September Astronomical Observations

Biblical verses warning against Astrology and Divination

And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven (Deuteronomy 4:19).

... and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky (Deuteronomy 17:3).

All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone; here is no fire to sit by. That is all they can do for you—these you have labored with and trafficked with since childhood. Each of them goes on in his error; there is not one that can save you (Isaiah 47:13-15).

Hear what the LORD says to you, O house of Israel.This is what the LORD says: "Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them" (Jeremiah 10:1-2).

In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom (Daniel 1:20).


Planet Mercury's moment to shine-Early to Mid September

Source-Astronomy.com- Mercury set to Shine in September

The innermost planet sparkles brightly just before dawn at the start of September.

By Bill Andrews — Published: August 23, 2011

The solar system’s smallest planet makes its best morning appearance of 2011 in early September. Often obscured by the Sun, Mercury appears brightest before dawn on the 3rd, providing a great view to anyone using a telescope, binoculars, or even naked eyes.

The morning of September 1, Mercury stands 4° above the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise and climbs to 10° within 30 minutes. It then gradually brightens the next 2 days until its peak on the 3rd, when it lies 18° west of the Sun and shines at magnitude –0.3. “If you’re a fan of Mercury, this is what you’ve been waiting for,” said Astronomy Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich. “Soon, the Sun’s glare will wash out the tiny planet once again, so now’s the time to check it out.”

To locate the planet later in the month, scan the twilight sky for 1st-magnitude Regulus, about one binocular field of view below Mercury, in Leo the Lion. After slowly approaching the star, Mercury lies 1.3° above Regulus on September 8, outshining the star by a factor of 8. Over the following week, Leo appears to glide up past Mercury as the planet drops back into the Sun’s glare. Mercury eventually dips behind the Sun, in an event called superior conjunction, September 28.

“September’s first two weeks are also a great time to target Mercury through a telescope,” said Bakich, “because its appearance will change rapidly and dramatically. On the 1st, its disk is 8" across and barely one-third lit, but by the 14th it’ll span just 6" while waxing to 86 percent illumination. In other words, it’ll look great!”



Fast facts

•Mercury orbits the Sun closer than any other planet, at an average distance of 36 million miles (58 million kilometers).
•With a diameter of 3,032 miles (4,880 km), or 38 percent that of Earth, Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system.
•Mercury takes just 88 days to complete one orbit of the Sun, making it the fastest planet in the solar system.
•This speed doesn’t extend everywhere, though, as Mercury takes 59 days to rotate once on its axis.
•The name Mercury comes from the Romans’ messenger god, renowned for his swiftness.
•Humans got their first close look at Mercury in March 1974 when NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft flew by and revealed a heavily cratered surface.
•NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft, launched in 2004, has already flown by Mercury three times and is the first probe to orbit the planet.

Mercury Retrogade OCCULTIC MEANING

Mercury Retrograde


At 03:50 UT (Universal Time) Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011, Mercury the wise communicator—and universal trickster—turns retrograde at 1°12' Virgo in the sign of the Virgin, sending communications, travel, appointments, mail and the www into a general snarlup! The retro period begins some days before the actual turning point (as Mercury slows) and lasts for three weeks or so, until August 26, 2011, when the Winged Messenger reaches his direct station. At this time he halts and begins his return to direct motion through the zodiac.

Everything finally straightens out on September 9th, as he passes the point where he first turned retrograde. Mercury normally turns retrograde three times a year, but last year he turned tail four times, which is unusual, and his shadow phase was still active in early January 2011. The effects of each period differ, according to the sign in which it happens (see box for Retrograde Periods in 2011).

A planet is described as retrograde when it appears to be moving backwards through the zodiac. According to modern science, this traditional concept arises in the illusory planetary motion created by the orbital rotation of the earth with relation to other planets in our solar system. It's a bit like travelling on the road watching another car beside you: when the other car slows down, or you speed up, it looks as though the other car is moving backwards. Planets are never actually retrograde or stationary, they just seem that way due to this cosmic shadow-play. Click here for some neat graphics and more on the science of retrograde planetary motion.

