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Our amazing Universe
Category Archives: Astronomy
Summer eclipse season is coming
Image from NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, 2003. Solar and lunar eclipses occur when the Moon is either full (opposite the Sun) or “new” (conjunct the Sun), and one of the lunar nodes is located within 15 degrees of a conjunction to the Moon. As you’ve probably heard me say before, the astrological impact of an eclipse comes from the presence of the lunar nodes.
The nodes of the Moon are points in the sky where the Moon crosses the path of the Sun as it is observed from Earth. They are not actual astronomical bodies, but instead serve as signposts to show us where we have come from and what we need to leave behind (South, or descending Node) and the direction in which our soul is taking us (North, or ascending Node). The Nodes represent the crossroads between the Soul (Moon) and the Spirit (Sun) with the physical incarnation (Earth). Powerful stuff!
Typically there are two pairs of eclipses in a year, with two eclipses in each pair. This summer brings three separate eclipses:
- Solar eclipse June 1st at 11 Gemini
- Lunar eclipse June 15th at 24 Sagittarius
- Solar eclipse July 1st at 9 Cancer
The last time there were three eclipses in the summer was 2009 and you can read more about that here.
Although eclipses have been feared for thousands of years, unless you follow Vedic principles there is no need to fear an eclipse period. Eclipses tend to reveal and expose aspects of our lives which are hidden and which need to be brought into the conscious realm in order for us to develop and progress. This isn’t always fun, but the end result is worth any momentary discomfort we may experience.
The solar eclipse on June 1st is a partial eclipse (with the nodes 12 degrees from the Moon), and not very powerful. In addition, the Moon makes no direct aspect to any other planet other than a nice trine to Saturn.
The lunar eclipse on June 15th is another story. This is a total eclipse, and the T-square with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto is lining up and will form a Grand Cross with the Summer Solstice Sun at 0 degrees Cancer. (Geeky astrological detail: Uranus will be at 4 Aries, Pluto at 6 Cap, Saturn at 10 Libra.) The planetary energy is intensifying at this time and we may encounter some energy shifts that will affect us personally as well.
The chart for the Solstices and Equinoxes often reflects weather patterns for that season, and no wonder we’ve been having such severe weather over the past year: Each Solstice and Equinox, at 0 degrees of a cardinal sign, has been in a stressful alignment with Saturn, Uranus or Pluto. The trend will continue over the summer and into the fall of 2011.
The final eclipse of the season will occur July 1st at the New Moon. With the Sun and Moon at 9 degrees Cancer, this eclipse is firmly locked into the Cardinal Grand Cross. If you have planets in your own chart between 3 and 12 degrees of one of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) this eclipse could have a dramatic effect on your emotions, your psyche, your relationships with others (which is usually the domain through which our emotions are expressed).
Planetary cycles only wreak havoc with our lives where change is needed. In an ideal world, learning about astrology will help us to embrace change with trust and an open heart, providing us with a greater understanding that the patterns of the Universe unfold with meaning and compassion.
For daily planetary news, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.
Mercury, Venus and Jupiter: Oh my!
Mercury and Venus have been moving towards an exact conjunction over the past week, but today they align exactly. On Wednesday May 11th the two will hook up with Jupiter as well, creating a triple conjunction of powerful magnitude.
Mercury represents communication and the transmission of information, but it also governs change and the fluidity of our experience. Mercury is a bit of a shapeshifter, and in mythology Hermes/Mercury was the only god that could travel into the underworld to relay messages to Hades/Pluto from the other gods.
Venus and Jupiter are known as the “benefics,” with Venus often called the “lesser benefic” and Jupiter the “greater benefic.” The combination of these two is considered to be very fortunate by many astrologers. Venus enhances our ability to attract and refine, and Jupiter bestows confidence and faith which can assist us in expanding our sense of that which is possible so that possibilities become reality. This influence will remain in effect through May 15th or so.
The three planets align in the sign of Aries – the sign of fiery inspiration, motivation and courageous embrace of the unknown. This triple conjunction brings with it an ability to break through barriers of all kinds since there is very little fear or hesitation to stand in the way of our ideals.
Fortunately Mars, the planet of assertive action, has moved out of its own sign of Aries into Taurus which adds a grounding and stabilizing effect to this expansive planetary dynamic.
Mercury and Venus will continue their dance together for the next few weeks, but they will move past Jupiter by the 16th when both Mercury and Venus move into Taurus and the connection with Jupiter is severed. These are fast moving planets, and their influence usually lasts for just a few days. But when two planets are aligned for three weeks like this, there is an intensification of energy that can inspire change. You may feel that your life is moving too quickly but avoid resistance – remember Mercury is your ally here and will help you to integrate and transform.
In any case, there are great opportunities for skywatching over the next few days with the two brightest planets in the sky illuminating the usually elusive Mercury.
For daily planetary news, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.
Controversy abounds over new planet Tyche
From Space.com:
A duo of planetary astronomers has grabbed media attention by claiming a planet four times the size of Jupiter may be lurking in the outer solar system. They call the planet Tyche.
