Biblical Astronomy

 

May 2003

 

Editor – Robert Scott Wadsworth <> P.O. Box 2272, Oregon City, OR 97045

Phone (503) 655-7430 <> e-mail – starguy1@comcast.net <> Website – www.atlbible.org/astronomy.htm

 

 

NEW MOON REPORT

 

Nehemia Gordon from Jerusalem, Israel compiled the following New Moon Report for May 2003, and the beginning of the 2nd month of the Hebrew calendar.  The report came in two parts.

 

“On Friday May 2, 2003 observers looked for the moon from Jerusalem but did not sight it.  There were light clouds on the horizon.  On Friday May 2, 2003 the moon was sighted by two observers from Talmon (north of Ramallah).  Observers in other areas were unable to sight the moon, partly due to poor viewing conditions.  This makes Friday night-Saturday day the first day of the biblical month.”

 

Now in ancient times, appointed observers of the New Moon were stationed in Jerusalem, near the temple.  If the new moon wasn’t seen from Jerusalem due to cloud cover and it was the evening of the 29th day of the month, then the first day of the month would automatically start on the next evening.  Friday May 2, before sunset, was the 29th day of Abib.  Going by the criteria of ancient times, the first day of the new month would begin on Saturday May 3, at sunset.  But here there were observers from another part of Israel (not Jerusalem) that observed the New Moon near sunset on Friday May 2.  I guess it depends on how picky one wants to get on whether the old way is the correct way, or with better technology to broadcast the New Moon, it can be observed from anywhere in Israel.  Then there is that “tradition” that Abib must always have 30 days.  Take your pick.

 

It is expected that the New Moon for June 2003 and the beginning of the 3rd Hebrew month will be observed near sunset on June 1.  There are actually 2 new moons in June, the latter should be visible near sunset on June 30, the beginning of the 4th Hebrew month, elements allowing.

 

 

MERCURY TRANSITS THE SUN

 

On May 7, Mercury will transit (pass in front of) the sun.  Mercury always transits the sun in the months of May or November.  Its transits in May recur at intervals of 13 and 46 years. The November transits recur at intervals of 7, 13 and 46 years.  The last time a Mercury transit occurred was on November 15, 1999 (see the November 1999 issue of Biblical Astronomy).

           

The picture below shows the planet Mercury (represents Gabriel, the messenger angel) passing in front of the sun as seen from Jerusalem at 10:33 am Jerusalem Daylight Savings Time on May 7, 2003.  As mentioned in the November 1999 newsletter, this reminds me of the scripture Revelation 19:17 – And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

 

 

           Transit of Mercury on May 7, 2003

           

During this transit, which takes about five and a half hours to complete, the sun and Mercury will be in the constellation Aries (Taleh, the lamb).  The chart below shows the position of the sun and Mercury in the hind leg of Taleh at the peak of the transit as seen from Jerusalem.

 

 

 

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE

 

                On May 15/16, there will be a total lunar eclipse that will be visible from Africa, Europe, North America and South America.  This eclipse will most likely appear as bright orange from various areas of observation, and may appear blood red in some areas.  The moon will be passing through the northern part of the earth’s shadow as seen in the below diagram. 

 

 

Chart 313, below, shows where on Earth the eclipse will be visible from and which areas will see all of the eclipse, which areas will see part of the total eclipse, and which areas will see a partial eclipse.  The umbral shadow of the earth will just begin to show up on the moon in the early morning hours as seen from Jerusalem, and will be slightly visible before the moon sets shortly after.  The eclipse will be visible from beginning to end for areas in the U.S. that are east of the Mississippi.  Areas west of the Mississippi will still see the eclipse, but the moon will rise either partially eclipsed or totally eclipsed, depending how far west one lives.

 

 

Eclipse Map

Chart 313

Below is the key to the eclipse visibility map or Chart 313.

 

Key to Eclipse Visibility Map

P1

Penumbral eclipse begins (not visible to the eye)

U1

Partial eclipse begins

U2

Total eclipse begins

U3

Total eclipse ends

U4

Partial eclipse ends

P4

Penumbral eclipse ends (not visible to the eye)

 

 

 

Chart 314, below, shows the times for selected time zones when the stages of the eclipse occur.