Retrograde periods, although often problematic for us earthlings, are not particularly uncommon. Each planet retrogrades, except the Sun and Moon. Although a powerful astrological influence, Mercury is quite a small planet that travels at a relatively fast speed through the zodiac. Despite being the closest planet in our solar system to the Sun, Mercury is not always in the same sign as the Sun. Mercury turns retrograde this time in Virgo while the Sun is in Leo, then moves back to Leo on the 8th to join the Sun, but the solar orb moves into Virgo on August 23 (with Mercury now back in Leo). Mercury turns direct in Leo on August 26 with the Sun still in Virgo, but Mercury remains in Leo till Sep 9, when he enters Virgo again. The Divine Messenger remains in Virgo until Sep 25.

What does mercury affect


In general, Mercury rules thinking and perception, processing and disseminating information and all means of communication, commerce, education and transportation. By extension, Mercury rules people who work in these areas, especially those who work with their minds or their wits: writers and orators, consultants, commentators and critics, gossips and spin doctors, salespeople, teachers, travellers, tricksters and thieves. Mercury also has an occult side, so healing, astrology and the transmission of spiritual knowledge are also in his area.

Mercury retrograde gives rise to personal misunderstandings; flawed, disrupted, or delayed communications, negotiations and trade; glitches and breakdowns with phones, computers, cars, buses, and trains. And all of these problems usually arise because some crucial piece of information, or component, has gone astray or awry.

It is not exactly wise to make important decisions while Mercury is retrograde, since it is likely that such decisions will be clouded by misinformation, poor communication and careless thinking. Mercury is all about mental clarity and the power of the mind, so when Mercury is retrograde these intellectual characteristics tend to be less acute than usual, as the critical faculties are dimmed. Make sure you pay attention to the small print!

Mercury and the power of Women

Juno, the wife of Jupiter and queen of the ancient gods, is rising in Libra in the UT chart as Merc turns and within an hour is joined by the Moon, awakening these aspects, for the Moon is the cosmic trigger. We also see Venus, the planetary ruler of the chart, standing at the point of the New Moon in Leo, which occurs only days before on August 30 in the midst of the Aselli, a nebulous cluster in the first decanate of tropical Leo. This is a difficult position, especially given that Venus herself is conjunct Praesepe, an unfortunate Fixed Star known to moderns as the Beehive, M44, an open nebula on the back of the Crab. This Martial star is also known as the Manger, flanked by the Aselli, the two asses of the nativity of Jesus. Praesepe stimulates inner drive, but is reclusive, and like most nebululae is traditionally held responsible for blindness, murder, tragedy, fires, homosexuality—and violent death. Known as the soul gate, through which souls enter earthly incarnation, it is thought on a mundane level to be fortunate in business, though liable to loss and disgrace. No doubt the evils associated with this sector of the zodiac will be attenuated somewhat by the power of Venus, but since Venus is combust and afflicted, her more sensual and avaricious side is likely to present itself. The Aselli themselves are pretty horrifying and bring about massive changes in society when awakened, usually through violent catastrophe of one kind or another.

Venus is still in conjunction with the Sun in Leo as Merc turns, but this Sun/Venus conjunction is also opposed to Pallas Athene, the wise female warrior, and Vesta, the divine flame, in Aquarius. The asteroids are very active in this chart, along with the Moon, Venus and Neptune (all considered feminine influences). It seems that women and what might be described as feminine concerns will come to the forefront during this phase. This is especially notable, given that there are currently 20 female world leaders in power, a record number! Women now lead some of the most powerful countries, including Germany, India, Brazil, Australia, Argentina and a host of others. And even more if you consider the reigning queens and vice-regal governors across the world. [Here is an interesting list (offsite).]

Comet El-EN-IN in line of sight...

Ocotober 14th, 2011 closest approach to Planet Earth

Doomsday Deniers- Comet ElININ self destructs



Whenever astronomers discover a comet headed inbound toward a close encounter the Sun, there's always buzz among observers about how bright it might get. That was certainly the case last December, when Comet Elenin (C/2010 X1) made its debut. Many hoped it would become easily visible to the unaided eye as it rounded perihelion nine months later.

By April, that initial enthusiasm had waned a bit, as it became clear that Comet Elenin was small and intrinsically faint.

