DOCSLIB.ORG

'Jupiter Meets Uranus' by Anne Whitaker

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
'Jupiter Meets Uranus' by Anne Whitaker ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’ by Anne Whitaker Copyright © 2015 All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transcribed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording or by any information storage and retrieval system except by written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and articles. Requests and inquiries to [email protected] ISBN: 978 -1- 63068- 552 -2 Copy Editor: Anne Whitaker Cover Design and Production by co-occurrence E-Published in Scotland UK by ‘Writing from the Twelfth House’ 2015 Introduction to the 2014 Edition Some obsessions can have a long shelf life! This has certainly been the case in my relationship with the Jupiter/ Uranus conjunction, that exciting, educational and unpredictable planetary combination in which revolution and innovation join forces with restless exploration and the quest for knowledge. Maybe having my horoscope’s Ascendant on the Jupiter/Uranus midpoint has something to do with it…. My astrological career began during the 1983 Jupiter/ Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius. Almost from the outset, I became utterly captivated by astrological symbolism. Captivated by its ability to reveal the relationship between that tiny, vital spark of an ordinary human life and those bigger pictures of family, nation, culture – onward and outward to the shifts and changes of the wider global community, both in current times and in tracking the long pulse beat of historical change. Planetary cycles rapidly became a source of enduring fascination for me. From the epoch-defining 500 year Neptune/Pluto cycle to the tiny monthly cycle of the Sun/ Moon, I realised that they all followed the same basic stages: seeding, germinating, sprouting, flowering, ripening, harvesting, dying back in preparation for the new. As I became more practised and experienced as an astrologer, my understanding both of the larger currents of world affairs and the tiny rhythms of my own and my clients’ lives was greatly deepened and enriched by the iii application of planetary cycles. Realising the profound weave which exists between the symbolic and practical manifestations of every kind of life on Earth, I was awestruck. The great and small cycles of the planets describe ‘a time to be born and a time to die’, a wonderfully vivid example being provided by the most recently completed Uranus/ Neptune 170 year cycle. Its beginning in 1818 saw the birth of Karl Marx; its dying in the late 1980s/early 1990s saw the demise of the whole communist system which Marx’s writing had inspired. Jupiter conjunct Uranus 1997/8 The Jupiter/Uranus cycle lasts for 14 years. I noted with growing excitement during 1996 that there was a Jupiter/ Uranus conjunction in Aquarius coming up in February 1997. This was my chance to observe planetary symbolism in action in both individual and collective life. So I did! The book you are about to read about the 1997/8 conjunction is the result. As Armand Diaz, Ph.D, put it in a recent review on the Astrology News Service’s website: ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus is a great introduction to how astrology works at the individual and social level. Readers without any knowledge of astrology may want to skip past a paragraph or two here and there, but Whitaker’s style is engaging and her explanations are always clear. By taking a relatively small slice of the astrological pie and examining it in detail, she makes it iv possible for non-astrologers to understand how astrologers think – a valuable insight for anyone wanting to know more about this ancient discipline’s workings in the contemporary world….’ Jupiter conjunct Uranus 2010/11 However, time rolled on, the 2009 print edition of ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’ by the American Federation of Astrologers sold out, and in no time, the 2010/11 Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in Aries and Pisces was upon us. My obsession returned, much to the alarm of my husband, family, friends and students who had endured the 1997/8 period with stoical patience. By this time, however, I was a great deal more cyber-savvy, having run a blog/magazine “Writing from the Twelfth House”since 2008, with an ancillary blog dedicated to promoting the 2009 Edition of ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’. There, during 2010/11, I wrote an extensive series of articles on this latest Jupiter/Uranus conjunction both from a global and an individual perspective, in the process conducting another research project. This time I followed the turbulent, exciting and challenging experiences of 10 volunteers from around the world. My gallant band were kind enough to offer their life stories throughout the whole year of the conjunction. I called their accounts ‘Tales from the Wild Ride’. After that marathon effort, I thought I was finished with Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions. However…. v Jupiter square Uranus 2013/4: now for the ebook! In the autumn of 2013, Jupiter and Uranus made their first square following the 2010/11 conjunction. My obsession, which I thought I’d worn out in 2010/11, poked its head above the parapet. Perfect timing! As part of an extended project to publish three ebooks by the end of 2014, I decided to produce all my work on the Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions of 1997/8 and 2010/11 as the third book in the series. In keeping with the general non- conformity of Jupiter/Uranus energy, this ebook you are about to read is half book, half blog! The book part, “Jupiter Meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing” is a republication of the print edition from 2009. The blog part, “Jupiter Meets Uranus: tales from the wild ride” takes you into everything I wrote – as already described – during the 2010/11 conjunction in Aries and Pisces. When you get there, you will meet Giorgio (28) Maria (32) Harry (41) Eve (51)Alicia (53) Kathy (54) Caroline (58) Louis (60) Fiona (61) Barbara (81) – not their real names – with their vivid, lively, moving and startling feedback from an exceptional year both in their lives and the life of our world. You can also read the range of articles I wrote on both world affairs and personal lives, with readers of the articles adding their own comments and discussion which contributes a colourful layer of experience and opinion to vi my efforts. Here are a few of their public comments: (you will find more in the “Feedback 2010/11” Page in the header of this site) ‘I have just started reading through your articles and the different links. I have to say your work is amazing just as amazing as the daily news which corresponds almost exactly with everything for 2010 that you’ve written about!’ Marty 25.5.2010 ‘Oh my God what a day! I can barely take it! Thank goodness for your site!’ Marty 11.6.2010’ ‘Anne, this is a great idea to collect tales of Jupiter/Uranus influences, and I thank you muchly for the link!’ Jude Cowell (Stars over Washington)11.6.2010 ‘Another great article, Anne. It’s so helpful for us to have this information in one place, and to be able to see and analyze the many faces of this amazing conjunction.’ Dawn Bodrogi ( The Inner Wheel) 16.7.2010 ‘…. am finding this ‘as it happens’ feedback very useful and I am grateful to your volunteers – there are strong mirrors out there! Very reassuring….So fascinating, what an inspiring piece of work you have brought into the world here!’ Rob 7.8.2010 vii Three reading suggestions: Read “Jupiter Uranus and the Purple People of planet Zog” - my summer 2009 interview with the American Federation of Astrologers, which is a wide-ranging introduction to Jupiter/Uranus aspects, their historical context, the research I did during 1997/8, and my speculations regarding what the 2010/11 conjunction might bring. Then read “Jupiter Meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing” - the 2009 book part. Then click “Jupiter Meets Uranus: tales from the wild ride” –to read the 2010/11 blog part. I hope you enjoy this in-depth exploration of the historical, mundane and personal impact of the unique planetary combination that is Jupiter and Uranus! I’d love to hear from you with your comments: do email me at info@anne- whitaker.com Thanks! Anne Whitaker August 2014 Writing from the Twelfth House viii Jupiter Meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing A research study exploring some collective and individual manifestations of the February 1997 Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Aquarius, set in its mythological and historical context. by Anne Whitaker i ii Dedication This is my first book and it is dedicated to the memory of Charles Harvey, whose support and encouragement I was fortunate enough to have from the beginning of my astrological career in 1983 until graduating from the Centre for Psychological Astrology in November 1998, not long before his death. Charles’ initial enthusiasm and encouragement fuelled my commitment to doing the research presented in this study. It is also dedicated to the seventeen people who generously provided a window into their lives for a whole year, sending honest, open and enlightening feedback without which the study could never have been written. Thank you all! Thanks Ken Gillman, Editor of Considerations Magazine (USA)...... for his support of my work over the last few years, and for his invaluable role as a critic and guide in the shaping of this book. Ian Halliburton, my patient, supportive and good- humoured husband, who had to put up with more of my obsessive ravings throughout 1997/8 than anyone else.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Star of Bethlehem: an Astronomical and Historical Perspective
    THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM: AN ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE By Susan S. Carroll The Star of Bethlehem is one of the most powerful, and enigmatic, symbols of Christianity. Second perhaps only to the Cross of the Crucifixion, the importance of its role in the story of the Nativity of the Christ child is almost on a par with the birth itself. However, the true origin of the Star of Bethlehem has baffled astronomers, historians, and theologians for the past two millennia. For the purposes of this discussion we shall consider four possibilities: That the star was a one-shot occurrence - never before seen and has not been seen since; it was placed in the sky by God to announce the birth of His Son; That the Star was added to the story of the Nativity after the fact; That the Star was a real, documentable astronomical object; That the entire New Testament is fake. If you subscribe to the first theory, then we, as astronomers, have nothing to talk about. It was a supernatural miracle that defies scientific explanation. However, many theologians insist on putting some sort of divine interpretation on Matthew s writings. By admitting that the Star was a natural phenomenon, with an actual scientific explanation, is tantamount to totally removing its heavy symbolic significance. After all, how could something so miraculous have such a mundane explanation? There is a certain amount of credence to the second theory. At the time of Jesus' birth, very few people recognized its significance. The only time the Star is mentioned at all is in the Book of Matthew.
