128 (= 384 / 3). There was a conspicious and exceptional place in the readings of Metoro after he had arrived to the end of side a on the C tablet, after Archernar and Polaris, and after Hamal, but before Alcyone:
...Then the big Fish did swallow
him, and he had done acts worthy
of blame.
But We cast him forth on the
naked shore in a state of
sickness,
... Although an old constellation, Cetus is by no means of special interest, except as possessing the south pole of the Milky Way and the Wonderful Star, the variable Mira; and from the fact that it is a condensation point of nebulae directly across the sphere from Virgo, also noted in this respect ... ... Mira also known as Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, ο Cet), is a red giant star estimated 200-400 light years away in the constellation Cetus. Mira is a binary star, consisting of the red giant Mira A along with Mira B. Mira A is also an oscillating variable star and was the first non-supernova variable star discovered, with the possible exception of Algol. Apart from the unusual Eta Carinae, Mira is the brightest periodic variable in the sky that is not visible to the naked eye for part of its cycle ... In a way Mira therefore can illustrate how life (light) departs, yet returns again after the completion of a cycle. ... In 1638 Johannes Holwarda determined a period of the star's reappearances, eleven months; he is often credited with the discovery of Mira's variability. Johannes Hevelius was observing it at the same time and named it 'Mira' (meaning 'wonderful' or 'astonishing,' in Latin) in 1662's Historiola Mirae Stellae, for it acted like no other known star. Ismail Bouillaud then estimated its period at 333 days, less than one day off the modern value of 332 days, and perfectly forgivable, as Mira is known to vary slightly in period, and may even be slowly changing over time ...
... Under Mosaic law, a mother who had given birth to a man-child was considered unclean for seven days; moreover she was to remain for three and thirty days 'in the blood of her purification', which makes a total of 40 days ...
... the renewal of kingship at the climax of the Makahiki coincides with the rebirth of nature. For in the ideal ritual calendar, the kali'i battle follows the autumnal appearance of the Pleiades, by thirty-three days - thus precisely, in the late eighteenth century, 21 December, the winter solstice. The king returns to power with the sun ... If the total of 40 dark nights from the solstice should be regarded as corresponding to a week + 33 nights, we can count 354 (= 12 * 29½) + 7 = 361:
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