Equinox Phenomenon of the Solar Eclipse Through Time and Space

""A solar eclipse is set to darken the sky over Europe, as well as parts of Asia, North West Africa, and North America in the biggest eclipse since 1999. Expected to plunge some countries into 98 percent darkness, the event, which corresponds with the March equinox, will “skirt the south of Iceland, pass over the Faroe Islands and the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, and finish over the North Pole” this Friday, according to NASA.

This rare and spectacular astronomical alignment, when the Moon passes directly between the sun and the Earth and shadows the surface of the planet, has always given humanity pause. The event of midday twilight is said to even quiet birds. They stop singing, thinking night has somehow come. This significant occurrence was seen as so traumatic or ‘unnatural’ to humanity that since prehistoric times myths and legends have sprung up throughout cultures in attempts to explain the event, or protect against it. 

Solar eclipses were seen by the ancients as symbols or messages. The ancient Greeks believed they were portents, and warnings of disaster. Certainly a disruption of the established order was seen as frightening and a sign of doom, especially as so much depended on the movement of the sun, guiding beacon for many cultures. The sun or moon being devoured by supernatural entities was a common theme in myths and legends, and a way to explain their sudden and temporary disappearances. 

The Examiner writes it was believed in Vietnam that a solar eclipse was evidence the sun was being eaten by a giant frog. In Korea it was thought the sun disappeared due to attacks by gigantic hounds. Mythical fire dogs called Bulgae were bid by the lord of a dark realm to chase down and bite the sun and moon. The sun was too hot and the moon too cold to bite for long, and the injured dogs would return without their prize. According to the Serrano natives of California, “an eclipse is the spirits of the dead trying to eat the Sun or Moon. So during an eclipse, the shamans and ceremonial assistants sing and dance to appease the dead spirits while everyone else shouts to try and scare the spirits away,” writes StarrySkies.com. The Vikings explained that eclipses were the doing of sky wolves, or warg, which would chase and eat both the sun and moon.

National Geographic writes about a legend wherein Hindu demon Rahu attempted to sneak a taste of an elixir of immortality. The sun and moon told the god Vishnu about Rahu’s crime. Vishnu sliced off Rahu’s head as the demon was drinking, so Rahu’s head became immortal, but his body died. In rage and frustration, Rahu’s head continues to chase the sun and moon, occasionally swallowing them. Because he has no body, however, the moon and sun disappear only momentarily, and fall out the bottom of his head.""

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/ancient-myths-and-legends-served-explain-startling-phenomenon-solar-eclipse-002788

Hardware Entering Key Test Phase for the James Webb Space Telescope Flagship Program Project

James Webb Space Telescope 

hardware entering key test phase

January 7, 2015 by Chris Bergin

""An array of high tech instruments are being put through their paces ahead of becoming part of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The successor to the Hubble Space Telescope – JWST engineers are currently testing hardware to ensure it will be able to function properly 1.5 million miles from Earth. The spacecraft is preparing for a launch late in 2018.

JWST:

The JWST is one of NASA’s flagship programs and will be tasked with investigating the birth and evolution of galaxies, and the formation of stars and planets.

Set for launch in October, 2018 via an Ariane 5 launch vehicle, JWST will be the scientific successor to the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes.

See Also

• Robotic Mission Forum
• L2 Future Spacecraft
• Click here to Join L2

The hugely expensive project came close to cancellation in 2011, after the program suffered with schedule slips and budget overruns. With $3 billion already spent on the JWST program, along with 75 percent of its hardware already in production, the telescope was given a stay of execution, albeit with costs capped at $8 billion.

It was originally forecast to cost just $1.6 billion.

The project has NASA, ESA and the CSA as the lead partners, but includes a collaboration of about 17 countries in total.

To be located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth at the Earth-Sun Lagrangian point L2, JWST’s 6.5-meter diameter primary mirror – a gold coated beryllium reflector – and four specialized instruments ensure the spacecraft will provide unprecedented resolution and sensitivity from long-wavelength visible to the mid-infrared.

Unlike Hubble’s single monolithic primary mirror, JWST’s primary mirror is made up of 18 individual, adjustable segments that will be aligned in space.

The spacecraft’s array of instrumentation is currently being tested to ensure it can survive the extremes of space, with the most recent test involving the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument, which is the primary imager covering the infrared wavelength range 0.6 to 5 microns.

NIRCam will detect light from the earliest stars and galaxies in the process of formation, the population of stars in nearby galaxies, as well as young stars in the Milky Way and Kuiper Belt objects.

NIRCam is equipped with coronagraphs, instruments that allow astronomers to take pictures of very faint objects around a central bright object, like stellar systems. Its coronagraphs work by blocking a brighter object’s light, making it possible to view the dimmer object nearby.

With the coronagraphs, astronomers hope to determine the characteristics of planets orbiting nearby stars, which is of great interest over recent years,thanks to the discoveries made by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. ""

Find out more @ nasaspaceflight.com

Secretive US X-37B Space Plane Could Evolve to Carry Astronauts

""LONG BEACH, Calif. — The maker of the X-37B robotic space plane has outlined new plans for the spacecraft and a scaled-up version to support space station cargo deliveries or even carry astronauts into orbit.

The Boeing X-37B robotic space plane — also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle or OTV — is being operated by the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, toting top-secret payloads into Earth orbit.

An X-37B OTV and derivatives plan was outlined here by Arthur Grantz, chief engineer, Experimental Systems Group at Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems in Seal Beach, Calif. He spoke at Space 2011, a conference organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).""

http://www.space.com/13230-secretive-37b-space-plane-future-astronauts.html