    [Show full text]
  • Stellium Handbook Part
    2 Donna Cunningham’s Books on the Outer Planets If you’re dealing with a stellium that contains one or more outer planets, these ebooks will help you understand their role in your chart and explore ways to change difficult patterns they represent. Since The Stellium Handbook can’t cover them in the depth they deserve, you’ll gain a greater perspective through these ebooks that devote entire chapters to the meanings of Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto in a variety of contexts. The Outer Planets and Inner Life volumes are $15 each if purchased separately, or $35 for all three—a $10 savings. To order, go to PayPal.com and tell them which books you want, Donna’s email address ([email protected]), and the amount. The ebooks arrive on separate emails. If you want them sent to an email address other than the one you used, let her know. The Outer Planets and Inner Life, V.1: The Outer Planets as Career Indicators. If your stellium has outer planets in the career houses (2nd, 6th, or 10th), or if it relates to your chosen career, this book can give you helpful insights. There’s an otherworldly element when the outer planets are career markers, a sense of serving a greater purpose in human history. Each chapter of this e-book explores one of these planets in depth. See an excerpt here. The Outer Planets and Inner Life, v.2: Outer Planet Aspects to Venus and Mars. Learn about the love lives of people who have the outer planets woven in with the primary relationship planets, Venus and Mars, or in the relationship houses—the 7th, 8th, and 5th.
    [Show full text]
  • Stellium Handbook Sampler
    About the Author: Donna Cunningham is an award-winning astrologer with a Master’s Degree in Social Work, over 40 years experience as a professional astrologer, and a solid background in flower essences and other healing tools. Donna is the internationally-known author of 15 well- received astrology books, 20 years of advice columns for Dell Horoscope, and thousands of astrology articles. Born in 1942, she has over 70 years of hands-on experience in managing her own Gemini stellium. She has written the only known reference works on stelliums—The Stellium Handbook and the no longer available companion workbook, The Stellium Tool Kit. How to order the book: The Stellium Handbook is over 250 pages and 115,000 words, separated into two ebook files for easier navigation. It is $20 and can be ordered through PayPal. Go to your account there, give them Donna’s email address ([email protected]), and they will notify her. The book will come to you by email, so let her know if you want it sent to a different email address. If you need to pay by check, write to Donna for details. All Rights Reserved. No part of this copyrighted publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or displayed in any form, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author. If you found this on a free ebook site, it was a pirated copy. Those sites have unauthorized copies of many astrologers’ works—significant volumes by much-admired teachers and speakers who labored unselfishly to preserve what they’ve learned so we can all grow.
    [Show full text]
  • World Transits 2000-2020
    World Transits 2000–2020 An Overview Richard Tarnas There are few frames of reference more illuminating of individual and collective archetypal dynamics and psychological conditions than an archetypally informed knowledge of current planetary positions. In the following pages I would like to set out an overview of the major world transits of the outer planets that I believe are most relevant for understanding our current historical moment. In particular, I want to review both the most significant longer-term planetary alignments leading up to this era and, more recent, those that have unfolded since Cosmos and Psyche was completed five years ago, in 2005. On that basis, we can deepen and extend that book’s brief anticipatory analysis of the extraordinary convergence of planetary configurations of the 2008–12 period. This article is therefore continuous with the chapter “Observations on Future Planetary Alignments,” from the final section of Cosmos and Psyche.1 The Outer-Planet Conjunction Series: The Presence of the Past If we can, for a moment, adjust our archetypal telescope and zoom out to a wide-angle historical perspective, we can see that our moment in history is taking place in the aftermath of three great conjunctions involving the three intersecting cycles of the outer planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—the “ambassadors of the galaxy,” as Dane Rudhyar evocatively described them. We are, of course, living in a time when new celestial bodies at the outskirts of our solar system are being discovered at World Transits 2000–2020 a rapid pace, as are extrasolar planets in other systems.
