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THE SUN GOD, source of heat, light and life on our planet In Hindu religious literature, Surya is notably mentioned as the visible form of God that one can see every day. Furthermore, Shaivites and Vaishnavas often regard Surya as a manifestation of Shiva and Vishnu, respectively. For example, the sun is called Surya Narayana by Vaishnavas. In Shaivite theology, Surya is said to be one of eight forms of Shiva called the Astamurti. In the Mahabharata, princess Kunti receives instruction for a mantra from sage Durvasa, reciting which she will be able to summon any god and bear a child with him. Unable to believe the power of this mantra she tries to summon Surya. When Surya appears, she is overawed and requests him to go back; but Surya is compelled to fulfill the mantra before returning. Surya uses magic to make Kunti bear a child immediately, so that she, an unmarried princess, would not be subject to questions from the king or his court. Kunti discards this child, Karna, who grows up to become one of the central characters in the great battle of Kurukshetra. Surya is the father of the twins known as the Ashwins, divine horsemen and physicians to the Gods. He also fathered the twins Yama Dev (the Lord of Death) and his sister Yami (associated with the river Yamuna).  He also fathers Sani Dev (the planet Saturn) and the monkey king, Sugreeva, who helped Rama and Laxman defeat Ravana. See the sun Make an Optical Projector to view transits and solar eclipses, using a pair of binoculars. Warning: DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THE BINOCULARS! 1) First you should firmly fix the binoculars to a tripod. You can do this with duct tape. 2) Cut out a cardboard shield and tape it to the front of the binoculars with the lenses sticking through the holes. 3) Put the lens cap over one of the large binocular lenses or tape over one of the front lenses with duct tape. (You only used one lens). 4) Use the duct tape to seal any holes that leak light past the cardboard.  5) Point the binoculars towards the sun while holding a piece of white cardboard about a foot behind the eye-piece. 6) It will take a little effort to find the image of the sun. Once you do, you can focus the binoculars to create a sharp image of the sun. BE CAREFUL not to put your hand or anything flammable near the eyepiece! The concentrated sunlight exiting from there can cause a nasty burn or set something ablaze! NOW YOU CAN WATCH a beautiful, magnified image of the sun — during an eclipse, while a planet transits or just sun spots. You will have to adjust the tripod to account for the Earth’s rotation. Adapted from: http://www.exploratorium.edu/transit/ |
