Algol As Horus in the Cairo Calendar: the Possible Means and the Motives of the Observations
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Natal Fixed Star Report
Natal Fixed Star Report For Megan Fox Born Friday 16 May 1986 Natal Star Report For: Megan Fox Friday 16 May 1986 12:35 AM EDT +04:00 Oak Ridge, Tennessee Lat 35°N59'18", Long 84°W17'11" Orbs used 2.00 minutes parans, 4.00 minutes angles Day beginning at Sunrise On the day you were born, you not only gained the magic of your horoscope, you also gained the myths and meanings of a sky full of stars. Not all the stars, just those that formed links to your natal planets via what is called parans. By considering the star parans in your life you will be encountering a whole new (though very old) layer of myth and meaning to your chart. Welcome to your Stars. Each star has a unique and wonderful pattern of visibility for any given place on earth. Some stars will be visible for a period in the night, yet later in the year they will fail to appear and be lost to the view of stargazers. Others will also rise or set at night, but instead of disappearing from view altogether, they will lose touch with the horizon and spend the whole night being visible in the starry sky. Yet both these sorts of stars will eventually return to rising or setting during the night, with each individual star doing so on a particular date of the year. However, there is also another set of stars that do not partake of this dance and are always visible, and never sink beneath the horizon, spending every night circling around the pole. -
Egyptian Quiz
Glasgow Museums Resource Centre Ancient Egypt Quiz Notes Round 1 - Life in Ancient Egypt Question 1 The Nile is the longest river in the world at over 4000 miles long Question 2 Khemet - The Black Land, named after the black tar-like silt that was dredged up when the Nile flooded every year, bringing nutrients to the soil and allowing crops to grow Interesting point - the word ‘Deshret’ is where we get our word for ‘desert’ from Question 3 There are different ways of measuring it, but most scholars will say around 760 hieroglyphs Hieroglyphs can be read up, down, left and right - you look at which way the figures are looking to guide you. The figures will always be looking towards the beginning of the ‘sentence’. Object notes This limestone stela fragment was given to Glasgow Museums by Miss J. May Buchanan in 1912.It preserves parts of six columns of a hieroglyphic inscription separated by vertical lines. The surviving text is part of a hymn to the sun in the form of the god Ra-Horakhty, a combination of the sun-god, Ra, with the falcon god, Horus-of-the-Two-Horizons. The inscription reads: '[Giving praise to Ra]-Hor-akhty, when he goes to his rest in life in this his great mountain […] he says, ‘Hail to you, great one of the Ennead, who comes into being […] in peace to the land of the Western mountain […]' '[… when] he rises in the eastern horizon of the sky, by the servant / deputy […] praise […]' Hymns invoking Amun-Ra-Horakhty do not appear before the 20th Dynasty, suggesting a date of the 20th Dynasty for this fragment. -
III. 9 the HELIACAL RISING of SIRIUS Teije De Jong the Heliacal Rising of Sirius, the Brightest Star in the Sky, Was Used In
III. 9 THE HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS Teije de Jong The heliacal rising of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, was used in antiquity, both in Egypt and in Mesopotamia, to synchronize the cal- endar to the solar year. On the day of its heliacal rising Sirius is seen again for the first time in the morning twilight sky after having been invisible for about 70 days (at the geographical latitude of Memphis). On that day it appears a few degrees above the Eastern horizon and disappears again after about 15 minutes due to the brightening of the sky just before sunrise. The date of heliacal rising depends on the rel- ative positions of Sirius and the Sun with respect to the horizon and on atmospheric conditions. According to Parker in the ancient Egyptian lunar calendar an addi- tional 13th month was intercalated in the next year whenever the first visibility of Sirius (associated with the Goddess Sothis) occurred during the last 11 days of the last month Wep renpet of the lunar year.1 In this way the Egyptians could make sure that the first month Toth of their lunar calendar always began shortly (within one lunar month) after the first visibility of Sirius. The heliacal rising of Sirius plays a crucial role in Egyptian chronology because it is supposed to fix the zero-point of the Egyptian civil calendar of 365 days by postulating that at the time of its installation the first visibility of Sirius occurred on the first day of the first month. One of the earliest references to the use of Sirius for intercalation in the Mesopotamian lunar calendar is found on Tablet II of MUL.APIN where we are told that if Sirius rises in the month Du"uzu (the 4th month) this year is normal but if it rises in the month Abu (the 5th) an extra month has to be intercalated that year.2 On Tablet I the nom- inal date of the first visibility of Sirius in the lunar calendar is given 1 R. -