    [Show full text]
  • Vol. 9 No. 2 Summer, 1980 the STAR of BETHLEHEM RECONSIDERED: a THEOLOGICAL APPROACH Carl J
    In This Issue THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM RECONS1DERED: A THEOLOG ICAL APPROACH Carl J. Wenning 2 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM RECONS IDERED: AN HISTORICAL APPROACH .John Mosley and Ernest L. Ma rlin 6 TH E HEAVENS AND A CONSC IOUS EX PER IENCE OF tMORTA LI TY . Georgia Hooks Shurr 11 THE CANALS OF MARS, A RETROSPECTIVE David H. DcVorkin, cesc and Michael Mendillo 12 FEATURES: Letters and Announcements 3 What's New James Brown 9 Focus on Educa tion Jeanne Bis hop 10 Crea tive Corner (How 10 Assemble Space Stillion- Island Onc" by Brian Sullivan) Herb Schwartz' 22 Jane's Comer . • . Jane P. Geohcgan 27 Vol. 9 No. 2 Summer, 1980 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM RECONSIDERED: A THEOLOGICAL APPROACH Carl J. Wenning 1.S. U. Planetarium Illinois State University Normal, IL 61761 Each and every Christmas season the public hears public if we don't take into account other considerations? from the planetarium community how the Star of It is my firm belief that to truly solve the Christmas star Bethlehem mystery has been solved. As a solution the mystery we must call in someone who is both an famous triple conjunction is proffered. The triple astronomer and a theologian. Now I do not purport to be conjunction occurred in what appears to be the an astronomer, much less a theologian. However I am appr~priate ti me frame, fits many factors, and is sufficiently well versed in biblical studies to ~uggest plausible. In fact, a whole plethora of ideas give support several alternatives to the triple conjunction which simply to the triple conjunction as being THE answer.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gas Giant Planets, the Great Year and the Holy City
    The Gas Giant Planets, the Great Year and the Holy City The gas giant planets Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune form a conjunction cycle of 179 years, a period that is 1/144th of earth’s long term temporal cycle known as the Great Year (25765 years). This astronomical structure of time also has a cultural resonance with the Bible’s implicit use of the planetary structure of the Great Year as the framework for the Holy City. This paper provides new physical findings about the Great Year which show how this long time horizon provides a temporal framework for Christian cosmology. The Great Year is the main long term astronomical cycle of the earth as the point of return of the stars to their previous position against the seasons. An orbital conjunction pattern of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune relates to this cycle, matching one twelfth of one twelfth of the terrestrial wobble period. Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune are in the same relative positions every 178.9 years ± 0.2 years. This period is 1/144th of the axial wobble period of the earth, the 25,764 year cycle known as the Great Year. The JSN triple conjunction cycle of 178.9 years has duration one twelfth of the Zodiacal Age period of 2147 years, with twelve Ages forming a Great Year. Furthermore, each successive JSN conjunction occurs 30° along the ecliptic from the previous one, so the twelve related JSN events of each Zodiacal Age occur in each of the twelve successive zodiacal signs. This solar system cycle, with its apparent harmonic resonance with the earth’s Great Year, also has implications for how the Great Year is embedded in mythology.
    [Show full text]
  • Fact Sheet About the 1988-89 Capricorn Stellium ©2013 by Donna Cunningham, MSW
    From The Stellium Handbook, 2013 Fact Sheet about the 1988-89 Capricorn Stellium ©2013 by Donna Cunningham, MSW NOTE: You may distribute this fact sheet to astrologers, astrology students, and people with Capricorn Stelliums, as long as you retain my copyright and the source. It’s drawn from my 2013 reference work, The Stellium Handbook, an ebook available at http://skywriter.wordpress.com/stellium-information/. Every single child born on the planet in 1989 and in five months of 1988 had an extraordinary conjunction of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune standing within 8-10° of one another in Capricorn. These rare triple conjunctions can be as much as 680 years apart. The two previous ones were in Virgo in 1307 and in Scorpio in 625 AD. Many people born in winter months of 1988-89 had the Sun, Mercury, or Venus in Capricorn as well—forming powerful stelliums of as many as seven planets. (Capricorn stelliums continued for several years of the 1990s without the triple conjunction.) There was a huge spike in the birth rate in 1989, with more children born in the U.S. than at any time since 1964. Therefore, the peak of the Uranus-Neptune-Saturn conjunction was also a peak in births. In the late 1980s, the world birth rate was the highest ever recorded, at about 138 million a year1. The triple conjunction doesn’t affect all areas of life equally. It’s focused on the areas of life described by the house of the astrology chart where the stellium is placed. To understand the triple conjunction, first analyze the three parts of it separately: the Saturn-Uranus conjunction, the Saturn-Neptune conjunction, and the Uranus-Neptune conjunction.