 

 


Total Lunar Eclipse of May 15, 2003

 

Americas

Europe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Event

Time
EDT

Time
CDT

Time
MDT

Time
PDT

Time
GMT

Time
GMT+1

Time
GMT+2

Partial Eclipse Begins:

22:03

21:03

20:03

19:03

02:03*

03:03*

04:03*

Total Eclipse Begins:

23:14

22:14

21:14

20:14

03:14*

04:14*

05:14*

Mid-Eclipse:

23:40

22:40

21:40

20:40

03:40*

04:40*

05:40*

Total Eclipse Ends:

00:07*

23:07

22:07

21:07

04:07*

05:07*

06:07*

Partial Eclipse Ends:

01:18*

00:18*

23:18

22:18

05:18*

06:18*

07:18*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Event occurs on morning of May 16, 2003

 

Chart 314

 

The chart below shows the position of the moon in Libra (Mozanaim, the Scales, weighing) at the peak of the eclipse as seen from the east coast of the United States at 11:40 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time. 

 

 

The Arabic name for Libra is Al Zubena, purchase, or redemption.  The Akkadian name for it was Tulku.  Tul means mound (like duhl and dul), and ku means sacred; hence, Tulku means the sacred mound, or the holy alter. 

           

With a blood red moon, this portrays blood on the holy alter.  It was and is the Messiah’s blood that was shed onto the holy alter of sacrifice that paid the price which covers, the price of redemption, for all those who believe.  This is a unique celestial event that brings this to remembrance.  

 

VENUS/MERCURY CONJUNCTION

 

Venus (the bright and morning star) and Mercury (Gabriel) will come into conjunction on May 28.  Chart 315, below, shows the positions of Venus and Mercury, along with a bright crescent Moon in Aries (Taleh, the Lamb) as seen from Jerusalem at 4:55 am JDT on May 29, 2003.  Here, Venus and Mercury are still close to conjunction, and in a unique alignment with the crescent moon.  The crescent side of the moon is near Venus.  This event occurs in the hind leg of the Lamb, which is where the sun and Mercury are during the transit on May 7.

 

           Chart 315 – Venus, Mercury and Moon as seen from Jerusalem on May 29, 2003

 

 

SOLAR ECLIPSE

 

There will be a Solar Eclipse on May 31, 2003.  The eclipse will be visible as a partial eclipse from Jerusalem, Israel and as an annular eclipse from Reykjavik, Iceland.  In the United States, it will only be visible from Alaska.  Chart 316, below, shows where the eclipse will be visible from Earth, and how much of the sun it will cover as seen from various locations on Earth.

 

Chart 316

           

The chart below shows the position of the sun and moon in Taurus (Shur, coming and ruling) at the peak of the eclipse as seen from Jerusalem at 5:51 a.m. JDT on May 31, 2003.

 

               

 

The main theme of the sign Taurus is Messiah, the coming Judge of all the earth.  It is also the tribal sign (oth) of Joseph.  In the two houses, it represents the house of Ephraim.

 

NEW VIDEO READY FOR RELEASE

 

The video production The Twelve Signs and the Twelve Tribes/The Signs of the Two Houses is now ready for release.  However, there were difficulties in rendering it to produce CD-Videos.  So for now, it is only available in VHS.  I will have copies of the video in my hands by May 25, and perhaps as early as May 20.  This video also has an update on celestial signs pointing to the soon reappearing of Yahshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ), including the signs of late August 2003, and September 8, 2040.  The tape is about 2 hours and 12 minutes long and jam packed with information.

           

If you wish to obtain a copy of this videotape, please send a check or money order in the amount of $24.00 (which includes a $4.00 shipping and handling charge) to: 

Biblical Astronomy

P.O. Box 2272

Oregon City, OR  97045

 

Please note on check or money order that it is for the video.  If you want it sent Priority Mail, just add another dollar.

 

 

SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL TIME

 

Yep, its that time of the year again.  My how time flies.  The current subscription year ends with the June 2003 issue of Biblical Astronomy.  If you wish to subscribe to the July 2003 to June 2004 subscription year, please send a check or money order in the amount of $20.00 to the above address, and note on the check or money order that it is for the newsletter.

