August 2002
Editor – Robert Scott Wadsworth <> P.O. Box
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Phone (503) 655-7430 <> e-mail – starguy1@comcast.net <> Website – www.atlbible.org/astronomy.htm
It is expected that the next
New Moon will become observable from Jerusalem near sunset on August 9. If it is visible, then sunset August 9, 2002
will be the beginning of the 6th Hebrew month, Elul. At that time, the moon will be in
conjunction with the star Regulus the king star of the constellation Leo
the lion, or Arieh in the Hebrew. This constellation is the tribal symbol of Judah. Chart 282 shows the position of the moon and
the star Regulus shortly after sunset as seen from Jerusalem looking west on
August 9, 2002. The moon will be just
over 1% illuminated on August 9, and in case of it not being visible because of
atmospheric conditions, the first day of the month would then default to sunset
August 10.
It
was shortly after Solomon’s reign over Israel that the nation was divided into
the northern and southern kingdoms, though there were certainly rifts between
the two factions during his reign. The
northern kingdom, which was made up of 10 tribes of Israel, was called Israel
and later Ephraim. (Ephraim was given
the firstborn right of Joseph by Jacob. The firstborn birthright and promised
blessing of Yahweh to Abraham was handed down to Isaac, then to Jacob, who
passed it to Joseph and then to Ephraim).
The southern kingdom was called Judah, and was made up of the tribes of
Judah, Benjamin, and most of the Levites.
So here we have the two houses, the House of Judah and the House of
Ephraim (Israel). This becomes particularly
interesting when considering that each of the 12 tribes had their own tribal
symbol taken from one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac, which were borne on their
standards when they were in the wilderness.
But the Temple that Solomon built had only two tribal symbols, the lion
(Arieh), which is the tribal symbol for Judah and
the bull (Taurus) which is the tribal symbol for Joseph
(Ephraim).
The
following is from Francis Rolleston’s Mazzaroth (1862),
First Part, p.12
“It is not known how the
ancient Hebrews figured the signs, except by the blessing of Jacob and that of
Moses; but from these records it is evident that animal and even human forms
were on the banners of Israel — the Man that of Reuben, the Lion borne by
Judah, the Bull by Joseph, the Eagle or the Basilisk by Dan. Balaam also
evidently had the Lion of Judah before his eyes. Moses, speaking after the
giving of the second commandment, dwells on the Lion of Judah and the Bull
of Joseph without disapprobation. It was, therefore, the worshipping of
these "likenesses" that was forbidden. The Jews in after times,
warned by the idolatry of their forefathers, are said to have abstained from
making any "likenesses" whatsoever; and the early Arabs are said to
have followed their example. In the temple of Solomon, besides the consecrated
cherubic images, there were pomegranates and flowers of lilies and palm-trees,
but no animal likenesses, except the cherubic lions and oxen. There is here a
proof that not the making of the likeness, but the worshipping it was the sin.
Israel had been punished for desiring the golden calf to go before them, but
Solomon was unblamed for forming the twelve oxen that upheld the molten sea.”
It is that time of the year again
for the Perseids Meteor Shower. The
Perseids Meteor Shower is the most popular meteor shower for the general
populous since it occurs in the warm month of August and usually puts on a good
show. The shower generally starts
around August 6 and runs through about August 18. The peak of the shower is always on August 12.
Meteor showers are named from the constellation where
their radiant lies. The radiant of this
particular meteor shower, which is marked by an X in the below diagram, is
between the sword of Perseus
and the constellation Cassiopeia.
The constellation Perseus
or Peretz (the breaker) in
Hebrew, represents Messiah coming to deliver the captive bride (Andromeda), the houses of Judah and Ephraim (Israel).
The following is from an
article in the Sky and Telescope website which was written by Roger W. Sinnott.
A Great Year for the Perseids – “The
thin crescent Moon sets early on the evening of August 12th, leaving the sky
fully dark for this year’s Perseid meteor shower. The display should peak later
that night for observers throughout the Northern Hemisphere, especially as
morning twilight begins. That’s when the radiant (the patch of sky between
Perseus and Cassiopeia from which the Perseids appear to come) is highest in
mid-northern latitudes. Sky-watchers can expect to see 60 or more Perseids per
hour, provided the sky is very clear and dark.
