NEW MOON REPORT
Nehemia Gordon from Jerusalem, Israel compiled the
following New Moon Report for January 2008 and the beginning of the Eleventh
month on the Biblical Calendar.
“On Wednesday January 9, 2008 observers across
Israel looked for the new moon but it was not sighted. There was heavy cloud coverage. The moon had 1.38% illumination and 56
minutes lagtime, which puts it within the potential visibility range based on
previous sightings from Israel.”
There was no report for January 10, 2008.
The next new moon, which will be the beginning of
the Twelfth month on the Biblical Calendar, is expected to be visible from
Jerusalem near sunset on February 8, 2008.
COMET UPDATES
Comet Holmes 17P is still within naked eye
visibility between magnitude 3.5 and 4.0.
There were reports as of January 14 of naked eye sightings. The comet is fading very slowly and will most
likely still be within naked eye visibility when it comes into a very close
conjunction with the star Algol (the ghoul or evil spirit) in Rosh
Satan (the head of Satan) in the constellation Perseus on
January 22, 2008. See Charts 450 and 451
and the article on the comet in the November 2007 issue of Biblical
Astronomy for the conjunction of these two celestial bodies.
Comet Tuttle 8P did not brighten much more that 5.5 in magnitude. Though this is just within naked eye visibility, it would be very difficult if not impossible to spot with the naked eye even in dark skies. The comet is now at magnitude 5.6. Unless there is a rare outburst, the comet is expected to slowly fade away.
Speaking of comets, there is a very good article
that I recommend for reading in the February 2008 issue of Astronomy magazine. It still may be available in stores and
newsstands and may also be available in your local
library.
The name of the article is How Comets Shaped
History by Richard Jakiel. It covers
many of the most famous comets throughout history and historical events that
occurred during their visits.
The following is an excerpt from the article
concerning last years surprise January comet, Comet McNaught. This is something that I did not realize or
think about until now.
Mithradates’
“Horse comet”
“In the first century B.C. the Roman Republic controlled much of the Mediterranean world, and its interests were expanding eastward. But Mithradates VI, King of Pontus – in what is now central Turkey – proved to be a major roadblock. He led his armies against Rome in several wars before his 65 B.C. defeat.
Not one, but two comets are associated with this “scourge of Rome” – the first with his birth (134 B.C.) and the second with his coronation (119 B.C.). Both comets became symbols of Mithradate’s greatness, but it’s the first that most interests researchers like Rutgers University’s Michael Molnar.
Mithradates struck some bronze coins that depict a foreboding hippeus (horse) comet. Pliny, the Roman naturalist, says this kind of comet had plumes like horses’ manes. Molnar suggests the horses’ manes are synchronic bands – dusty streamers in the tail that arc toward the comet’s icy nucleus. These unusual features were a highlight of last year’s appearance of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1).
Molnar believes the visibility of these bands indicates hippeus comets had a close encounter with Earth, approaching perhaps as close as 600,000 miles (1 million kilometers). One ancient writer, Hephaistion of Thebes, says hippeus comets foretell the quick fall of kings and tyrants and rapid changes in national affairs. ‘It is likely that the comet was interpreted as an omen of violent revolution, but Mithradates apparently altered the focus of the portent,” explains Molnar. How? Molnar thinks Mithradates transformed the comet into a symbol of his own struggle to evict Rome from Asia Minor.”
Was Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) a ‘horse comet’? The
distinct banding in its
broad dust tail fits the first-century A.D. description
of a type of comet with a horse’s mane.
This becomes most interesting when considering the
fact that Comet McNaught appeared as a white mane (white horse). It was at its brightest when this mane
appeared in the constellation Sagittarius. Sagittarius portrays a man with a bow riding
a white horse (see painting and article on Sagittarius in the July 2006 issue
of Biblical Astronomy. Also check
out the charts and articles on Comet McNaught in the December 2006/January 2007
and February 2007 issues of Biblical Astromomy). This stuff just gives me the chills when I
think about it. This is one striking
portrayal of Revelation 6:1, 2.
FOUR
PERCENT CHANCE OF ASTREROID STRIKING MARS ON JANUARY 30TH?
There have been recent reports that an asteroid is on a collision course
with Mars. This is not a hoax. The following is a December 28, 2008 Sky
& Telescope news release written by Kelly Beatty.
Odds
of Mars Strike Now 1-in-25
“A week ago I told you about a small asteroid with roughly a 1%
(1-in-75) chance of hitting Mars late next month.
Well, the odds of an impact have just gone up!
