Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Solar Eclipse

Our fascination with the moon continues this month with the solar eclipse that takes place tomorrow. I found some great sites to learn about the eclipse and some fascinating legends associated with a solar eclipse.



The Facts!
Solar Eclipses for Beginners- this is a fantastic site, with great illustrations, explaining how a solar eclipse works.


The Legends!
Something Is Eating the Moon and Sun! (From the Old Farmer's Almanac)
Before people understood the science of eclipses, myths and legends were rampant. Here are a few:

• Ancient Egyptians believed that a mythical pig swallowed the Moon.


• According to Mayan folklore, a jaguar swallowed the Moon.
• Today, in the Arctic, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Tlingits believe that an eclipse allows the Moon or Sun to leave the sky to see that things are all right on Earth.

Science-v-Superstition!
The Sun Eating Dragon and Other Ways to Think About an Eclipse-We LOVE this site, great thought provoking stories! The site quotes literature, science and legends of the solar eclipse, then leaves you this question, "What power does knowledge have over terror? Does knowing how something works diminish its beauty and mystery? Or is the beauty of the world deepened by understanding the things we see? As you watch the total solar eclipse along with us and learn more about eclipses, ask yourself how your perception of this unique event is affected by the things you're learning. "


Moon WIP


Enjoy!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such great sites! Thanks :-) We're hoping to catch it here! Loving your WIP!!

Pussnae said...

Thanks for the great links!

gardenmama said...

The moon has certainly been a point of interest lately for us to, so lovely to see your links! Your WIP is looking great, love the craters : )

Tan Family said...

Thank you for the info.! Eclipses are so interesting.

The Magic Onions said...

Yes! I was right :-D It's the man in the moon! And thanks for letting us know about the eclipse tomorrow... I wouldn't have known.
Blessings and magic.

Dogwood said...

Jill from Mindfully Simple had a blog about you blog. Oh my gosh, you are the greatest mom to those precious children. As a 66 year old, I am going to stop by your blog often to continue my education. Thank you...Cory Dogwood

Nicola said...

ack! i had no idea there will be a solar eclipse! thank you thank you for blogging about it!
nicola
http://whichname.blogspot.com

Shady Lady said...

Love the site recs! I'll have to keep this in mind when we get to learning about the moon again. We started, but took a break for the month LK was off. Now we're learning about butterflies, bees and spiders thanks to an awesome book from Costco.

dawn klinge said...

I really like the look of your moon work in progress! Thanks for sharing the great links.

Tara said...

Thanks for the heads up on this... and for all the great links!

Owen keeps saying he would like to be the first person to colonize the moon or perhaps Mars :)

Stephanie said...

We'll check it out too!