The secret of the night the moon disappeared completely from the sky in 1110

Laila Ali

Scientists from the University of Geneva in Switzerland reached the reason behind the strange phenomenon that has puzzled astronomers for a thousand years, which is the disappearance of the moon completely from the sky in 1110, unlike any other lunar eclipse, when the moon's plan remains a little visible.

Although this event was well known in the history of astronomy, researchers have never thought that it might have been caused by the presence of volcanic aerosols, which is the most likely cause.

This is indicated by the new study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports on April 21, when researchers believe that they were able to finally solve the mystery, by analyzing the ice cores, which are samples taken from the depths of the plates or glaciers.

The lunar eclipse
, through analysis of icy cores as well as tree rings, found that the year 1109 was much cooler than 1108, indicating a thin layer of aerosols or suspended particles in the atmosphere. 

A series of volcanic eruptions around the world had pumped dust and sulfur into the atmosphere in the years before the moon's fading phenomenon, and the team explains that this is probably the reason why the moon was invisible during an eclipse of the moon in 1110.

The eclipse had occurred in May 1110, and had been recorded by the writer of the Peterborough Chronicle, the Anglo-Saxon factsheet during the Norman occupation of the British Isles.

The clerk of the facts talks about the exceptional darkness of the moon saying, "On the fifth night of May the moon appeared shining brightly in the evening, and soon after that, its light diminished, and as soon as night fell, it was completely extinguished, so that no light, no orb, or anything on Launch. "

Centuries later, the English astronomer George Frederick Chambers wrote of it, saying, "It is clear that this eclipse was like a black eclipse when the moon became completely invisible rather than shining with a familiar copper color."

Mount Asama
Scientists have tried to determine the volcano responsible for the sulfur cloud that led to the disappearance of Moon 1110, by collecting a number of evidence.

While it is impossible to know with certainty, the research team believes that it is more likely that it is the Japanese "Mount Asama" volcano, which produced a giant eruption that lasted months in 1108, and was much larger than a subsequent eruption in 1783 in which it killed more than 1400 people.

As stated in the notes of a statesman (Japan) in the year 1108 that "there was fire at the top of the volcano, and everywhere the rice fields became unfit for cultivation. We have never seen this in the country. This is strange and rare."

Other historical documents, especially calculations of climate and societal impacts in the years 1109-1111 CE, confirm the hypothesis that the eruption of 1108 or the series of eruptions that began in that year has led to catastrophic effects on the affected communities.

The researchers found "an abundance of testimonies indicating bad weather, crop failure, and famine in these years," stressing that "the evidence gathered indicates that the difficulties that began in 1109 deepened starvation in several regions of Western Europe."

For a long period of time, these difficulties were not considered the result of a volcanic eruption, but researchers say that all evidence points to a "forgotten" set of volcanic eruptions in 1108 to 1110 caused terrible consequences for humanity, "we are only rediscovering it now." It was also the cause of the disappearance of Moon 1110.

The researchers wrote in the study that a unique medieval note about the "dark" total lunar eclipse attests to dust over Europe in May 1110, which confirmed the results of the revised chronology of the ice cores.

Moreover, careful evaluation of records of ice cores indicates that several convergent volcanic eruptions occurred between 1108 and 1110 CE.