Click here to view the embedded video.

A Little public information film from Post-War Britain circa 1948.

This is probably not too far off, the way things are going now!

Listen with the lights out and some candlelight for maximum effect, but be prepared, this tale is not for the faint hearted!

http://www.archive.org/download/SUSPENSE/40-07-21_CBS_Forecast-The_Lodger-Suspense_audition.mp3

This radio show is in the Public Domain and is brought to you courtesy of archive.org.

From year to year, the moon never seems to change. Craters and other formations appear to be permanent now, but the moon didn’t always look like this. Thanks to NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, we now have a better look at some of the moon’s history. Learn more in this video!

This video is in the Public Domain and is brought to you courtesy of NASA.

Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren and his 4th wife, Annabelle, have invited 5 people to the house on Haunted Hill for a “haunted House” party. Whoever will stay in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

This film is in the Public Domain and is brought to you courtesy of archive.org.

Check out the imdb for more information about this film.

The film follows a girl named Sintel who is searching for a baby dragon she calls Scales. A flashback reveals that Sintel found Scales with its wing injured and helped care for it, forming a close bond with it. By the time its wing recovered and it was able to fly, Scales was caught by an adult dragon. Sintel has since embarked on a quest to rescue Scales, fending off beasts and warriors along the way.

Video Produced by Blender Foundation using Free & Open Source Software, check their website out for more details.

With the dark nights beginning to fade and the the howling winds of Winter upon us, I thought it might be interesting to do a wee piece on The Moon. We are all aware of the moon and its changing phases in the month, but do we really know much about it?  Like, how old it is?   What the phases are called?  Or how long they last?  Why it is that werewolves only change under a full moon?……..Okay that last one might be a scary story for round the campfire, but for eons the moon has been both worshiped and feared by populations all over the world, believing that it has the power to transform men and women into ‘creatures of the night’ or send them mad – giving rise to the term ‘Lunatic’, as well as the belief it is the Giver and Taker of life, The Hare, The Bull and the female form.  Poems have been written and weather patterns foretold.  There is an endless array of myth and legend surrounding the moon that are too numerous to write about here, suffice to say, it is a force of nature that has endeared itself to the human psyche in a way that endures to this very day.

 Fact & Theory

At approximately 4.6 billion years old, and a distance of roughly 238,857 miles, The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite.  It has never been given any other scientific name other than ‘The Moon’ and is a very cold, rocky and barren land that, according to predominant hypothesis, was born in a catastrophic collision. The moon started out very close to the earth but it has been moving steadily away ever since. It is currently drifting away by about 1.5 inches (3.74 cm) every year.  It produces no light of its own, but merely reflects the Sun’s rays, which is a mean feat considering its surface is actually very dark, and has a similar reflectance to coal!

The Moon both rotates (spins) and orbits (revolves around another larger planet/celestial body).  At one point in it’s history, the moon spun faster than it does now, but as the gravitational pull of the earth continued to ‘mis-shape’ the moon, it began to slow it’s spin until eventually the rate at which it revolves is the same time that it takes to orbit once around the earth (about 29.5 days – see The Phases).  This is due to something called tidal locking, and it is the reason only one side of the moon can be seen from the Earth.

The Phases

Click image to enlarge

Caused by the relative positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon, The Lunar Phases begin on the right (from the Northern Hemisphere – The Southern Hemisphere goes from left to right), as we look up at the moon.  The New Moon can sometimes be seen as a darkened but slightly visible disc (although this isn’t always the case.) that then ‘Waxes’ gradually, revealing more and more of the lunar face until the Full Moon. It then ‘Wanes’, gradually darkening until the next New Moon.

In total there are 8 phases of the moon and each phase lasts an average of about 4 days with the entire process taking approximately 29.5 days; the length of time for the moon to orbit once around the earth.  This complete cycle, from New Moon to New Moon, is known as a Lunar Month.

Anyone who may be interested in keeping up with the moon’s phases and what the current phase is may find this web page useful.

Lunar Eclipse

During a Lunar Eclipse, the Earth’s shadow prevents the Sun’s light from illuminating the moon.  The orbit of the moon around our earth is not on the same plane as the earth’s orbit around the sun (known as the Ecliptic), placing the moon either above or below the earth’s equatorial region, so it is only when the Earth, Sun and moon are aligned directly, or thereabouts, does the Earth’s shadow block the sunlight from reaching the moon’s surface.  Known as Eclipse Seasons, they only happen at certain times in the year (usually every 6 months) and not as often as lunar phases. The moon is always full on an eclipse night and the spectacle of a Total Lunar Eclipse is quite striking, with colours ranging through Golden to Fiery red and deep brown.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What if?

It is not hard to see the bond we have with the Moon is an enduring one that will be around for sometime to come, but like everything else in the universe, is set to fade from our existance….but what then? Well, the tides would not simply vanish leaving very still seas, as our Sun is also responsible for a small percentage of the tides on earth although there would be a marked change in the pull at high and low tide. The earth’s rotation would increase having been freed from the weight of the moon’s gravity, which in turn would cause stronger winds.  These are just some of the hypothesised scenarios.  There would be no more beautiful moonlit nights, only another bright star in the sky like all the others, which, magnificent as they are, is for me, the saddest thing of all.  Although one would hope that what will be left behind are the wonderful images and tales of what has been an ancient and wondrous spectacle; visited by the very few but feared. worshiped, studied and viewed by millions over many, many centuries.