The Denver Observer December 2017
The Denver DECEMBER 2017 OBSERVER Messier 76, the Little Dumbbell Nebula, one of the deep-sky objects featured in this month’s “Skies.” Image © Joe Gafford. DECEMBER SKIES by Zachary Singer The Solar System of view in your ’scope will include the Moon’s Sky Calendar 3 Full Moon December will be a decent month for eastern section and the star, with plenty of 10 Last-Quarter Moon planetary events; though some planets are room. 17 New Moon slipping from view, others will take their I recommend you observe early—it 26 First-Quarter Moon place. We also have an occultation of Alde- should be a beautiful view, with the star a baran; as seen from Denver, the Moon will bright spark near the Moon’s edge, and over pass in front of the star at approximately the following minutes (they’ll go fast, just like In the Observer 4:06 PM, on the 30th. At that point, with the recent solar eclipse did), you can see the Moon move in its orbit around us, using the sunset still more than half an hour away, the President’s Message . .2 star won’t be visible to the naked eye, but it star for a benchmark. (Before 4:00 PM, look Society Directory. 2 should be in a telescope if you know where for Aldebaran outside the square, but along to look: Imagine a square drawn just large the diagonal from the Moon’s center to that Schedule of Events . 2 enough to touch the edges of the Moon, and lower-left edge.) About Denver Astronomical Society . -
13. Palette of King Narmer Predynatic Egypt. C. 3000 – 2920 B. C. E
13. Palette of King Narmer Predynatic Egypt. C. 3000 – 2920 B. C. E. Greywacke (2 images) Video at YouTube Article at Khan Academy Discovered (1898) among a group of sacred implements ritually buried in a deposit within an early temple of the falcon god Horus at the site of Hierakonpolis (the capital of Egypt during the pre-dynastic period), this large ceremonial object is one of the most important artifacts from the dawn of Egyptian civilization o Temple caches of this type are not uncommon. There was a great deal of focus on ritual and votive objects (offerings to the God) in temples. Every ruler, elite individual, and anyone else who could afford it, donated items to the temple to show their piety and increase their connection to the deity. After a period of time, the temple would be full of these objects and space would need to be cleared for new votive donations. However, since they had been dedicated to a temple and sanctified, the old items that needed to be cleared out could not simply be thrown away or sold. Instead, the general practice was to bury them in a pit under the temple floor o The "Main Deposit" at Hierakonpolis, where the Narmer Palette was discovered, contained many hundreds of objects, including a number of large relief-covered ceremonial mace-heads, ivory statuettes, carved knife handles, figurines of scorpions and other animals, stone vessels, and a second elaborately decorated palette 63.5 cm (more than 2 feet) in height and made of smooth greyish-green siltstone, is decorated on both faces with detailed low relief. -
Binocular Universe: You're My Hero! December 2010
Binocular Universe: You're My Hero! December 2010 Phil Harrington on't you just love a happy ending? I know I do. Picture this. Princess Andromeda, a helpless damsel in distress, chained to a rock as a ferocious D sea monster loomed nearby. Just when all appeared lost, our hero -- Perseus! -- plunges out of the sky, kills the monster, and sweeps up our maiden in his arms. Together, they fly off into the sunset on his winged horse to live happily ever after. Such is the stuff of myths and legends. That story, the legend of Perseus and Andromeda, was recounted in last month's column when we visited some binocular targets within the constellation Cassiopeia. In mythology, Queen Cassiopeia was Andromeda's mother, and the cause for her peril in the first place. Left: Autumn star map from Star Watch by Phil Harrington Above: Finder chart for this month's Binocular Universe. Chart adapted from Touring the Universe through Binoculars Atlas (TUBA), www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm This month, we return to the scene of the rescue, to our hero, Perseus. He stands in our sky to the east of Cassiopeia and Andromeda, should the Queen's bragging get her daughter into hot water again. The constellation's brightest star, Mirfak (Alpha [α] Persei), lies about two-thirds of the way along a line that stretches from Pegasus to the bright star Capella in Auriga. Shining at magnitude +1.8, Mirfak is classified as a class F5 white supergiant. It radiates some 5,000 times the energy of our Sun and has a diameter 62 times larger. -
L AUNCH SYSTEMS Databk7 Collected.Book Page 18 Monday, September 14, 2009 2:53 PM Databk7 Collected.Book Page 19 Monday, September 14, 2009 2:53 PM
