The moon was formed when it was washed out of the right eye of the god of the land while he was bathing. Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the moon god of Japanese folklore, then lived forever in the heavens after climbing a giant celestial ladder from his father¡¯s bathroom.
What I love is how the whimsy of folklore is equalled, if not surpassed, by modern explanations for the origin of the moon.
For Natsuki Hosono of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) in Yokohama, the origin of the moon is the most interesting topic in all of planetary science. And that¡¯s not just because his name contains the kanji for ¡±tsuki,¡± the word for ¡°moon.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.