Many astronomers, however, say it probably isn’t there.
The claim by John Matese and Daniel Whitmire of the University of Lousiana-Lafayette is not new: They have been making a case for Tyche since 1999, suggesting that the giant planet’s presence in a far-flung region of solar system called the Oort cloud would explain the unusual orbital paths of some comets that originate there.
The Independent is more optimistic:
The hunt is on for a gas giant up to four times the mass of Jupiter thought to be lurking in the outer Oort Cloud, the most remote region of the solar system. The orbit of Tyche (pronounced ty-kee), would be 15,000 times farther from the Sun than the Earth’s, and 375 times farther than Pluto’s, which is why it hasn’t been seen so far.
But scientists now believe the proof of its existence has already been gathered by a Nasa space telescope, Wise, and is just waiting to be analysed.
If the International Astonomers Union does decide that there is a new planet, it may not get to keep the name Tyche. You may remember the new planet Eris was originally called Xena by its discoverer, Mike Brown, and the planet Uranus was originally called Herschel after its discoverer. The name Tyche could be wishful thinking – she was a goddess of good fortune and seen to preside over world affairs.
A monster storm on Saturn!
Universe Today reports that a storm on Saturn has turned into a monster storm, at least ten earths’ wide.
Saturn has exhibited storms before, and I wrote about the one in 2006 here, but the current storm is so huge that it is visible with the naked eye. In my article linked above, I wrote about political activity that coincided with the earlier Saturn storms in 1994. During the Saturn storm in 2006 there were mudslides, stampedes and sinking ferries.
Astrological Saturn is the taskmaster, demanding that we face the cold hard realities of life. It’s hard to know how much influence events on the planetary bodies themselves have in our personal world but it’s always useful to pay attention.
The Planetary K index
If you follow Spaceweather, you might have noticed that they keep track of something called the Planetary K index. Yesterday afternoon there was a strong solar wind stream that stimulated a higher level of geomagnetic activity and a K-index reading of 5, stimulating bright auroras like this one from Norway. The editors at Spaceweather explain:
[T]he Earth’s magnetic field (let us say the ‘geomagnetic field’) is responding to a outwardly propagating disturbance from the Sun. As the geomagnetic field adjusts to this disturbance, various components of the Earth’s field change form, releasing magnetic energy and thereby accelerating charged particles to high energies. These particles, being charged, are forced to stream along the geomagnetic field lines. Some end up in the upper part of the earth’s neutral atmosphere and the auroral mechanism begins.
Our physical body is surrounded by an electromagnetic energy field, and the more sensitive we become energetically the more we are apt to discern the subtle changes in the earth’s geomagnetic field. Since I have been watching the K-index I have noticed that I am noticeably more agitated when the K-index is elevated than when it is not, even when there are no other astrological influences that would induce this kind of experience. Here is a graph that is updated regularly which provides data on the K-index.
Individuals with a strong Uranian element to their chart, such as planets in Aquarius or aspects from personal planets to Uranus, and especially those who have an opposition of Chiron to Uranus in their charts which suggests a sensitive nervous system, may find it interesting to track the K-index. I haven’t found any metaphysical research involving this data so we’ll have to create our own!
The Geminid meteor shower and the asteroid Phaethon
Brrrr!!!!!!!! If you can stay up past midnight tonight and tomorrow, you may enjoy the treat of hundreds of meteors falling before your very eyes.
The Geminids appear to emanate from the constellation of Gemini, but evidently originate from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon and has been streaming for over 1,000 years, according to astronomers.
There are some fascinating connections here, because Phaethon was the name of the son of the Sun god Helios in Greek mythology. He was killed by a thunderbolt from Zeus when he drove the solar chariot recklessly, threatening to burn up the earth. In Ovid’s version of the story: “”…consider what impetuous force Turns stars and planets in a diff’rent course. I steer against their motions; nor am I Born back by all the current of the skye. But how cou’d you resist the orbs that roul In adverse whirls, and stem the rapid pole?”
According to Aristotle’s “Meteorology,” “Aristotle says, “…the stars…fell from heaven at the time of Phaethon’s downfall.”
In any case, be sure to bundle up if you attempt to view this sky show! More tips to observe the meteor shower can be found here.
Fighting for Pluto’s right to be a planet
Astrologers chuckle when we hear people say that Pluto is no longer a planet. Try telling that to someone going through a gnawingly agonizing Pluto transit! But ever since Pluto was reclassified (some say “demoted”) a few years ago, a small but very vocal contingent of astronomers is fighting to classify Pluto as a planet once again.
One of these astronomers is Alan Stern, who was interviewed by Space.com:
Just because Pluto orbits with many other dwarf planets doesn’t change what it is, just as whether an object is a mountain or not doesn’t depend on whether it’s in a group or in isolation.