databk7_collected.book Page 17 Monday, September 14, 2009 2:53 PM CHAPTER TWO L AUNCH SYSTEMS databk7_collected.book Page 18 Monday, September 14, 2009 2:53 PM databk7_collected.book Page 19 Monday, September 14, 2009 2:53 PM CHAPTER TWO L AUNCH SYSTEMS Introduction Launch systems provide access to space, necessary for the majority of NASA’s activities. During the decade from 1989–1998, NASA used two types of launch systems, one consisting of several families of expendable launch vehicles (ELV) and the second consisting of the world’s only partially reusable launch system—the Space Shuttle. A significant challenge NASA faced during the decade was the development of technologies needed to design and implement a new reusable launch system that would prove less expensive than the Shuttle. Although some attempts seemed promising, none succeeded. This chapter addresses most subjects relating to access to space and space transportation. It discusses and describes ELVs, the Space Shuttle in its launch vehicle function, and NASA’s attempts to develop new launch systems. Tables relating to each launch vehicle’s characteristics are included. The other functions of the Space Shuttle—as a scientific laboratory, staging area for repair missions, and a prime element of the Space Station program—are discussed in the next chapter, Human Spaceflight. This chapter also provides a brief review of launch systems in the past decade, an overview of policy relating to launch systems, a summary of the management of NASA’s launch systems programs, and tables of funding data. The Last Decade Reviewed (1979–1988) From 1979 through 1988, NASA used families of ELVs that had seen service during the previous decade. -
A Lion in a Lettuce? Some Ideas on a Group of Late Old Kingdom Maceheads*
A lion in a lettuce? Some ideas on a group of late Old Kingdom maceheads* Andrés Diego Espinel Instituto de Lenguas y Culturas del Mediterráneo y Oriente Próximo – CSIC, Madrid [email protected] th URING THE FIRST DECADES of the 20 century several piriform or ḥḏ-maceheads carved with a hard-tipped leaf scale motif were retrieved around the mortuary D complex of king Teti (6th dynasty) at Saqqara [fig. 1]. In 1906-1907, Quibell discovered “parts of two of them made of reddish limestone” probably at the east of the king’s pyramid1. At least three other limestone maceheads “were found in the offering room or in the rubbish near it” by Firth and Gunn while digging in the Teti pyramid temple in the early 1920s2. Two of the former were given by the Egyptian Antiquities Service to the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston in 19243. The rest, along with other ones probably discovered about the same time, went to the Cairo Museum. Five of them are currently on display in the Imhotep Museum at Saqqara4. Almost all of the published examples are made of limestone, but, at least, there is a wooden example at Boston5. According to the images at hand of the four published limestone examples, all of them were inscribed with the Horus name of Teti (s.ḥtp tȝ.wy (rḏỉ ʿnḫ)) and a brief phrase connected to the practical use of these weapons: “subduing the znṯy.w-rebels (dȝ znṯ(y.)w)”6. Moreover, two of them contain a cartouche with the name of * I thank Francisco Borrego Gallardo (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) for the critical reading of a preliminary draft of this article and for his comments that have enriched significantly this paper. -
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory a Autumn Observing Notes
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory A Autumn Observing Notes Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Autumn Tour of the Sky with the Naked Eye CASSIOPEIA Look for the ‘W’ 4 shape 3 Polaris URSA MINOR Notice how the constellations swing around Polaris during the night Pherkad Kochab Is Kochab orange compared 2 to Polaris? Pointers Is Dubhe Dubhe yellowish compared to Merak? 1 Merak THE PLOUGH Figure 1: Sketch of the northern sky in autumn. © Rob Peeling, CaDAS, 2007 version 1.2 Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Autumn North 1. On leaving the planetarium, turn around and look northwards over the roof of the building. Close to the horizon is a group of stars like the outline of a saucepan with the handle stretching to your left. This is the Plough (also called the Big Dipper) and is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The two right-hand stars are called the Pointers. Can you tell that the higher of the two, Dubhe is slightly yellowish compared to the lower, Merak? Check with binoculars. Not all stars are white. The colour shows that Dubhe is cooler than Merak in the same way that red-hot is cooler than white- hot. 2. Use the Pointers to guide you upwards to the next bright star. This is Polaris, the Pole (or North) Star. Note that it is not the brightest star in the sky, a common misconception. Below and to the left are two prominent but fainter stars. These are Kochab and Pherkad, the Guardians of the Pole. Look carefully and you will notice that Kochab is slightly orange when compared to Polaris. -
