Tahiti Eclipse

According to Teuira Henry, and her reference book Tahiti in ancient times, solar or lunar eclipses were an expression of the anger of the god Raa-mau-riri who would then swallow the star.

« Solar or lunar eclipses were said to happen when the anger of the god Raa-mau-riri (his holiness who holds anger) made him swallow the sun. During eclipses, priests and the terrified population would head to the marae where they prayed, made offerings and begged the god to give the star back. A comet was a god warning about war and disease. A meteor was a bad spirit who roamed around». Teuira Henry, Tahiti aux temps anciens, Paris, pub ; S.O. N°1, 1993, p.234). Read the rest of this entry »

Looking straight at a solar eclipse without proper protection can cause irreparable damage to the retina. As indicated by the World Health Organization:

«The sun is an extremely intense source of light – both visible and invisible (infrared and ultraviolet). It is so intense that when sunlight shines on our skin we feel warmth although the sun is 150 million km away from us! The lens of the eye acts as a magnifying glass. It produces tiny images on the retina of what we are viewing, with a concentration factor of about 10 000. During direct viewing of the sun, for even a few Read the rest of this entry »