.TOTAL SOLAR eclipses possess dazzled people considering that time out of mind. The initial record of one, maintained on a clay-based tablet discovered at Ugarit, now in Syria, is actually believed from its age and place to explain either an eclipse that took place in 1375BC or one in 1223BC. Legendary explanations for eclipses include the Sun being eaten through pets, toads or even monsters. The truth is actually more prosaic. Eclipses are brought on by the Moon relocating between Sun and also The planet in a manner that casts a darkness on aspect of Earth's surface. Why are total ones, like the one crossing portion of The United States and Canada on April 8th, therefore rare?