Astrological Musings

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Thursday October 8, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

NASA prepares to shoot the Moon

by Lynn Hayes

On Friday, NASA's LCROSS mission will crash a rocket into a crater on the lunar surface at 7:30 am Eastern time.  The mission is designed to search for surface water in the polar regions of the Moon that normally cannot be easily seen.  

The "bombing" of the Moon has elicited a huge reaction from those of us who are sensitive to the impact of technology on the natural world.  There are "stop the bombing of the Moon" campaigns on Facebook and blogs, and many are weeping at the destruction of the Moon.  Meanwhile, scientists say that the impact of the rocket will be equivalent to two tons of TNT and hit the Moon at 5,600 miles per hour that will "create one more dimple on the moonscape."

It's no surprise that people are having an emotional reaction - the Moon in astrology represents the world of emotions and the feeling nature.  The Moon is our security - our instinctive reactions.  When we gaze up at a full Moon with wonder, we are connecting to it in an almost primal way, taking in the inspiration and magic just as humans have for millions of years.  So the idea that fellow humans are deliberately crashing rockets into the Moon gives us a feeling that we need to protect the Moon.

In looking at astrological correlations to this event, the question of where to draw the chart is an interesting one.  Do we draw it from the place the mission originated?  If we draw the chart for the moment of impact on the Moon, can we use a geocentric chart (from our perspective on earth)?  We can, if we want to see what the planetary energies are like and how they will affect US at the time of the event. 

The astrological chart for the impact at 7:30 am on Friday October 9 shows the Sun in Libra.  The Moon itself is in Gemini, where it likes to exchange information, but it is in a waxing square to Uranus and Venus so there are likely to be some surprises (Uranus) that come from the mission, and some conflict (Moon square to Venus) and emotional disruption.  

Mars (arguably representing the rocket) conjoins the lunar South Node.  This is not the first time that the Moon has been hit by an impact, and Mars on the South Node implies that there could be a discovery or revelation of these past events.  Conspiracy theorists have speculated for years that there is abundant evidence of previous settlements on the Moon, but I doubt that if anything is found it will be made known to us.

The Moon will be exactly trine Chiron as the rocket hits, which bodes well for the healing potential of the lunar body, and it is approaching a trine to Neptune which suggests that the Moon's magic (Neptune)  will not be lost as a result of this event.

These space bodies are pretty tough and have been around for a long time, and with this basically positive astrological environment I think that we can relax and turn our worries to other matters where we can actually have an impact.

Wednesday October 7, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

Saturn has a "massive new ring"

by Lynn Hayes

More space oddities:

Astronomers have found a new ring around Saturn that is associated with Phoebe, one of its moons.  This is the largest ring found to date on the solar system and completely dwarfs the image of the planet as we see it.

Interesting that when Uranus (new discoveries and anomalies) is opposite Saturn, paradigms about the very structure (Saturn) of the planet Saturn are overturned!


Tuesday October 6, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

"Cosmic rays have hit a space age high"

by Lynn Hayes

cosmic_rays.jpg
No, it's not science fiction!!

According to NASA, galactic cosmic rays have intensified 19% over the past 50 years.  Scientists believe that the cause of this increase is the solar minimum which began in 2007 and is still occurring as we've seen in these pages

The sun's magnetic field is our first line of defense against these highly-charged, energetic particles. The entire solar system from Mercury to Pluto and beyond is surrounded by a bubble of magnetism called "the heliosphere." It springs from the sun's inner magnetic dynamo and is inflated to gargantuan proportions by the solar wind. When a cosmic ray tries to enter the solar system, it must fight through the heliosphere's outer layers; and if it makes it inside, there is a thicket of magnetic fields waiting to scatter and deflect the intruder.

read more here...

Because of the solar minimum, the Sun has lost some of its power to deflect the cosmic rays from Earth.  Scientists say that there's nothing to worry about, and that hundreds of years ago the force of the cosmic rays was much worse.  Still, a correlation between the influx of cosmic radiation and an increased risk of cancer has been shown in recent studies. Other scientists suggest that an increase in cosmic rays is also associated with an increase in genetic diversity and the mutation of species.

From an astrological point of view it will be interesting to see if the cosmic rays continue to accelerate when Uranus (electrical rays, technology and anything unusual) enters the fiery sign of Aries (warfare, fire, leadership, initiation).  