If you miss the Perseids
that night, all is not lost. The shower lasts for two weeks or so, with
excellent rates in the predawn hours of August 10th through 15th. Far fewer
meteors will appear before midnight, even on the night of the shower’s maximum,
because the radiant is then quite low in the sky. The radiant is always
low or below the horizon for countries like Australia, New Zealand, and South
Africa, where few, if any, Perseids can be seen.
The 1992 return of Comet
Swift-Tuttle, parent comet of the Perseids, brought with it a “new peak” that
was superimposed on the shallower, traditional Perseid maximum. By 1999,
however, the new peak had greatly subsided and it's completely missing from
first-look analyses of the 2000 and 2001 Perseids by the International Meteor
Organization.
So the forecast for 2002 reads much as it would have in the 1980s: the Perseids
should peak for 12 hours or more, centered on the time when the Sun’s ecliptic
longitude is 140.0° (equinox 2000.0). That translates to 22h Universal Time on
August 12th this year. European observers are optimally positioned for the
Perseid peak, but North Americans are not far behind.”
As you have most likely seen
on the news lately, there have been a number of headlines featuring close
approaches of asteroids to the earth in the near future. The below articles are of two such asteroids
recently discovered and mentioned in the media. So far there are no imminent impacts that we are aware of.
by Roger W. Sinnott, Sky and Telescope
Website
July 22, 2002 | “Next
month a newly discovered asteroid will pass close enough to Earth to be easily
spotted in small telescopes and even binoculars. According to calculations by
Gareth V. Williams, associate director of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, the asteroid's August 18th flyby should bring it to within
530,000 kilometers (330,000 miles) of Earth, just outside the Moon's orbital
distance.
Astronomers first detected
this object, designated 2002 NY40, on
July 14th with the 1-meter LINEAR telescope in New Mexico. Thus it was picked
up a full month before brushing by Earth, unlike asteroid 2002 MN, whose pass
well inside the Moon's orbit was not realized until several days after the
fact. The best current estimates suggest that this new interloper is about 500
meters (0.3 mile) across — significantly larger than 2002 MN. Still quite
faint at magnitude 18, 2002 NY40 is making a very tight loop around the star Beta
Aquarii. During the next few weeks it will brighten tremendously and yet remain
almost motionless in the sky — the eerie signature of an asteroid hurtling
right toward Earth! On the night of Saturday, August 17th, 2002 NY40 should reach
magnitude 9.3 when well placed for viewing from North America. At that time its
angular velocity will exceed 4 arcminutes per minute, a motion easily
perceptible in small telescopes. Sky & Telescope plans to issue
detailed observing instructions, through AstroAlerts and SkyandTelescope.com, in the days
leading up to this rare event. A
mere 24 hours after it goes by, the asteroid plunges hopelessly beyond reach of
Earth-based telescopes as it heads closer to the Sun. (We will then be viewing
its unilluminated side, which explains why it becomes so faint, so fast.) While there is no danger of 2002
NY40 striking
Earth during this flyby, a future impact has not been ruled out. Both NEODyS,
operated by the University of Pisa, and NASA's Near-Earth Object Program have
identified a number of very close encounters in the years to come. These occur
either around August 18th as the asteroid heads in toward the Sun, or near
February 14th when on its way out. Both agencies are focusing on a flyby just
20 years from now (on August 18, 2022), when there appears to be a 1-in-500,000
chance of an impact — extremely unlikely, but worrisome just the same. Meanwhile, professional astronomers
are gearing up to make the most of this encounter. "2002 NY40 is a
potentially very good radar target," notes Michael Nolan (Cornell
University). He urges advanced amateurs to obtain detailed photometry of the
asteroid on the nights leading up to the flyby. A good light curve, revealing
the object's rotation rate, would help in selecting the radar instrumentation
to be used with the 1,000-foot dish at Arecibo, Puerto Rico.”
