{
  "id": 15888298,
  "title": "Were Two Ancient Chinese Astronomers Beheaded for Failing to Predict an Eclipse in 2134 B.C.E.? The Story May Be a Myth, but It Underscores the Real Risks of Interpreting Celestial Events",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/were-two-ancient-chinese-astronomers-beheaded-for-failing-to-predict",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-21T11:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Smithsonian",
    "slug": "smithsonian",
    "url": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/were-two-chinese-astronomers-were-beheaded-for-failing-to-predict-an-eclipse-2134-bce-the-story-may-be-a-myth-but-it-underscores-the-real-risks-of-interpreting-celestial-events-180989715/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Experts say that an oft-circulated anecdote about two royal astronomers drunkenly failing to foresee an eclipse thousands of years ago contains hints of truth",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}