For centuries, the sighting of a crescent moon has signaled the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fast and prayer for Muslims. This year, the sight was obscured in some parts of the world by the sun’s glare during the total solar eclipse, delaying some Islamic communities’ declaration of Eid al-Fitr, the celebration marking […]
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Someday, Earth Will Have a Final Total Solar Eclipse
The total solar eclipse visible on Monday over parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada was a perfect confluence of the sun and the moon in the sky. But it’s also the kind of event that comes with an expiration date: At some point in the distant future, Earth will experience its last total […]
Read MoreMy Hare Krishna Upbringing Forbade Eclipse Gazing. Now It Inspires My Art.
As a child growing up in the Hare Krishna community in the United States, I was forbidden to be outside during a solar eclipse. In our version of Vedic astronomy, eclipses are believed to be a deeply inauspicious time when the demon Rahu’s decapitated head chases the sun and the moon. In this chase, Rahu’s […]
Read MoreWhy the Eclipse Leaves Us Awe-Struck
The moment she saw the sun, something inside Julie McKelvey changed. She was hanging from a rope on the side of Mt. Everest, four hours from the summit. The night was frozen, the slope some 60 degrees steep, the oxygen thin as she ascended to the highest point on earth. In the dark, she felt […]
Read MoreEven More Superstitions Black People Have Passed Down From Generations
Photo: Javier Zayas Photography (Getty Images) On April 8, a total solar eclipse will pass over North America, beginning at various times depending on your state and time zone, with the moon completely blocking out the sun for around 4 minutes. Science attributes this phenomenon to our planet’s orbit around the sun and rotation. However, […]
Read MoreEven More Superstitions Black People Have Passed Down From Generations
Photo: Javier Zayas Photography (Getty Images) On April 8, a total solar eclipse will pass over North America, beginning at various times depending on your state and time zone, with the moon completely blocking out the sun for around 4 minutes. Science attributes this phenomenon to our planet’s orbit around the sun and rotation. However, […]
Read MoreNASA Picks 3 Companies to Help Astronauts Drive Around the Moon
NASA will be renting some cool wheels to drive around the moon. Space agency officials announced on Wednesday that they have hired three companies to come up with preliminary designs for vehicles to take NASA astronauts around the lunar south polar region in the coming years. After the astronauts return to Earth, these vehicles would […]
Read MoreTotal Solar Eclipse 2024: Path, Time and How to Watch Safely
On April 8, North America will experience its second total solar eclipse in seven years. The moon will glide over the surface of our sun, casting a shadow over a swath of Earth below. Along this path, the world will turn dark as night. Skywatchers in Mexico will be the first to see the eclipse […]
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