Practicing Medicine in Ancient Egypt
Practicing Medicine in Ancient Egypt Michael R. Zimmerman March 28, 2017 Michael Zimmerman is Adjunct Professor of Biology at Villanova University, Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Visiting Professor at the University of Manchester (UK) KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology. et us start by imagining what Albert Einstein called a “thought experiment.” It is the year 5015 CE L and an excavation of an ancient hospital, ca. 2016 CE, uncovers an ancient book, written on paper rather than on the current electronic device. Although the book is in poor condition there is a partial hieroglyphic title, transcribed by an Egyptologist and a paleopathologist as Merck Manual. The book seems to be a compilation of disease descriptions and treatments by a long forgotten Dr. Merck. The diseases are difficult to decipher in an era when humans live to the age of 150 and die only when aged organs fail. It appears that the body could be attacked by minute parasitic organisms, visible only with an ancient tool called a “microscope.” Some cells appear to have taken on a life of their own, destroying the body by causing diseases known by a variety of poorly preserved terms such as “cancer” or “neoplasm.” The task of our future paleopathologist is analogous to that of the difficult undertaking of deciphering ancient Egyptian medical papyri. There are a number of surviving papyri, in various degrees of completeness, which have been studied by physicians and Egyptologists. They have done remarkably well, particularly in that the writing is mostly in the difficult hieratic rather than hieroglyphic text. -
Proper Motion Surveys of the Young Open Clusters Alpha Persei and the Pleiades
A&A 416, 125–136 (2004) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20034238 & c ESO 2004 Astrophysics Proper motion surveys of the young open clusters Alpha Persei and the Pleiades N. R. Deacon and N. C. Hambly Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK Received 28 August 2003 / Accepted 28 October 2003 Abstract. In this paper we present surveys of two open clusters using photometry and accurate astrometry from the SuperCOSMOS microdensitometer. These use plates taken by the Palomar Oschin Schmidt Telescope giving a wide field (5◦ from the cluster centre in both cases), accurate positions and a long time baseline for the proper motions. Distribution functions are fitted to proper motion vector point diagrams yielding formal membership probabilities. Luminosity and mass functions are then produced along with a catalogue of high probability members. Background star contamination limited the depth of the study of Alpha Per to R = 18. Due to this the mass function found for this cluster could only be fitted with a power ξ = −α α = . +0.14 law ( (m) m ) with 0 86−0.19. However with the better seperation of the Pleiades’ cluster proper motion from the field population results were obtained down to R = 21. As the mass function produced for this cluster extends to lower masses it is possible to see the gradient becoming increasingly shallow. This mass function is well fitted by a log normal distribution. Key words. astrometry – stars: low mass, brown dwarfs – Galaxy: open clusters and associations: individual: Alpha Per, Pleiades 1. Introduction Most recently Barrado y Navascu´es et al. -
The Planets for 1955 24 Eclipses, 1955 ------29 the Sky and Astronomical Phenomena Month by Month - - 30 Phenomena of Jupiter’S S a Te Llite S
THE OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK FOR 1955 PUBLISHED BY The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada C. A. C H A N T, E d ito r RUTH J. NORTHCOTT, A s s is t a n t E d ito r DAVID DUNLAP OBSERVATORY FORTY-SEVENTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION P r i c e 50 C e n t s TORONTO 13 Ross S t r e e t Printed for th e Society By the University of Toronto Press THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA The Society was incorporated in 1890 as The Astronomical and Physical Society of Toronto, assuming its present name in 1903. For many years the Toronto organization existed alone, but now the Society is national in extent, having active Centres in Montreal and Quebec, P.Q.; Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, London, and Windsor, Ontario; Winnipeg, Man.; Saskatoon, Sask.; Edmonton, Alta.; Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. As well as nearly 1000 members of these Canadian Centres, there are nearly 400 members not attached to any Centre, mostly resident in other nations, while some 200 additional institutions or persons are on the regular mailing list of our publications. The Society publishes a bi-monthly J o u r n a l and a yearly O b s e r v e r ’s H a n d b o o k . Single copies of the J o u r n a l are 50 cents, and of the H a n d b o o k , 50 cents. Membership is open to anyone interested in astronomy. Annual dues, $3.00; life membership, $40.00.