Biblical Astronomy

November/December 2005

 

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

Phone (503) 655-7430 <> e-mail – starguy1@comcast.net <> Website – www.biblicalastronomy.com

 

 


NEW MOON REPORT

 

Nehemia Gordon from Jerusalem, Israel compiled the following New Moon reports for October and November 2005 and for the 8th and 9th months on the Biblical calendar.

 

October – “On Wednesday October 5, 2005 the New Moon was easily sighted by many observers from Israel.  The New Moon was sighted from Jerusalem (Zion Gate) first by Pam Dow at 18:12 followed by Ray Dow, Eva Reeves, Beverly Hasdorff, Avi Marcus, Dina; Marcus, Bruce Peterson and Tuan Hwang; from Poriya first by Tim Arndt at 18:18, followed by Michael Rood and Deborah Arndt; from elsewhere in Jerusalem (Talpiot) first by Devorah Gordon at 18:23 followed by Nehemia Gordon; from near Herodian first by Dani Menachem at 18:27 followed by Bruce Brill and Oshri Ben Ami.


I have posted a photograph of the New Moon taken from Jerusalem (Talipiot) at:”
http://www.Karaite-Korner.org/new_moon/2005_oct_05_jer.jpg

 

November – “On Thursday November 3, 2005 the New Moon was sighted from Jerusalem.

The moon was first sighted by Pam Dow at 17:06, by Nehemia Gordon at 17:07, by Ray Dow and Eva Reeves at 17:10 and shortly afterwards by Miri Burgin, Bershet Rifkin, and Charlie Gua. The moon remained visible until 17:16.”

 

The next New Moon is expected to be visible to the naked eye as seen from Jerusalem, Israel near sunset on December 3, 2005. 

 

According to the corrected Hebrew calendar, the Feast of Dedication or Feast of Lights (Hanukkah) this year begins at sunset on November 27 and ends at sunset on December 5, 2005. 

 

Below is a simulation of a bright crescent moon and Venus on November 5, 2005, as it would be seen from the eastern United States.

 

 

Aside from the opposition of Mars as it shown brightly in early November and the Leonids Meteor Shower in mid November (which was pretty much just a fizzle this year), there were and are no foreseeable notable astronomical events such as conjunctions and comets for November or December.

 

MARS AT OPPOSITION

 

As mentioned in the October 2005 issue of Biblical Astronomy, Mars reached opposition on November 6, and shown very brightly at a magnitude –2.33.  Mars reaches opposition about every 2.2 years. 

           

Chart 403 shows the position of Mars (Adom) at the time of opposition on November 6, 2005 in the constellation Aries (Taleh).

 

Chart 403 – Mars at opposition in Aries on November 6, 2005

 

The sign and constellation Taleh – the Lamb represents Messiah, the one who was crucified as a sacrifice of righteousness and sin offering, being the One who is now “worthy to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing" (Rev 5:12).  The victory over the adversary came from

His atoning blood.

 


This constellation takes us back and reminds us of the  blood of the Lamb” and in it a portrayal of Revelation Chapter 5.  And praise and honor are given to Him who is found worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. “Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation….” Read all of Revelation chapter 5 for full impact.

 

This is also the sign, with all of its decan constellations, that portrays the events of Revelation 19:7 through 20:3.

 

The planet Adom (Mars), besides portraying the warrior angel Michael, can also represent blood, blood shedding, war, or the atoning blood of Messiah (it is the red planet).  Mars has been shining brightly in the Lamb from early September to its peak in early November and will continue to be a bright object through December. 

 

It is interesting that on November 9, 2003 there was a blood red lunar eclipse in Aries visible from Israel.  The position of the moon during this eclipse was in the same position in Aries that Adom (Mars) was in during its opposition on November 6, 2005.  Below is a chart showing the blood red moon in Aries on November 9, 2003.  Compare this with Chart 403.

 

Blood red moon in Aries on November 9, 2003

 

There was another blood red moon in Aries on October 28, 2004.  This was not visible from Israel, but was visible from the United States.  For the last three years running, we are reminded of the atoning blood of the Lamb.  It has been in the autumn for all three occurrences, and they have been within a 12-day period (between October 28 and November 9).

 

Blood red moon in Aries on October 27/28, 2004

 

See the November 2003 and the September/October 2004 issues of Biblical Astronomy for further information on the above mentioned blood red lunar eclipses. 