           

This past year there were 45 paying subscribers to the postal version of the newsletter.  The website has over 700 subscribers and my e-mail list includes over 200 subscribers.  Of the 900 plus who subscribe electronically, I received donations from a dozen people (from $5.00 to $200.00 donations (about $450.00 total). I appreciate all donations.  It does take money to run this ministry.  But a few are shouldering the burden for many.  The Biblical Astronomy Newsletter fund did make it into the black last year, for the first time in years, but that was short lived after a purchase of a much needed laptop computer needed to run PowerPoint presentations.  I hope to get some of this back with video sales. 

 

If you find these newsletters informative, and you think it is a worthy cause, then a donation to this ministry would be greatly appreciated.  But only what you can afford.  I know that things are tight these days and I am living from day to day myself.  But I guess that is the way we should be living anyway, from moment to moment in the Messiah.

 

 I do have difficulty in asking for donations, but it is a need for this ministry to continue.  I do not want to start charging for the newsletters on the website or the e-mail versions, since this information is important and should be easily accessible by anyone who is interested and connected to the Internet. Some cannot afford to pay.                                         

 

Throughout the years I have worked for little pay (money-wise) for Biblical Astronomy.  After counting the hours and the funds after overhead (not including personal bills), I make about 25 cents per hour.  When I started out seven years ago, I made about $1.25 per hour.  So I am not getting rich from this, but do need funds to keep things going.

 

Thank you for your prayers and support.

 
CHICAGO’S RAIN OF METEORITES

 

The following article was written by Peter Brown for Sky & Telescope News.

 

April 21, 2003 | On the night of March 26th, shortly before midnight, residents of several Midwestern states witnessed a dazzling — and, to many, frightening — spectacle in the sky. A brilliant fireball appeared over central Illinois and moved north, ending its fiery descent through the atmosphere in at least two bright flashes just south of Chicago. Powerful sonic booms soon shook the landscape and were detected as far away as western Canada.                                       

 

Shortly thereafter, many people in the suburban town of Park Forest awoke to the sound of rocks clattering down on their neighborhoods. Paul Sipiera (William Rainey Harper College) and James Schwade (Planetary Studies Foundation) have been mapping the extent of the meteorite fall. "At least six houses and three cars in the town of Park Forest and surrounding area were damaged," Sipiera says. He estimates that the debris fell in an elliptical-shaped strewnfield approximately 10 kilometers long and several wide.                                 

 

Residents have found meteorites on roads, on lawns, and in woods. One 3-kilogram chunk crashed through a resident's roof and kitchen floor, bounced off the basement floor, and landed on a table. A slighly smaller fragment fell through a roof, hit a window and shredded its venetian blind, bounced off the windowsill, and finally destroyed a large mirror — narrowly missing a sleeping teenager.                                                                  

 

The original body may have been nearly as big as a car before it broke apart in the upper atmosphere. Steve Simon, a meteorite specialist at the University of Chicago, says it was a relatively common type of ordinary (rocky) chondrite classified as L5. Some of the fragments consist of ancient impact melt, suggesting that the incoming object may have originated near the surface of its parent asteroid.                                               

 

Ultralow-frequency sound measurements made 1,100 km away in Manitoba indicate that the fireball released the kinetic-energy equivalent of 0.5 to 1 kiloton of TNT, much more than conventional explosives but much less than most atomic bombs. If the meteoroid arrived with a velocity typical of objects from the asteroid belt, then it probably weighed 10 to 25 tons and was about 2 meters in diameter. Meteoroids this size hit Earth about a half dozen times per year but rarely over thickly settled areas. Park Forest (the event's provisional name) is the largest meteorite fall in the United States in the last five years and the first to drop hundreds of fragments over a major urban area.                    

 

Analysts have collected several videos recording the bolide's motion. If additional videos from other viewing angles can be found, it should be possible to determine an accurate orbit for the wayward object before it encountered Earth. Therefore, anyone with such videos or other accurate positional data should contact me. Success would make Park Forest only the eighth meteorite with an accurate, instrumentally determined orbit.

 

Yahueh bless you in His super-abundance of grace, mercy and love through His son and our Messiah, Yahshua the NazSeirene.