ECLIPSE DAY 081226
Morning Report : Current Position is 70° 54’ 29.5” N , 27° 0” 9.4” W, Speed 3.802kn, COG 250°, Wind 237° at 8.7 m/s.
Last night at the briefing we learned the Captain and Expedition Crew are looking at two possible locations for us to view the eclipse. The weather here can be difficult to predict as the fjords create a micro climate.
Greenland Mythology on the sun and Moon:
The Origin of Malina and Anningan
Life on Earth: Malina and Anningan grew up together as children playing in the dark community house.
The Conflict: Anningan assaulted his sister in the dark. Seeking to identify her attacker, Malina rubbed soot from a seal-oil lamp onto her hands and smeared it on his face.
Ascent to the Sky: When she lit a piece of moss to see who it was, she discovered it was her brother. Horrified, she broke away and floated up into the sky to become the radiant sun. Anningan followed her up to become the moon.
Explaining Natural Phenomena
The Eternal Chase: Anningan forever chases Malina across the Arctic sky, which is why the sun and moon are rarely seen together.
Waning and Waxing Moon: So obsessed with chasing his sister, Anningan often forgets to eat and grows thinner every night (the waning moon) until he disappears for three days to hunt and regain his strength.
Eclipses: A solar eclipse happens on the rare occasion that Anningan finally catches up to his sister.
Then there is what the Norsemen thought:
The Chasing Wolves
Sköll and Hati: Two fierce wolves, sons of the monstrous wolf Fenrir, chase the celestial siblings across the sky.
Sköll chases Sól (the Sun), while Hati hunts Máni (the Moon) through the night.
Ragnarök: During the twilight of the gods, the wolves finally overtake and swallow the sun and the moon. However, Sól gives birth to a daughter just before her death who continues her mother's journey across a new sky.
Our group was first out for a scenic cruise amongst the Ice. The weather continues to be amazedly wam and the skies are remaining clear thus far.
At about 1100 we went to the Science Center to make a Tupilak.
In Inuit tradition and Greenlandic Mythology , a tupilak (or tupilaq) is a mythical vengeful monster traditionally crafted in secret by a shaman using animal bones, skins, hair, and sinew to tack down and destroy an enemy.
Legend and Creation
Ancient Rituals: Shamans built them from hidden scraps of animals or dead children, bringing them to life with magical chants.
Into the Sea: The living monster was placed into the ocean to hunt a specific target.
The Danger: If the targeted person possessed stronger magic, they could send the tupilak back to kill its creator (qaaniaritsoq), forcing the shaman to confess to save themselves.
The Captain, Navigator, and expedition crew collaborated to find us a perfect spot to view the eclipse.
First there were hot dogs to be had on deck 8 aft. Yummy they were.
Then we prepared for the eclipse. We gathered our glasses and camera filters and found a bench on the deck out of the wind for the viewing. Anticipation grew as the hour arrived for the start, and continued to build till totality.
A eerie darkness fell over the earth as totality started. During previous eclipses we have noticed a significant temperature drop, but not this one and several of us felt this was due to the amount of clothing we had on. I had a filter for my camera and used the 23-240 lens. We did have filters for the cell phone but it really did not work to well for us.
I was lucky enough to get the Diamond Ring. I have not sorted and done any editing yet bit after we get home they will be posted on Soggy Moose Photo our Smug Mug photo site.
I will say a feeling of total awe spread across the ship during and after this solar event.
Dinner and finished up here with the blog.
Will see what tomorrow brings. Tonight we will sleep well.