           

Besides being in opposition on November 6, Adom is also in retrograde motion (appears to be moving backwards through the background stars).  It usually takes Mars about two months to pass through each constellation.  In its retrograde path through Aries, Mars will take about 7 months to pass through the constellation.  Mars came into Aries in late July 2005 and will exit Aries in February 2006.

           

Chart 404 shows the path of Adom (Mars) through Taleh (Aries) from July 27, 2005 to its conjunction with the Pleiades in Taurus on February 17, 2006.

 

Chart 404 – Path of Mars (red line) from July 27, 2005 to February 17, 2006

 

           

Adom goes into this path through this location in Taleh every 79 years in its 79-year cycle.  The last time Adom followed this path in Taleh was from July 1926 to February 1927. 

           

There have been some other peak times in history when Mars was in retrograde motion though in other signs.  The most prominent and pronounced one was during the crucifixion of Y’shua and the days following in 28 CE. 

           

It is in the sign Scorpio (Akrab – the conflict or war) that the prophecy given in Genesis 3:15 of the conflict between the woman and the serpent and between the woman’s seed and the serpent’s seed is portrayed.  This conflict starts in Genesis 3:15 and ends in Revelation 20:15.

           

Chart 405 shows the path of Adom (Mars) from March 1 to June 20, 28 CE.  Adom is seen here in retrograde motion.  Adom started its retrograde motion near the foot of Ophiuchus that represents the foot or heel of the seed of the woman that is to be wounded by the serpent and then set a coarse toward the head of the scorpion, which represents the head of the serpent that is to be crushed.  It was on Wednesday April 28, 28 CE that Messiah was crucified.  Adom reached the center of the head of the scorpion on June 10 of that year.      

 


Chart 405 – Path of Mars from March 1 to June 20, 28 CE


 

Chart 405 shows two dots in the head of the serpent, though they are so close that they almost appear as one.  The first dot is where Mars was on June 10, and the second is where Mars was on June 20, 28 CE.

 

June 10 was the day that Y’shua ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father.  This was a crushing blow to the serpent.  Then Adom (Mars) stayed in that area of the head as though to rub it in for the next 10 days.  June 20 of that year was Pentecost, when the comforter arrived and the Apostles were born from above as well as thousands of others on that day and millions upon millions since that day through Messiah’s atoning blood.  It was a crushing blow to the head of the serpent.

 

Chart 406 shows the retrograde path of Adom (Mars) in the sign and constellation Pisces from June 20, 1941 to January 29, 1942.

 

Chart 406 – Path of Mars from June 20, 1941 to January 29, 1942

 

Pisces represents the two houses of Israel, Judah and Ephraim.  The fish on the right represents the House of Judah.  It was during this time in history that Judah was going through immense persecution to say the least.   They were finally delivered after much bloodshed and six million of Judah lost their lives at the hand of the seed of the serpent in a cruel and hideous fashion.  There has been no other persecution of such magnitude in history against Jacob up to this point.  Messiah will deliver Jacob from the final trouble and His vengeance will come down heavily upon the heads of the serpent and the serpent’s seed.

 

HAVE MAZZAROTH, WILL TRAVEL

 

I recently purchased a video projector with high quality definition to show PowerPoint presentations with.  If you have a fellowship group or congregation who would be interested in hosting a Biblical Astronomy seminar or workshop in your area, contact me (Bob Wadsworth) for further information at: 

 

503-655-7430

starguy1@comcast.net

CONSTELLATION PICTURES

 

Michele Abraham is in the middle of a big move and as a result there will be no updates on the constellation pictures in this issue.  Hopefully, we will have some new pictures or updates by the January 2006 issue of Biblical Astronomy.  May Abba richly bless Michele and her family during and after this move.

 

 

TWO MORE MOONS FOR PLUTO

 

The following article by David Tytell was released by the Sky & Telescope website on October 31, 2005.

 

Pluto Adds Two New Moons – “Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have found two new moons orbiting Pluto. The discovery gives the ninth planet three satellites in total and makes it the first quadruple Kuiper Belt system.