Sunday September 13, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

Are we heading into another "little ice age?"

by Lynn Hayes

Maybe the solar warming skeptics are on to something.  As you probably know, we are in a very deep solar minimum, with over 700 days with absolutely no sunspot activity since 2004. In fact, some scientists are beginning to speculate that sunspots may be gone for good:

"Sunspot magnetic fields are dropping by about 50 gauss per year," says Penn. "If we extrapolate this trend into the future, sunspots could completely vanish around the year 2015."

This disappearing act is possible because sunspots are made of magnetism. The "firmament" of a sunspot is not matter but rather a strong magnetic field that appears dark because it blocks the upflow of heat from the sun's interior. If Earth lost its magnetic field, the solid planet would remain intact, but if a sunspot loses its magnetism, it ceases to exist.

read more here...

Between 1645 and 1715 or so, another spotless period later became known as the  "Maunder Minimum," and happened to coincide with the beginning of the "little ice age" that spread through Europe causing bitterly cold winters.  However, the cold spell lasted well beyond the end of the Solar Minimum period, leading many scientists to dispute the correlation.

Much of the panic over 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar also relates to the idea that this will be the year of the peak solar maximum.  If the solar cycle behaved as it was supposed to, we would be peaking during the period from 2011 to 2012.  Some scientists are predicting an even stronger peak because of the minimum.

The fact is, no one knows.  And isn't that one of the exciting mysteries of life!

Thursday August 13, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

Lake shorelines seen on Mars

Increasing the evidence that Mars once held life:

Now, sub-meter-scale images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show clear, unambiguous evidence of shorelines of a lake more than 450 meters (1,476 feet) deep that formed about 3.4 billion years ago. 

The study indicates that conditions favorable for flowing water and lake formation may have existed for thousands of years on Mars during the Hesperian epoch, which has been thought to be a period during which surface conditions did not allow significant hydrological activity.  

Evidently this is the first photographic evidence of its kind, proving once again that the boundaries of scientific knowledge continues to shift.

Tuesday August 11, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

Perseid meteor shower at its peak!

The annual summer show of falling stars will peak tomorrow afternoon when it will be invisible, so tonight might be our best opportunity to catch the show.    The meteor shower will be somewhat difficult to see when it peaks...

Monday August 10, 2009

Categories: Astronomy, Pluto

Astronomers at IAU ignore Pluto once again

by Lynn HayesThe International Astronomers' Union met again this week and some star-watchers hoped that Pluto would be under consideration to regain planetary status.  Alas, it was not to be:Neither the pro-Pluto nor the anti-Pluto adherents have any interest in...

Thursday August 6, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

Astrology, the Kepler telescope, and extrasolar planets

by Lynn HayesThe orbiting Kepler telescope has spotted a Jupiter-sized planet around another star -- a sighting that demonstrates it can see Earth-like planets if they are out there, scientists reported on Thursday.The planet, called HAT-P-7b, was already among the...

Thursday June 11, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

The Mars Hoax is back, and Venus and Mars hook up

Ever since 2003 when Mars made its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years and loomed large in the sky with its glorious red shine, every August our email boxes fill with well-meaning messages from friends determined to inform us...

Tuesday May 26, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

Jupiter's light will illuminate Neptune in the conjunction!

From Space.com:Normally to find Neptune you would need to have access to a very dark, clear sky and very carefully examine a sky chart or star atlas; an attempt to locate Neptune can then be made using a small telescope...

Wednesday May 13, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

NASA and Mercury Retrograde

by Lynn HayesNASA seems to really like Mercury retrograde.  NASA first launched the Discovery space shuttle on August 30, 1984 when Mercury was retrograde.  The Discovery launched the Hubble telescope on April 24 1990 when Mercury was retrograde. After the initial...

Wednesday May 6, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

A new sunspot cycle?

The current Solar Minimum cycle has had 619 days of a spot-free Sun (as compared with the typical solar minimum of 485 days).  But Spaceweather reports today that a new active region on the Sun produced a Coronal Mass Ejection...

Monday April 27, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

Moon, Mercury and the Pleiades

Spaceweather offers this beautiful photo by Richard Fleet of yesterday's conjunction of the Moon and Mercury with the Seven Sisters of the Pleaides: For more information about what makes the Pleaides so special, please refer to this earlier article. ...

Tuesday April 7, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

We are in Deep Solar Minimum

by Lynn HayesThanks to Astrococktail for this link to a NASA article on the Solar Minimum, the expected period of low sunspot activity.  The Solar Minimum came right on schedule back in 2006, as I reported in this earlier article....

Wednesday March 25, 2009

Categories: Astronomy, Discoveries

Do "Celestial Portals" really exist?

by Lynn HayesAs new and ever more incredible scientific discoveries expand our awareness of what is possible, the new knowledge is beginning to overlap with ancient knowledge that was previously dismissed as fantasy or myth.  A new article on Thunderbolts.info outlines...

