The Sun has been worshipped throughout millennia, long before scientists and astronomers had found out by their studies of the stars and the universe what the significance of all of these heavenly bodies meant. Farming is one of the oldest occupations on earth and the people involved in such activity were well aware of the importance that the Sun’s effect had on their livelihoods. They recognized that everything depended on the Sun, from the growth of crops, to seasonal changes and the length of day and night. Without understanding or any explanation to what was happening, it was accepted as a fact of nature. The Sun, Air, Water, Earth and Fire, these were the main elements of the Gods in Celtic mythology. The summer Solstice, around June 20th is the longest day of the year while the winter Solstice on December 21st is the shortest day. The halfway points between each of these dates are the Equinox, equal day and night, on March 21st and September 23rd. The Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees in its orbit around the Sun. This is important for the amount of heat that the Earth receives during the year at various destinations worldwide.

The amount of solar storms occurring in the spring of 2024 are more frequent than usual. The reason for this is, the Sun’s magnetic field goes through a solar cycle. Studies have discovered that every 11 years or so, the Sun flips, meaning that the north and south poles of the Sun switch places. When this occurs there are enormous amounts of magnetic and solar storms on the surface of the Sun. Shooting stars, fantastic auroras in the night skies, lightning storms that are capable of causing power outages on Earth. After another 11 years the cycle repeats itself. There are a number of eclipses each year, some are partial, others are total, the fact that we don’t know of them is because of the regions where they’re visible. On April 8th 2024 a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible in the Northeastern part of the USA and parts of Canada. It’s a major phenomenon when it happens to cities and towns that are on the path of the eclipse. What’s happening is, the Moon, that’s neither a star or a planet but described as an “astronomical body”, passes between the Sun and the Earth in a complete alignment, blocking out the light of the Sun on the surface of the Earth. Watching this movement is a procedure of nature in slow motion, as the Moon starts to consume the surface of the Sun, in a disk like shape, eliminating the light from Earth. The Moon’s progress over the Sun will take over an hour. The totality of the eclipse lasts for a number of minutes and during this period temperatures may drop by 3 to 5 degrees C. As the orbit continues the reverse happens as the Moon moves away from the path. 

In ancient Mythology, the Druids believed that the eclipses happened when the Sun was locked in a battle with the spirits of Darkness. Other theories were that Celestial beings were trying to destroy the Sun. The truth is the harmony and well-being of the Earth relies on the Sun and the Moon. We see the influence that the Sun has on the Earth, the Moon has its effect on the Ocean’s tides, the Moon’s gravitational pull causes the oceans to bulge on the side closest to the Moon, giving us high tide and causing low tide on the side opposite to the Moon.

There has been a sizeable increase in the population of the world in the last century, each of us are having an effect on the climate and the temperature of the planet, by our actions or lack of same but none of us can deny the responsibility we have in the preservation of this beautiful world. For generations coming after us, ad infinitum, let’s hope that they can have the enjoyment of experiencing the wonders of the universe.