"Three weeks..." redux

Yesterday's post about Chaco Canyon drew me back to the posts about our desert vacation.... some of which were disconnected from each other. That's all fixed, so here's an image index for "Three weeks in the West."

Cosmic clockwork at Chaco

Two quick updates: First, my lady friend bought Kendrick Frazier's "People of Chaco: A Canyon and its Culture" after our trip. She recommends it.

Second, I just found this news story about the Dine' (Navajo) people whose families were forced out of Chaco Canyon when it became a national park in 1907. I recommend reading that.

One last update: When we visited in the summer, I noticed a sign that declared "Don't Pave Chaco!" San Juan County has a plan to pave the remaining 16 miles of the 19-mile road that leads to Chaco Culture NHP, using funds from a transportation earmark sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tom Udall. Many area residents, local tribespeople (who consider Chaco a sacred ancestral area), and even the park supervisor are opposed to this paving plan, asserting that increased motor vehicle access will strain the park's facilities and degrade the visitor experience.

Two sites provide information about the opposition campaign: Stop the Chaco Road and Protect Chaco Canyon. See this video from a recent public hearing, also.


Last night, my lady friend and I watched a compelling video about Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Longtime readers will recall that we visited Chaco Culture National Historical Park in the summer.

"The Mystery of Chaco Canyon" was produced by Anna Sofaer and The Solstice Project. The main theory is that the buildings within (and well beyond) the canyon were not settlements, but instead ceremonial structures used mainly during solstice and equinox rituals. Evidence is provided about cardinal-point axes formed by the central canyon buildings, and how outer-canyon sites were built along vectors from those central points so that the outer buildings aligned with the seasonal rising and setting points of the Sun and the Moon.

Additionally, The Solstice Project's research showed precise alignment with the seasonal transits of the Sun and Moon from within the structures themselves. [Refer to "The Primary Architecture of the Chacoan Culture: A Cosmological Expression" by Anna Sofaer]


The discovery of Chacoan construction methods focused on observation of the Moon's motion along the eastern and western horizons was remarkable because of the time needed to observe and plan around such a cycle: almost 19 years.

Aside from the technical acumen needed to execute such a feat, this work was done at a time when the lifespan of the Ancestral Puebloan people was probably no more than 30 years. Yet, the construction methods and ceremonial observations continued for more than 200 years.

In the video, it's asserted that Chaco is the only site in the world where builders created sites to observe the periodic motion of both the Sun and the Moon. That was in '96, when this video was produced. I think that I've since read about other places where this was the case. Ah, yeah, it was in a post from two years ago, when I first learned of lunar standstills.

Anyhow, do look into lunar standstills in order to understand the Moon's variable motion. Also, follow these links to learn about the Sun Dagger, a seasonal clock made from boulders and petroglyphs that Sofaer discovered on top of Chaco's Fajada Butte in 1977.

Morning Moons

Distortions

Daehanminguk dailies,12.24 through 12.26

12.21 dailies

"All the barriers can bebroken down in the garden."

Tim Dundon, The Sodfather, The Guru of Doo-Doo

Daehanminguk dailies, 12.22:A stroll on the solstice

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12.11 dailies

Ornaments

An enlarged version

Santa was a shaman(and how his reindeer took flight), part two

This was part one. Below you'll find some new bits for what's become my annual solstice post about the old-culture origin of Santa Claus.


"Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, most of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanistic traditions of the tribal peoples of pre-Christian Northern Europe.

"The sacred mushroom of these people was the red-and-white Amanita muscaria mushroom, also known as fly agaric. These mushrooms are now commonly seen in books of fairy tales, and they are usually associated with magic and fairies. This is because they contain potent hallucinogenic compounds and they were used by ancient peoples for insight and transcendental experiences.

"Ancient peoples, including the Lapps of modern-day Finland, and the Koyak tribes of the central Russian steppes, believed in the idea of a World Tree. The World Tree was seen as a kind of cosmic axis onto which the planes of the universe are fixed. The roots of the World Tree stretch down into the underworld, its trunk is the 'middle earth' of everyday existence, and its branches reach upwards into the heavenly realm.

"Amanita muscaria grows only under certain types of trees, mostly firs and evergreens. The cap of the mushroom is the fruit of the larger mycelium beneath the soil which exists in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the tree. To ancient people, this mushroom was literally 'the fruit of the tree.'

"Reindeer were the sacred animals of these semi-nomadic people, as the reindeer provided food, shelter, clothing and other necessities. Reindeer are also fond of eating the mushroom; they will seek it out, then prance about while under its influence. Often the urine of tripped-out reindeer would be consumed for its psychedelic effects.

"The effects of the A. muscaria usually include sensations of size distortion and flying. The feeling of flying could account for the legends of flying reindeer and legends of shamanic journeys included stories of winged reindeer, transporting their riders up to the highest branches of the World Tree.

"Although the modern image of Santa Claus was created at least in part by the advertising department of Coca-Cola, in truth his appearance, clothing, mannerisms and companions all mark him as the reincarnation of these ancient mushroom-gathering shamans."

Above the limb and ascending[22/7 post 1080]

The first and (I'm fairly certain) the last images are illustrations.

Six pics of the sixth planet

A previous post about Saturn.

Plants are power tools, part two

This was part one.


Psychedelic Medicine: New Evidence
for Hallucinogenic Substances as Treatments

"Psychedelic substances present in nature have been used by humans across hundreds of years to produce mind-altering changes in thought, mood, and perception -- changes we do not experience otherwise except rarely in dreams, religious exaltation, or psychosis. U.S. scientists were studying the practical and therapeutic uses for hallucinogens including LSD and mescaline in the 1950s and 1960s, supplied by large manufacturers [such as Switzerland's] Sandoz.