Saturday March 21, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

The Messier Marathon: How many galaxies can you see?

When the New Moon occurs near the spring equinox and the sky is dark, there is an opportunity to view up to 110 deep sky objects as catalogued by Charles Messier. These include galaxies and nebulae and star clusters that...

Friday February 27, 2009

Daily Skywatch: The Moon/Venus Dance!! February 27, 2009

by Lynn Hayes.  This is written for Eastern time zone - please adjust accordingly for your own part of the world. Planetary weather is quiet in the morning, and then the Moon brings us a delightful series of harmonious transits....

Saturday February 21, 2009

Categories: Astronomy

The Comet Cometh - the astrology of Lulin's approach

photo from Spaceweather. Comet Lulin will make its closest approach to Earth on February 24.  Joseph Mina wrote in the comments a few days ago, " interesting how Comet Lulin, whose orbital movement is opposite (clockwise) the planets, will conjunct Saturn during...

Sunday December 14, 2008

Categories: Astronomy, Mysteries

The Tale of the Antikythera Mechanism

by Lynn HayesA new video shows a reconstruction of the Antikythera Mechanism by museum curator Michael Wright:  This is an extremely sophisticated device using a 19-year lunar cycle, which corresponds to the 19-year cycle of the lunar nodes.  New Scientist...

Wednesday December 10, 2008

Categories: Astrology, Astronomy

Big Full Moon on Friday. I mean, really big!

by Lynn HayesAccording to NASA:The full Moon of Dec. 12th is the biggest and brightest full Moon of the year.It's no illusion. Some full Moons are genuinely larger than others and this Friday's is a whopper. Why? The Moon's orbit...

Saturday November 15, 2008

Categories: Astronomy

Jupiter and Venus unite in the sky

by Lynn HayesJupiter and Venus will conjunct in Capricorn on December 2, and as they grow closer in the sky they will provide a beautiful show, especially as the Moon wanes and the sky darkens.  Venus and Jupiter are the...

Thursday October 30, 2008

Categories: Astronomy

Saturn/Uranus: Electricity found on Saturn's Moon

Thanks to Shane for this cool article and to the Daily Galaxy for the cool image:Recently identified electrical activity on Saturn's largest moon bolsters arguments that Titan is the kind of place that could harbor life. At a brisk -350 degrees Fahrenheit...

Sunday September 14, 2008

Categories: Astrology, Astronomy

Harvest Moon tomorrow!

The Full Moon on the 15th is the Harvest Moon, so named because the period between sunset and moonrise is shorter as we near the Autumnal Equinox which makes for a longer workday on the farm.  This Full Moon is in...

Saturday September 6, 2008

Categories: Astronomy

First month with no sunspots in a century!

 Scientists report that the Sun has been free of sunspots for the first time since 1913 after a seven-month period in which only three sunspots were seen.  Back in January a new sunspot appeared to introduce the new Solar Cycle Number...

Tuesday July 29, 2008

Categories: Astronomy

Do galactic cycles influence earth's history?

One of the arguments against the validity of astrology is the argument that there is no scientific evidence that humans on earth are influenced by planetary bodies.  For many skeptics there must be scientific proof that a thing is...

Tuesday April 4, 2006

Categories: Astronomy

Solar minimum has arrived

Beginning in February of this year, the Sun has been completely blank with no sunspots. NASA solar physicist David Hathaway says "Solar minimum has arrived." In 2004, he predicted that solar minimum, a period of low sunspot activity, would arrive...

Thursday February 2, 2006

Categories: Astronomy

10th planet proves bigger than Pluto

For 5,000 years astrologers worked with the same seven planets (Mercury through Saturn - now known as the "inner planets." The discovery of Uranus in 1781, followed by Neptune in 1846 and Pluto in 1930 changed astrology forever by introducing...

Friday December 23, 2005

Categories: Astronomy, Uranus

Surprising discoveries about Uranus

In astrology, Uranus symbolizes radical change and eccentric behavior, it is the revolutionary of the zodiac. Astronomers have long known that Uranus possesses unusual features such as the fact that it is tipped nearly on its side relative to the...

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About Astrological Musings

Lynn Hayes has been a practising astrological consultant in beautiful North Carolina for over 25 years, working with clients all over the world both in person and by phone. She focuses on therapeutic and healing approaches which encourage greater empowerment and personal growth. Visit www.astrodynamics.net for more information.

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