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It is difficult to understate the importance of the Sun.
Its light and warmth provide energy for growing plants, and ultimately makes life itself possible. In our fast-paced modern world, we have become disconnected from the natural world, hence it is easy to take the Sun for granted. In ancient times, however, people understood and honored the Sun’s life-giving power and majesty.
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| The Sun Temple at Dzibilchaltun
marks the equinox when the Sun rises in perfect alignment. |
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Early agricultural communities watched the Sun and worried about the weather. They marked the coming and passing of the seasons with great interest. They needed to pay attention to the Sun’s movement as planting and harvesting dates might make the difference for that year’s crops. A few
poor harvests in a row
could threaten the survival
of the community. It is not
surprising that people from
diverse cultures throughout
the world, viewed and
continue to view the Sun
as the source of life.
Today, these concerns have
mostly disappeared; but
scientists still study the Sun with consuming interest. The Sun after all is
a violent, variable and magnetic star that can directly affect us here
on Earth. A stream of charged, energetic particles called the “solar
wind” constantlyinteracts with our planet’s protective magnetosphere.
Occasionally, immense and powerful solar storms overwhelm the magneto-sphere
and disrupt high-tech communications, damage satellites, and cause
power blackouts. Hence, as we become more dependent on satellite
communications technology, we are more
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| Today's image
of the Sun from NASA's SOHO spacecraft. See more live
images of the sun. |
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susceptible to effects of the active and
dynamic Sun.
Reasons for studying the Sun, however, are not
solely limited to its effects on Earth. For astronauts in space,
outside of the Earth’s
protective magnetosphere, solar storms pose a real danger; these
storms release deadly radiation that can serious harm astronauts in space.
There is still much we don't understand about the Sun and its effects
on Earth. How the Sun affects climate, for example, is not well understood.
Our shared interest in better understanding the mysteries of the
Sun, forms a common bond between those who built the great structures
of Chaco Canyon and the Yucatan, and people today. We invite you
to explore this site, to learn about the ancestral Native Americans
in New Mexico and the ancient Maya in the Yucatan, while gaining
a better understanding of the active Sun, and its importance to
them—and,
to us.
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| NASA Astronaut Mark Lee on an untethered spacewalk outside of the space shuttle. |
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