What we see in the Kuiper Belt is a third class of planets, the dwarf planets, or DPs. Most, like Pluto and Eris, have primarily rocky compositions (like Earth), moons, and polar caps, atmospheres, seasons and other attributes like the larger planets. They’re just somewhat smaller.Back before the Kuiper Belt was discovered, Pluto did look like a misfit that didn’t belong with either the terrestrials or the giant planets. Turns out that was exactly right, but now we know why: Pluto looked like a misfit because our technology back then couldn’t see that it was just the brightest and easiest to detect of a large new class of planets.In fact, that’s why it’s clear Ceres [the largest object in the asteroid belt] was a planet all along, but was misclassified for a time because we didn’t have enough similar examples to recognize dwarf planets as their own category. Today, however, it’s clear the DPs outnumber both of the other two planet classes we know of in our solar system — the giants and the terrestrials. Which types look to be the misfit now, versus the norm?Some people seem to be uncomfortable with that fact. I see it as just another step in the Copernican revolution that began by displacing the Earth from the center of the universe.What we see in the Kuiper Belt is a third class of planets, the dwarf planets, or DPs. Most, like Pluto and Eris, have primarily rocky compositions (like Earth), moons, and polar caps, atmospheres, seasons and other attributes like the larger planets. They’re just somewhat smaller. Back before the Kuiper Belt was discovered, Pluto did look like a misfit that didn’t belong with either the terrestrials or the giant planets. Turns out that was exactly right, but now we know why: Pluto looked like a misfit because our technology back then couldn’t see that it was just the brightest and easiest to detect of a large new class of planets. In fact, that’s why it’s clear Ceres [the largest object in the asteroid belt] was a planet all along, but was misclassified for a time because we didn’t have enough similar examples to recognize dwarf planets as their own category. Today, however, it’s clear the DPs outnumber both of the other two planet classes we know of in our solar system — the giants and the terrestrials.
Which types look to be the misfit now, versus the norm? Some people seem to be uncomfortable with that fact. I see it as just another step in the Copernican revolution that began by displacing the Earth from the center of the universe.
For another view, see “How I Killed Pluto and Why it had it Coming” about Mike Brown, the discoverer or Eris who tried to kick Pluto out of the solar system.
Jupiter/Uranus and “strange sky sightings”
In the news today:
The Pentagon Tuesday said it was trying to determine if a missile was launched Monday off the coast of Southern California and who might have launched it.
Spokesmen for the Navy, Air Force, Defense Department and North American Aerospace Defense Command said they were looking into a video posted on the CBS News website that appears to show a rocket or some other object shooting up into the sky and leaving a large contrail over the Pacific Ocean.
The video was shot by a CBS affiliate KCBS’ helicopter, the station said Tuesday.
“Nobody within the Department of Defense that we’ve reached out to has been able to explain what this contrail is, where it came from,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said. “So far, we’ve come up empty with any explanation.”
This just one of a series of weird events that have happened in the sky over the past year. Astrologically, we have had a conjunction of Uranus (ruling the sky, and also strange events) conjunct Jupiter (amplifying those strange events) since April and May of 2010 that has coincided with these weird events which include:
- UFOs flying over Manhattan that ultimately turned out to be party balloons that had escaped from a private event in October.
- A home-grown satellite made of an Iphone and a camera attached to a weather balloon was launched into space from Brooklyn in October.
- In April A robotic space plane was launched from Florida in a mysterious mission that has still not been revealed.
- A very odd-looking “comet” named Hartley 2 recently photographed
looks more like a vehicle, prompting Richard Hoagland and others to postulate that the comet is an ancient spaceship.
Jupiter and Uranus are well within range of their conjunction. This planetary combination is associated with unusual events as well as scientific breakthroughs and space travel.
Stock market optimism continues a little longer
The conjunction of Jupiter to Uranus is still creating optimism in the markets that defy the news: “U.S. stocks closed higher Monday as investors were encouraged by earnings from Citigroup and a measure of home-builder confidence that topped expectations.” (read more here…)
Jupiter is the planet of confidence, and in tandem with Uranus it seeks sudden changes and liberation from negativity. The combination of these two planets is not the most realistic time in the world, and we are seeing this manifesting in the market, which rebounded today based on supposed confidence from home builders after an index reported today that builder confidence is up. The National Association of Home Builders chief economist interjected the voice of reason, saying “it could be another couple of years before the industry returns to normal.” There are signs of recovery, and that we have turned the corner as I’ve been reporting here. But the fundamentals are not strong enough yet to create real movement in the value of equities.
Mars is in Scorpio now, the sign of shared values and other people’s money (and therefore investments and the stock market), and Mars is moving into alignment to trine both Jupiter and Uranus. This should be a pretty positive week for the financial markets, although the retrograde movement of Venus will keep things from moving too far, too fast.
October is often a down month for the Dow, but after the intense planetary cycles of this summer investors are ready for a return of happy exuberance. They are likely to continue to find it until Mercury enters Scorpio on October 21st and begins to analyze the financial situation a little more thoroughly.
Overall, though, I continue to feel that we have turned the corner on the economic downturn and the overall health of businesses is already beginning to rise. Still, the days of successful investing in optimism and exuberance alone are surely over!
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/10/15/2550583/home-building-wont-recover-for.html#ixzz12kMNqCOR