Earlier today dynamicists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced
that 2007 WD5 now has a 1-in-25 chance (4%) of striking the Red
Planet. They've adjusted the prediction based on the asteroid's serendipitous
appearance in three images made November 8th, nearly two weeks before its
discovery by the Catalina Sky Survey team on Mount Lemmon in Arizona.
Most likely, 2007 WD5 will miss Mars by about 15,000 miles.
But if it should strike, it will do so at about 8½ miles per second on January
30th, within a few minutes of 5:56 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
No observations of the little asteroid have been acquired since December
19th, though new images — and a much better prediction — should be made within
the next few days.”
Estimated to be about 150 feet across, the small asteroid designated 2007 WD 5 will pass very close to Mars — and might hit it — when the two cross paths (upper left) on January 30th.
I was excited that there may be some heavenly
fireworks on my 60th birthday on January 30th, but that
excitement was pretty much extinguished when I read the following update on
January 11, also written by Kelly Beatty.
Mars
Dodges a Bullet
“Word from the orbit gurus at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory is that the impact watch for Mars is officially "off." On
January 9th they announced that the odds of tiny 2007 WD5
crashing into Mars on January 30th have dropped precipitously, to about 1 in
10,000 (0.01%). Instead, the two should come no closer than about 16,000 miles.
This near miss was the likely outcome all along, but
uncertainty remained until some big telescopic guns weighed in earlier this
week with updated tracking observations. Estimated to be no more than 150 feet
across, the asteroid is a dim 24th-magnitude blip and getting fainter as it
moves outward from Earth and toward Mars.
Over the past few weeks astronomers have responded
to this "will it or won't it?" situation just as they should have. A
possible impactor was found, its projected track (though wildly uncertain)
showed that a collision couldn't be ruled out, and the call went out for
additional observations that eventually settled the matter.
Because the drama surrounding 2007 WD5
played out 50 million miles away, we were all spared the sensational news-media
hype that usually surrounds these "killer asteroid" stories.
In discussions among the scientists involved, a few
hold the opinion that the public becomes needlessly agitated when they learn
that some space rock has a 1-in-XXXX chance of hitting Earth, only to learn
later that additional observations have ruled it out. Others say that being
able to watch the probability game play out is a good thing, a demonstration of
how science actually "works."
What do you think?”
Chart 454 shows the position of the planet Mars (Adom) in the constellation Taurus and near the constellation Auriga at the time the comet passes or impacts the planet. Taurus represents God’s wrath being poured forth and judgment coming to His enemies. Auriga is the great shepherd who took God’s wrath upon himself for all those who believe in him and are his sheepfold. In one of its portrayals, Mars (Adom) represents the atoning blood of Messiah who took the “impact” of God’s wrath upon himself in our stead.
We will just have to wait to see if the asteroid will “impact” Mars on this passing on January 30th. Most likely it will not, but we don’t know everything.
Chart 454 – Position
of Mars in Taurus on January 30, 2008
JUPITER AND VENUS IN CONJUNCTION
The planets Zedek (Jupiter) and Nogah (Venus) will come into a close conjunction with one another in the early morning of February 1, 2008. Chart 455 shows the position of the two planets in the constellation Sagittarius at the time of conjunction as seen over the southeast horizon of Jerusalem at 5:30 a.m. on February 1. The two planets come to within 0.6 degrees from each other at their closest approach.
Chart 455 – Jupiter and Venus in conjunction as seen from Jerusalem at 5:30 a.m. on February 1
Also at that time there will be a bright waning crescent moon in the constellation Scorpius. The arrow in the bow of the horseman is aimed at the heart of the scorpion (not shown well here in the Starry Night program).
Jupiter and Venus are the two brightest planets in the solar system and far outshine the brightest stars. It is a real neat sight to see them in close conjunction with one another. If you are up an hour before your local sunrise on February 1st, and the sky is clear, it will be worth your while to take a gander above the southeast horizon where these two planets will be dancing. Well, it beats looking for the groundhog on the next day and it is a more attractive sight.
WHERE’S THE
ONLINE BOOK?
I did say that I hoped to have the first parts of the third edition of A Voice Crying in the Heavens on the website by late December or early January, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Things seem to keep popping up and delaying me in my writing. I have finished many of the constellations for the first part of the book and hope to have them posted soon.
The book will be in three parts just as the Biblical Astronomy DVD set is done. The first part will be the constellations and the stars in the constellations and their Biblical meaning. The second part will be major celestial events from Adam to Messiah’s first appearance and the third part will be on celestial events pertaining to the soon reappearing of Messiah. There will be further information in the book in appendixes containing major celestial event through the year 2047 and all of the feast dates or closest proximities according to the Biblical calendar for each year through 2047, just to mention a sample of the appendixes.
Yaweh bless you richly and protect you.
