The »sunfish« is called »moonfish« in many languages. It is the biggest and heaviest bony fish in the world, weighing up to 2,500 kg and showing off up to 3 m length and 4 m height! It can grow over 100 years old. Its Latin name »mola mola« derives from its shape, which reminds of a »millstone«, but apparently, also the Moon was the force behind the naming:
Jellyfish are fascinating beings and although, nobody would actually like to come into contact with them, we are mesmerized by them and admire their shapes, colors and almost etheric bodies, which are floating through the water – like entities from another world. And lo behold, there is also one kind that the Moon lent his name to: the »moon jellyfish« (lat. aurelia aurita).
Also in various other languages, you can find the word »moon« in the name these jellyfish:
Like all natives of a country, the Native Americans, as inhabitants of the American continent, have a connection to the moon events and the full moon, too. It appears in mythology as much as in the relevant lifestyles. Instead of the term »Native American Indian« the term »indigenous peoples of the Americas« is generally used nowadays. It is strived for to be politically correct.
By analogy with earthquakes on the Earth, there are so called »moonquakes« on the Moon. By that, we are referring to tremors on the Moon. The astronauts of the five Apollo missions in 1969 to 1972, left seismographs on the Moon, to measure these seismic waves. Afterwards, all data had been sent back to Earth until 1977 and analyzed.
In view of the two original principles »feminine« and »masculine«, it is tempting to attribute the feminine, receiving principle to the moon and the masculine, creative principle to the sun. And most languages, where nouns posess articles, do reflect this, like for example the Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian). However, there are a number of languages, for example German, Norwegian, Polish, Slovenian, Serbian or Czech, where the moon is masculine.
So, does the moon contain more masculine quality, after all, than originally assumed?
Astrology, the teaching of the interpretation and meaning of star constellations for human life, shows once again the sun’s dominance in our society and the insignificant role the Moon plays. Everyone knows »his/her« sign of the zodiac, meaning the position of the Sun at the time of their birth. If you say, for example, »I am an Aquarius«, you refer to the fact that the Sun was positioned in the astrological sign Aquarius when you were born. Also, some people are still aware of the ascendant, being the sign, which was on the eastern horizon at the time of birth (lat. ascendere = to rise). But which sign the Moon is in their birth horoscope, only very few people know.
The jazz classic »Fly Me To The Moon«, originally written by Bart Howard in 1954, gained worldwide fame through Frank Sinatra (1915–1998). His version from 1964 accompanied the space mission Apollo 10 to the Moon in May of 1969, and was played when the spaceship orbited the Moon. Further, it was the first song ever that was played on the Moon, when Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the Moon with a portable cassette player during the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.
Peter Bradley Adams is an American singer-songwriter, who has managed amid the flood of commercial songs and loud beats, to tell his own story – with a warm voice and quiet sounds.
His song “Full Moon Song” from 2011 is one of those stories. According to his own statement, this song came to fruition after a short stay in prison (from which he did not break out as stated in the lyrics, but was released on bail). He talks about freedom that now becomes significant to him and makes a new life possible. He wants to see the world through the eyes of a child and experience love without fear of losing something.
As reported back in September 2013, NASA sent the lunar probe LADEE (short for: Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) into space, to circle and to explore the Moon. Especially, the formation of ice at the lunar poles has been of great interest. The space probe also collected measurement data of dust particles and gases that are close to the Moon’s surface.
Fitting in with today’s full moon and the forthcoming events of Halloween, we dedicate this article to the stop motion movie »Corpse Bride« (2005) by Tim Burton, the master of bizarre and subtle productions. The movie is based on a Russian legend »Corpse Bride« and captures the story of a wedding between two people of varying social backgrounds (Victor & Victoria) or rather differing worlds (Victor & Emily), with the resulting tension.