"But the government took steps to ban all human consumption of hallucinogens, and thus the research. By the 1970s, all human testing was stopped. Medical concerns were not the issue, the ban was motivated by social concerns, not the least of which were created by legendary researcher Timothy Leary, a psychologist who advocated free use of hallucinogens by all who desired.

"Nationwide, however, a cadre of scholars and researchers has persisted in pushing the federal government to again allow human testing. And the moratorium has been lifted. The FDA has begun approving hallucinogenic research using human subjects. In these groundbreaking volumes, top researchers explain the testing and research underway to use -- under the guidance of a trained provider -- psychedelic substances for better physical and mental health."

See also:


Breaking Open the Head


The Cosmic Serpent


Food of the Gods


Plants of the Gods


Psychedelic Shamanism

More about Mars...

...to follow up on Sunday's post
about Orion and the red planet.


"Why has Mars gotten so bright and attractive?
It's because Earth and Mars are converging."

"At a distance of about 88 million kilometers (55 million miles), this will be Mars' nearest approach to our planet until the year 2016. But, no, Mars will not now or ever appear as large as the Full Moon, as has been erroneously reported in a widely circulated e-mail hoax.

"According to the mathematical wizard Jean Meeus, Mars will be closest to Earth on December 18 at 11:45 p.m. Universal Time. For the Central Time Zone in the United States, that converts to 5:45 p.m. [8:45 a.m on the 19th here in Korea --Ed.].

"Because of Mars' proximity to Earth, many telescopes will be pointing at the red planet in December and January. Be forewarned: it takes a lot of patience and persistence to find Mars' surface features through a telescope. At times, Earth's atmosphere isn't steady (twinkling stars indicate atmospheric turbulence) and Martian dust storms sometimes obscure the view. Knowing what filters to use on the telescope is also a plus. Looking at Mars is, at best, a tantalizing experience."

I'm reminded of the night in 2003 when several hundred people stood on line at the University of Washington in order to see Mars through some local amateurs' instruments. As I neared the front of the line, two young women who had just taken a look began to walk away. One of them grumbled, "I waited two hours to see a dot?!"

I was a bit annoyed at that comment (and how it might spoil the experience for people who were still waiting), but I can understand how one might feel shortchanged. If you'd never looked through a telescope before, and your diet of astro-imagery only consisted of Hubble pics in the media, then it probably would be disappointing to see Mars appear as big as a grapefruit seed.

But let me tell you, that grapefruit seed had mountains and canyons and vast plains of polar ice, for those who knew where and how to look.

Mars and Orionoutshine city lights

I took our food waste out around 10 o'clock and was stunned by how bright Mars has become. I could see Orion's belt stars above the buildings, so I grabbed the camera and captured what I could from the 16th floor.

An alternate version


Another alternate

See also:
Early morning astrophotos from last month

Our asymmetrical solar system,brought to you by Voyagers 1 and 2

"NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft has followed its twin Voyager 1 into the solar system's final frontier, a vast region at the edge of our solar system where the solar wind runs up against the thin gas between the stars.

"The solar wind is a thin gas of electrically charged particles (plasma) blown into space by the Sun. The solar wind blows in all directions, carving a bubble into interstellar space that extends past the orbit of Pluto. This bubble is called the heliosphere, and Voyager 1 was the first spacecraft to explore its outer layer, when it crossed into the heliosheath in December 2004.

"However, Voyager 2 took a different path [into] this region, called the heliosheath, on August 30, 2007. Voyager 2 crossed the heliosheath's boundary, called the solar-wind termination shock, about 10 billion miles away from Voyager 1 yet almost a billion miles closer to the Sun. [This] confirmed that our solar system is 'squashed' or 'dented' -- that the bubble carved into interstellar space by the solar wind is not perfectly round. Where Voyager 2 made its crossing, the bubble is pushed in closer to the Sun by the local interstellar magnetic field."

Last call for fall colors

Earlier examples


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Daehanminguk dailies, 12.11

11.24 thru 12.3 dailies

The West Sea oil spill

An oil tanker that was offshore in the West (more commonly known as Yellow) Sea on Friday was struck by a barge that broke away from a tugboat in bad weather. Three million or so gallons of crude oil went into the water. The affected area -- 20 kilometers long -- includes part of a maritime national park, fisheries, and popular tourist beaches.

The photos below were taken in July 2006 when my Lady Friend and I visited Mallipo Beach, the oil-smothered shoreline seen in the photos above.

In-between spacescaptured with a macro lens

Images made with a stack of 10 or so CD-Rs,
which distorted and reflected the light and color around me.

The Sun's transit past The Serpent Bearer

I noticed that tomorrow's New Moon will occur in Ophiuchus, the thirteenth constellation of the zodiac, which the Sun entered on December 1. So not only will the Sun and Moon not be conjunct in Sagittarius tomorrow, they will also not be conjunct in Scorpius (the seemingly correct sidereal placement*).

The Sun and Moon at noon on December 10, 2007,
as seen from South Korea. Map made with Hallo Northern Sky.


The Sun only ever spends a week in Scorpius. The remaining two-and-a-half weeks until it reaches Sagittarius are spent in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer. So let's revisit what I posted last year about Ophiuchus' place along the ecliptic (a fact that is ignored or unknown by most astrologers, but one that is often cited by astronomers as a way to "debunk" astrology). Allow me to point you down the astronomological middle path.

* See also:
"You might not be the person that you've been told that you are, astrologically speaking."

Daehanminguk dailies,11.24 through 12.3(stacks and snacks)

11.10 dailies