists. But this is not the first time, a solar eclipse has been associated with the end of the world. In general, the phenomenon of eclipses has a lot of myths and superstitious beliefs around them which point that eclipses are bad. They are symbolic of fights in some and often linked with doomsday or end of the world theories, from years together. Ahead of the solar eclipse of 2020, let us look about the popular old myths and superstitions. Solar Eclipse 2020 Date, Time & Other FAQs: From ‘What Is an Annular Solar Eclipse?’ to ‘Can We Sleep During Surya Grahan’ Most Asked Questions on June 21 Celestial Event Answered.

Ancient fears: The fears of solar eclipse date back to the 7th century BC. A total solar eclipse at a Greek island of Paros was mentioned by a poet as "For Zeus, the father of the Olympian, has turned midday into black night by shielding light from the blossoming Sun, and now dark terror hangs over mankind. Anything may happen." At that time, even the mechanism of an eclipse wasn't clearly researched or understood.

Eclipses Were Fights in Sky: Majority of people also associated any kind of eclipse as fight among the sun and moon. For a solar eclipse, there's a belief that the moon eats up the sun. In parts of Asia and China, there was a belief that a dragon was devouring the sun.

Biblical References: In the medieval Christian era, people referred to eclipse as the sign of the end of the world. The Book of Revelation has a mention of the sun turning black and moon becoming red like blood. There is mention of a great earthquake. So for religious people, the solar eclipse has been a signal towards the end of the world. What Is Doomsday? Is the World End Date June 21, 2020 As per Julian Calendar? What Did the Mayan Calendar Predict? FAQs on End of the World Prediction Answered.

Sun Under Attack: As per the Farmer's Almanac, the native tribes thought of a solar eclipse as the sun being under attack. Tribes in  Chippewa and Peru shot flaming arrows in the sky to scare off the beast attacking the sun.

Solar Eclipse and Weather Change: Any dew or fog resulting after an eclipse is considered dangerous. Japanese people believed the drops could be poison. People in Transylvania believed that eclipses could cause plague.

These are some of the examples that show how the darkening of the sun has been always looked upon as a sign of danger from centuries. There have been eclipses every year since then, but there is no truth to these beliefs pointing to the end of the world. So we would urge our readers to not spread fear based on these ancient beliefs about eclipse causing an end of the world.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 17, 2020 01:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).