    [Show full text]
  • Nasa Cr-61316 Long Range Solar Flare -Prediction
    NASA C.0NTR ACTOR REPORT NASA CR-61316 LONG RANGE SOLAR FLARE -PREDICTION By Dr. J. B. Blizard Departnmnt of Physics Denver Research Inetitute University of Denver Denver, Colorado 80210 October 1969 Final Report Pmpamd for NASA-GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER Marehall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812 -- --- -.--- .- _. __ -_- ____-__. 4 1lltF RNI' ClWlltlF ti mFP'IPIr IlCIF Ot, I , 100') I A )NU HAN(1lt NOI AN It I AH II l'ltlll) 1C'l' 1ON I___- - - _- - ._ 6 PIFHkUHMINb OHGAIdI/AI ION 1HJk 7. AUTHOR(S) e. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPOR r II J. B. Blizard 4130-10 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. WORK UNIT NO. Department of Phys ics Denver Research Institute 11. CONTRACf OR GRANT NO. University of Denver NAS8-21436 Denver, Colorado 80210 13. TYPE OF R~POR~PERIOD COVERED 12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS Contractor Aero-Astrodynamics Laboratory 6- 681 8- 69 NASA - George C. Marshall Space Flight Center , Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812 14. SPdNSORlNG AGENCY CODE (The publication of this report does, not constitute agreement with its conclusions by NASA. It is published only for the exchange and simulation of ideas.) 19. SECURITY CLASSlF. (dthio repart1 20. SECURITY CLASSIF. (of thlm pae) 21. NO. OF PAGES 22. PRICE UNCLASSIFIED UNCUS SIFIED 75 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section 'Page 1 INTRODUCTION . 1 2 ORGANIZATION OF REPORT 4 3 EMPIRICAL APPROACH (Planet Conj) . 5 Empirical Flare Prediction . 6 Theoretical Flare Prediction 7 Rank Order of Planetary Effects 8 4 MAJOR EVENTS BEFORE 1942 . 16 Long Lived Giant Sunspots .
    [Show full text]
  • Star of Bethlehem
    STAR OF BETHLEHEM Biblical evidence Matthew II, 1–2: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the King behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.” Matthew II, 9–10: “Then Herod, when he privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently when the star appeared.” [...] “When they had heard the King, they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” What can we say from this? • The wise men (Magi) were most likely priests and/or astrologers. They came presumably from Babylon, but possibly from Assyria or Chaldea. • At about the sixth century tradition changed the Magi into Kings and their number was fixed at three because of the threefold nature of their gifts gold, frankincense and myrrh (but six Kings in the eastern tradition). • The star was not very bright and obvious to everybody, but must have held astrological significance. Also it must have been a fairly long lasting phenomenon. • It was only in medieval times that the star got to be depicted as very bright and with a tail, suggesting a comet or a meteorite. • It remains possible that the story about the star is only fiction; part of a tale to amplify the significance of Jesus’s birth and/or to fulfill the Old Testamental prophecy.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 STAR of BETHLEHEM ABSTRACT for Over 400 Years Scholars And
    STAR OF BETHLEHEM RONALD E. MICKLE Denver, Colorado 80211 ©2003 Ronald E. Mickle ABSTRACT For over 400 years scholars and theologians have studied the possible origins of the Star of Bethlehem. In preparing for this essay, it was quickly discovered that the articles and publications regarding the origin of the Star of Bethlehem numbered in the hundreds. Due to limited space and time, this critical review of possible interpretations of the Star will focus on only three areas: (1) the accuracy of dates of the event, (2) the possible astronomical origins (stellar and non-stellar), and (3) popular misconceptions. I will draw upon three publications and give my opinion. 1. ACCURACY OF THE DATES OF THE EVENT To help identify the phenomena referred to as the Star of Bethlehem, we must first decide when Jesus was born. Many scientific scholars and theologians have studied the documents over the years and not one, that this writer found, can definitively say in what year the birth occurred. While evidence used by various scholars is, for the most part, factual, their conclusions can be very subjective. In researching documents, I found three occurrences which help fix the date of Christ’s birth. First is the final years of King Herod’s reign, including his death. Second is the Roman census which required Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, to return to their home of ancestry, and last, a series of celestial events. HEROD’S DEATH The reign and death of Herod the Great is documented in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, and, for the most part, agreed upon by scholars[Carroll].