 

S. Alan Stern (Southwest Research Institute, Colorado) and Harold F. Weaver (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory) observed the distant body on May 15th and 18th for the upcoming New Horizons mission, which will launch toward Pluto in January. Provisionally designated S/2005 P1 and S/2005 P2, the pair are 64,500 and 49,500 kilometers (40,000 and 30,700 miles) away from Pluto, respectively, and appear to orbit in the same plane as Charon. They are 23.1 and 23.4 magnitude, making them about 150 km and 100 km wide (assuming a reflectivity similar to ordinary meteorites), with periods of 38 and 25.5 days.

 

More interesting, however, is how the moons formed in the first place. According to Stern, they aren't captured bodies — they likely formed in the same high-energy collision that created Pluto's largest moon, Charon.

 

Robin M. Canup (Southwest Research Institute, Colorado) agrees. She has published several findings about the formation of the Pluto-Charon system and will be quickly applying that research toward understanding how these moons formed. "My gut," says Canup," is that these objects are connected to a Charon-formation collision."

 

The moons' confirmation came in late October when Marc W. Buie (Lowell Observatory) identified the satellites in HST images of Pluto shot in 2002. Buie had not seen them earlier because he had used short exposures of Pluto rather that the eight-minute-long images Stern and Weaver took.

 

Stern and his team tried to observe the moons from Earth multiple times since the May observations, but each attempt was met with failure. Either sky conditions were poor or the planet was too low on the horizon for the moons to be visible. Because Pluto is currently behind the Sun, the next opportunity astronomers will have to see the satellites from Earth won't be until February.

 

But even with more ground observations, Pluto is unlikely to reveal any more large moons. Weaver and Stern say their Hubble observations probed deep and thoroughly enough to rule out other Pluto satellites larger than 20 kilometers across. That said, Stern adds, "there could still be some pip-squeaks" awaiting New Horizons' arrival in 2015.”

 

RECORD HURRICANE SEASON GOES OUT WITH A BANG

 

Space.com news release, Nov. 29

by Robert Roy Britt

 

The formation of tropical storm Epsilon far out in the Atlantic Tuesday is a fitting bookend to the busiest hurricane season ever recorded.

 

This season, which began June 1, started out as the busiest on record, with 4 named storms by July 5.

 

It soon got worse.

 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were the most devastating highlights. Katrina has been called the most destructive U.S. storm ever.

 

Epsilon, No. 26 for those keeping track, is destined to head northeast and die over open water. But it is a rare storm, forming in the final moments of the season, which officially ends Nov. 30. The rarity only adds to what was by all accounts an unusual year.

 

The season included 26 named storms, the most ever. Of those, 13 became hurricanes; again, the most ever. Seven major hurricanes formed, being Category 3 or stronger. Four of those major hurricanes made landfall in the United States -- another record.

 

And finally, 2005 saw an unprecedented three storms reach Category 5 status.

 

More to come

 

And now the bad news: This year was part of a natural active cycle that began in 1995 and is expected to continue. Even worse, storm intensity may be increasing due to global warming, some scientists believe. And warmer seas may also be fueling more of the major hurricanes.

 

"Arguably, it was the most devastating hurricane season the country has experienced in modern times,” said Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., the administrator of NOAA, the parent organization to the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center. “I’d like to foretell that next year will be calmer, but I can’t. Historical trends say the atmosphere patterns and water temperatures are likely to force another active season upon us.”

 

Long term conditions such as warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures and low wind shear in the upper atmosphere are among the factors expected to fuel activity in coming years, forecasters say.

 

"Evidence of this active cycle was demonstrated this year as the Atlantic Basin produced the equivalent of more than two entire hurricane seasons over the course of one," David L. Johnson, director of the National Weather Service. "Because we are in an active hurricane era, it's important to recognize that with a greater number of hurricanes comes increasing odds of one striking land."

 

So busy ...

 

This year was so busy the Hurricane Center ran out of names and had to switch to the Greek alphabet for the first time. A handful of letters are not used in the regular list of 21 names.

 

Hurricane Wilma, which exhausted the standard list of 21 names, set its own record. It was briefly the strongest hurricane ever recorded.

 

Tropical Storm Alpha and Hurricane Beta hit the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, respectively. Tropical Storm Gamma brought deadly flooding to parts of Central America. Tropical Storm Delta largely stayed over open water then moved across the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa.

 

 

May Abba richly bless you and your family.

 

 

HAPPY HANUKKAH!!!!