Moon and our mythology has always excited me. This Akshay tritiya moon reminded me of a wonderful story from our mythology which shows how advanced a country we were in those times 
Moon was married to 27 daughters of Raja Daksha. Among his 27 wives, Chandra was especially fond of his fourth wife, Rohini, and spent most of his time with her. The other wives resented his indifference to them and complained about it to their father.
Daksha immediately cursed Chandra. ‘May your powers decline with the passing of each day,’ he said, losing his temper. Chandra begged Daksha to take the curse back. But once a curse is uttered, no one can revoke it. So he prays to Shiva.
Pleased with Chandra’s devotion, Shiva appeared and said, ‘though I cannot reverse Daksha’s curse, I can soften it to some extent. From this day onward, you will increase in brightness for 15 days in Shukla Paksha and then wane for 15 days in Krishna Paksha.
Chandra was disappointed at his crescent shape and Shiva consoles him saying, ‘I will wear your crescent in my hair to show my devotees that they are dear to me even in their lowest moments.’. The place where Chandra worshipped Shiva is now Somnath temple
Those 27 wives of Chandra are the constellations surrounding the moon’s orbit, and are frequently referred to as nakshatras or stars. The names of these nakshatras—for example, Kritika, Rohini and Ashwinin—are still an important part of the Hindu calendar.
What we read in modern science was described in our mythology in simple stories for common man to understand. Astrological knowledge of people those days was amazing and we often dismiss as silly myths.