    [Show full text]
  • A CLOCK MODEL for PLANETARY CONJUNCTIONS 1. Introduction On
    A CLOCK MODEL FOR PLANETARY CONJUNCTIONS SUNIL K. CHEBOLU 1. Introduction On December 21, 2020, the night sky offered a beautiful astronomical treat for stargaz- ers worldwide. It was a rare conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter that brought them to 0.1 degrees of angular separation { a fifth of the full moon's diameter. It marked their closest approach since 1623 and the closest visible conjunction since 1226 (almost 800 years ago!). Astronomy enthusiasts crossed their fingers for clear skies and waited eagerly for this event. The internet and social media websites were inundated with pictures and news reports to celebrate the great conjunction of our solar system's two most extensive and majestic planets. I was fortunate to have clear skies to enjoy this rare celestial event. Below is a picture I took of this conjunction using a Google pixel-3 camera and Celestron 130 mm SLT Newtonian Telescope equipped with a 25 mm eyepiece and a 2x Barlow lens. For the first time, I saw these two planets in the same telescopic field of view. Saturn and Jupiter's conjunction is called a great conjunction because it is the rarest among conjunctions of all pairs of classical planets (Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). Figure 1. Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on the winter solstice of 2020 In this note, we will address the following questions from a mathematical standpoint. What is a conjunction? How often do we have a conjunction of two planets? How are great conjunctions distributed in the sky? How long will it take for a cycle of great conjunctions to return to the same point in the sky and time of the year? Can there be a conjunction of 3 outer planets? How often can that happen? We will begin by setting up the geometric framework for formulating these questions.
    [Show full text]
  • Starry Night Companion
    Starry Night ™ Companion Go to Table of Contents BlankBlank PagePage Starry Night™ Companion Your Guide to Understanding the Night Sky Written by John Mosley Edited by Mike Parkes and Pedro Braganca Foreword by Andrew L. Chaikin, acclaimed space and science author CONTENTS Foreword . 7 Introduction . 9 Section 1 – Astronomy Basics 1.1 The Night Sky . 13 1.2 Motions of Earth . 23 1.3 The Solar System . 29 Section 2 – Observational Advice 2.1 Skywatching . 37 2.2 Co-ordinate Systems . 45 Section 3 – Earth’s Celestial Cycles 3.1 Rotation . 55 3.2 Revolution . 63 3.3 Precession . 75 Section 4 – Our Solar System 4.1 The Moon . 85 4.2 Planets, Asteroids & Comets . 97 Section 5 – Deep Space 5.1 Stars and Galaxies . 119 5.2 About the Constellations . 133 5.3 Highlights of the Constellations . 147 Conclusion . 165 Appendix A – The Constellations . 167 Appendix B – Properties of the Planets . 173 Glossary . 175 Index . 189 6 Starry Night Companion BlankBlank PagePage FOREWORD If the sky could speak, it might tell us, “Pay attention.” That is usually good advice, but it’s especially valuable when it comes to the heavens. The sky reminds us that things are not always as they seem. It wasn’t too long ago that we humans believed Earth was the center of it all, that when we saw the Sun and stars parade across the sky, we were witnessing the universe revolving around us. It took the work of some bold and observant scientists, including the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, to show us how wrong we had been: Instead of the center of the universe, Copernicus said, our world is one of many planets and moons circling the Sun in a celestial clockwork.
    [Show full text]