Chart 283 shows the path
of the asteroid at its closest approach fly-by between 12:07 and 23:07
Universal Time on August 18, 2002. The
asteroid will be at its closest distance to the earth around 17:00 UT when it
will be in the constellation Serpens Caput which is the serpent that Ophiuchus
is struggling with.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) _ Astronomers said Wednesday that they are keeping close watch on a newly discovered 1.2 mile-wide asteroid to determine whether it will collide with Earth in 2019. There is a slight chance that the asteroid, dubbed 2002 NT7, could smack the Earth on Feb. 1, 2019, causing a global catastrophe. Astronomers said the odds were one in 250,000 and further calculation would probably show it will miss the planet entirely. It now heads the list of asteroids and comets monitored by NASA but as scientists learn more it isn't expected to stay there. ``One way or another, this thing is coming off the risk page,'' said Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's near-Earth object program office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Astronomers with the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research Project used a New Mexico telescope to discover the space rock on July 9, when it was about 84 million miles from Earth. It is in orbit around the sun. More than 100 follow-up observations allowed astronomers to calculate six other potential impact dates _ in 2044, 2053, 2060 and 2078. The asteroid will remain in the sights of astronomers for another year at least, allowing them to further refine their estimates of its trajectory on its 837-day orbit. ``At that point, if it's still a threat, I'd start to get a little concerned, but not before then,'' said Gareth Williams, associate director of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass. In other cases where potential Earth-crossing asteroids have been discovered, it has typically taken just days or weeks to determine they pose no threat. This asteroid, however, is larger than most and has attracted more interest. Were the paths of 2002 NT7 and the Earth to cross, the object would cause widespread devastation. It would enter the atmosphere at nearly 64,000 mph and strike with the explosive energy of 1.2 million megatons of TNT, according to JPL estimates. Last month, an asteroid the size of a soccer field missed the earth by 75,000 miles in one of the closest known approaches by an object that size.”
THE
SIGN CANCER
The main theme for the sign Cancer is Messiah’s redeemed possessions held fast. This Sign consists of the main constellation, Cancer, and its three decan constellations, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, and Argo. This article will focus on the main constellation, but there will be articles over the next 3 months that will focus on each of the decan constellations.
Chart 284 shows a picture of a crab for the constellation Cancer, but one thing is certain, this was not the original picture for this constellation. This constellation is represented by a Scarabaeus, or sacred beetle in the Denderah Zodiac (cir. 2000 BC) as well as the Zodiac of Esne and in a Hindu Zodiac (400 BC). But the ancient names for this constellation suggest something other than a crab or beetle.
The ancient names for Cancer (see
Chart 284) suggest that it represents a place of shelter or safety for cattle
folds or sheepfolds, such as a coral or sheep pens. The star names in this constellation suggest the same. The star cluster in the center of the Sign
is called Praesepe, which means a multitude, offspring. The brightest star in Cancer is Tegime,
which means holding. The
next brightest star is Acubene, which means in both Hebrew and Arabic, sheltering
or hiding-place. Other stars
are Ma’alaph (Arabic), assembled thousands; Al Himareim (Arabic),
the kids or lambs.
This constellation represents a
place of sheltering or safety for all the sheepfolds of Messiah, which includes
both houses of Israel. And in the midst
of this constellation and on the north side and south side of Praesepe
there are two stars, one named Asellus Boreas, the northern Ass; and the
other named Asellus Australis, the southern Ass.
The symbol that now represents Cancer, a, stands for these two asses.
This connects the sign with the Tribe of Issachar, who is said to have borne upon the Tribal standard the sign of two asses. We can see from Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49:14 the interpretation of the real meaning to the constellation Cancer.
“Issachar is a strong ass,
Couching down between the sheepfolds;
And he saw a resting-place that it was
good;
And the land that it was pleasant;
And he bowed his shoulder to bear,
And became a servant under task work.”
The Complete Jewish Bible reads:
“Yissakhar
is a strong donkey
lying
down in the sheep sheds.
On seeing
how good is settled life
and how
pleasant the country,
he will
bend his back to the burden,
and
submit to forced labor.”
According
to these scriptures, Issachar is an ass or donkey couching down between the
sheepfolds lying down in the sheep sheds.
Here in this constellation, the two asses are in the midst of the
sheepfolds or sheep sheds.
It is thought by some that
Yahweh or Yahshuah will give, or has already given, a certain burden to the
tribe of Issachar in bringing the two houses of Israel back together again
during the last days. Since in some
areas both houses are still at each other’s throats, this may prove to be quite
a burden. But in Messiah all things are
possible.
This hypothesis or possible revelation is interesting to say the least since in Cancer we see both houses or sheepfolds. At one time one house was the northern kingdom and the other the southern kingdom. Here we have two asses, one the northern and the other the southern, both representing Issachar who is in the midst of the sheepfolds. Something to ponder on.
Until next month and beyond,
Yahweh bless you in His super-abundance of grace, mercy and love through His
son Yahshuah HaMashiach. The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
