The Passing of the Firefly

Roughly ever 365 days, a full revolution of the sun occurs, and the seasons go through their full natural cycle. The moon, in turn, passes through the sky roughly 12 times a year. But a rarer sight is the Firefly, a strange satellite of the planet, the Firefly is a sphere of fire trailing across the sky, often visible at night. Orbiting irregularly, astronomers have long tried to ascertain the exact path and distance of the strange satellite, which is considered quite unlike any other star.

What is known however, is that the Firefly and the Moon intersect every 3.4 years. In such an event, the Moon is entirely hidden by the Firefly, which shines especially brightly in the night sky. The phenomenon is observed across the world, and in most cases is greeted with festival. The Makuubi believe that the Firefly is the daughter of the sun, and hold the night of her passing sacred. The Runberi greet the passing of the Firefly as the Night of the Second Sun, a night of revelry. The Runberi have also discovered that the Firefly's passing roughly coincides with the tendency of a 365 day calendar to go slightly out of step as the decades go by, and find that an extra day added as the Firefly passes corrects this tendency. This discovery has since spread, and most calendars account for this error by counting the passings of the Firefly.

Manifestation

The interesction of the Moon and the Firefly begins at night, as the Firefly begins to eclipse the full moon. Though the Moon is always difficult to see during an intersection of the Firefly, it is not until the later hours of the night that a full eclipse happens. The passing of the Firefly lasts through the night, fully passing the moon as dawn arrives. Finally, on the night of the passing the Firefly's trail of fire is also particularly easy to day, and other stars are difficutl to view in its shadow.

Type

Natural