The keys to its peak visibility were the closeness it would eventually have to the Sun on September 10th (0.48 astronomical unit, about 45 million miles) and to Earth in mid-October (0.23 a.u.). In fact, amateur observations through July and early August suggested that this interloper might even be ahead of schedule, brightness-wise. The hearts of comet observers everywhere raced a little faster.



Now all bets are off. Within the past week the comet's brightness has declined by 50%, dropping a half magnitude between August 19th and 20th, according to Australian observer Michael Mattiazzo. (The comet's current location in western Virgo makes it virtually unobservable from northern latitudes.)

Worse, images show Comet Elenin's bright core becoming elongated and diffuse — the telltale signs that its icy nucleus has either broken in two or disintegrated altogether.

One veteran comet-watcher who's not surprised is John Bortle. Four months ago, based on Elenin's performance to that point, he cautioned, "The comet may be intrinsically a bit too faint to even survive perihelion passage." And his words have proved prescient, as the fading continues (estimates are near 9th magnitude) and there's speculation that this object or its remnants might not be around much longer.

I guess all those pseudoscientific bloggers who predicted planet-altering encounters with a cosmic visitor bright enough to be seen in broad daylight will just have to find something else to worry about.


Posted by Kelly Beatty, August 30, 2011

Sun Unleashes Largest SOLAR FLARE in years August 9th 2011

Solar Flares to Burn Men Alive during LAST DAYS Judgement!


An extremely powerful solar flare, the largest in over four years, rocked the sun early Tuesday (Aug. 9), but is unlikely to wreak any serious havoc here on Earth, scientists say.

"It was a big flare," said Joe Kunches, a space scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Space Weather Prediction Center. "We lucked out because the site of the eruption at the sun was not facing the Earth, so we will probably feel no ill effects."

Today's solar flare began at 3:48 a.m. EDT (0748 GMT), and was rated a class X6.9 on the three-class scale scientists use to measure the strength of solar flares. The strongest type of solar eruption is class X, while class C represents the weakest and class M flares are medium-strength events. [Sun's Wrath: Worst Solar Storms in History]



The flare is the largest one yet in the sun's current cycle, which began in 2008 and is expected to last until around 2020. Solar activity waxes and wanes over an 11-year sun weather cycle, with the star currently heading toward a solar maximum in 2013.

"This flare had a GOES X-ray magnitude of X6.9, meaning it was more than 3 times larger than the previous largest flare of this solar cycle - the X2.2 that occurred on Feb 15, 2011," scientists with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, a space observatory that monitors the sun, wrote in an update.

Before the Feb. 15 storm, the largest recent solar flare occurred in December 2006, when an X9-class solar storm erupted from the sun.




Solar flares occur when magnetic field lines on the sun get tangled up into knots, building potential energy until they reach a tipping point. Then, that energy is converted into heat, light and the motion of charged particles.

While all X-class solar eruptions are major events, they pose the greatest threat to Earth when they are aimed directly at the planet. During those events the sun often releases a cloud of plasma called a coronal mass ejection into space, and sometimes toward Earth. This ejection hurls charged particles that can damage satellites, endanger astronauts in orbit, and interfere with power systems, communications and other infrastructure on the planet.



Today's solar flare, and resulting coronal mass ejection (CME) was not aimed at us, however. [Stunning Photos of Solar Flares & Sun Storms]

"Because of its position the CME is going to shoot out into space and not be Earth-directed, and we don’t expect any big geomagnetic storm with this," Kunches told SPACE.com. "We did luck out. If this would have happened a week ago, who knows?"

However, some VLF and HF radio communications blackouts have been reported, according to Spaceweather.com, a website that monitors space weather events.

Whatever particles do head our way should reach us in a few days. [Video: Aug. 9 Solar Flare Briefly Knocks Out HF Radio]

"The cloud will probably miss Earth," SpaceWeather.com wrote. "At this time, however, we cannot rule out a glancing blow from the flank of the CME on or about August 11th."

The plus side of such a collision is often unusually spectacular auroras, or Northern and Southern Lights, which occur when charged particles interact with Earth's magnetic field.

Strange Sounds in Colorado Before Earthquake

Strange Sounds in Tampa Bay Florida before earthquake hit in Washington DC




FULL MOON SEPTEMBER 12TH 2011