Winter Solstice + Lunar Eclipse Tonight--First in 372 Years
When, where, and how to see the total lunar eclipse tonight.
Excerpt from the article…
Lunar Eclipses: Omens in the Sky?
While there are no known historical records of solstice eclipses, lunar eclipses in general have long been sources of mystery and spectacle—and not necessarily in a good way.
Ancient documents from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East are full of references connecting eclipses with subsequent dark events, such as a famine or the death of a monarch.
In many traditional cultures, a total lunar eclipse occurs not when the moon enters Earth's shadow but when a mythological creature swallows the satellite, according to ancient-astronomy scholar Ed Krupp.
"For the Chinese, it was the heavenly dog, and across central Asia and Europe, it was a dragon," said Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. "The Maya sometimes depicted the eclipse creature as a serpent, while in the Andes, it was often a puma."
In Iraq lunar eclipses are associated with a popular children's story of a moon that is eaten by a whale.
"For most people, most of the time, most eclipses were trouble," Krupp added. "They were regarded as disruptions of the world order, and that made them dangerous."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for reading this blog post. Sharing is good if it is kind and either has questions or tells about an experience.
Blessings,
Judy