ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Arthur Stanley Eddington

Arthur Stanley Eddington was a very smart man who was born a long time ago in England. He loved to study and learn about stars and the universe. He became a scientist called an astrophysicist, which meant he studied things like how stars shine and how they move in the sky.

One time, there was a really important event happening where the moon would go in front of the sun, which is called a solar eclipse. This was a big deal because it would prove one of the most important scientific theories of all time. The theory said that gravity from the sun could bend light, which is something we see with our eyes. But no one had ever been able to prove it before!

Eddington decided to go on a big adventure to a very far away place called Principe Island to try and see the solar eclipse. It was a really long trip and he had to bring a lot of special instruments and telescopes with him. But finally, the day of the eclipse arrived and he was ready to try and prove the theory.

During the eclipse, Eddington saw something amazing! He saw that the stars near the sun were not in the same place as they should have been. This meant that the light from those stars had been bent by the sun's gravity, and the theory was true! This was a huge discovery and made Eddington famous all over the world.

After that, Eddington kept studying and teaching about astrophysics for many years. He wrote many books and helped people understand more about the universe. Even though he was a really smart man, he always tried to explain things in a way that everyone could understand, even a five-year-old like you!