Here's why the Moon disappeared for months on end

Since humans could document anything, we have been recording the relationship between the Earth, the sun, and the moon.

The documentation of the Earth, the sun, and the moon goes back thousands of years and is present cross-culturally. However, there are gaps in our recorded history, with one gap standing out - the May of 1110, when the moon disappeared from view for an entire month. With little knowledge of the phenomenon, researchers set out to uncover the mystery, with one study published in 2020 providing an updated theory on its disappearance.

According to the study, the moon disappearing from the night sky was a result of the Hekla volcanic eruption that occurred in 1110. However, this theory was wholly completed as researchers sifted through numerous medieval documentation for references to a "dark lunar eclipse" or "black eclipse". Scientists concluded that it wasn't just the Helka eruption that blotted out the sun but a string of volcanic eruptions that happened in various locations.

Honshu's Mount Asama erupted in August 1108 until October of the same year and was described as "several major volcanic events" that caused "stratospheric aerosol loading sufficient to induce" a dark eclipse.