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POPSEclipse-Watchers Worldwide Gear Up For Friday's Event Before there was a scientific explanation for eclipses, myth and mystery was pervasive. Many cultures thought a demon or dragon was devouring the sun. In ancient China, "any unusual phenomenon involving celestial bodies was noted for potential omens, either good or bad, that might befall the current Emperor," according to Sten Odenwald of the department of physics at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. The ancient Chinese banged pots and drums to shoo the frightful sun-eating character away. In India, people would immerse themselves in water to help the sun fight the dragon. Even nowadays many myths persist. In Egypt, as one example, children are often kept indoors with windows covered or shades drawn during an eclipse. Risk of eye injury Eclipses can indeed be dangerous
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POPSInvincible Sword Princess must... From a thread on methods a Sidereal might use to kill (or neutralise) an Invincible Sword Princess. The Gabrielle Emulation Technique is to pose as her bumbling comedy sidekick.
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POPSAstronomical Alignments of Ancient Structures Whether one accepts conventional science's view of "primitive" man as an ape or not, there are volumes of evidence that cannot be explained away; that the ancients were anything but knuckle dragging near-beasts.
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POPSJune 20, 2008: Summer Solstice (Northern Hemisphere) Summer Solstice Fun Facts * Pagans called the Midsummer moon the "Honey Moon" for the mead made from fermented honey that was part of wedding ceremonies performed at the Summer Solstice. * Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires, when couples would leap through the flames, believing their crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump. * Midsummer was thought to be a time of magic, when evil spirits were said to appear. To thwart them, Pagans often wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers. One of the most powerful of them was a plant called 'chase-devil', which is known today as St. John's Wort and still used by modern herbalists as a mood stabilizer. Celebrated in the Southern Hemisphere on: December 21, 2008 at 10:04pm AEST.
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POPSJune's Young Crescent Moon - Astronomy Picture of the Day The revolution of the Moon around the Earth makes the Moon appear as if it is changing shape in the sky. This is caused by the different angles from which we see the bright part of the Moon's surface. These are called "phases" of the Moon. Of course, the Moon doesn't generate any light itself; it just reflects the light of the Sun. The Moon passes through four major shapes during a cycle that repeats itself every 29.5 days. The phases always follow one another in the same orde
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