By Vaughn
Paul Manley, M.A.
Tomorrow, Sunday December 10th, there will be a rare conjunction
of Jupiter, Mercury and Mars, viewable (with clear skies of
course) just before sunrise in the Eastern horizon.
Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars
The three planets are conjunct at 9 degrees of Scorpio in the
perfect position to see them before sunrise - about 15 degrees
before the Sun at 24 degrees. In fact, Mercury can only be seen
just before sunrise or just after sunset since it's always within
about 22 degrees from the Sun.
Because the conjunction takes place in Mars's sign of Scorpio,
Mars strength, astrologically speaking, predominates above the
other three. Does this portend violence? Could be. Jupiter's
presence should modify exteme expressions and could indicate
resolution of violence as well. However, when we're talking
about mundane astrology these kinds of events are hardly worth
mentioning because you can only take a swing at very general
statements. Mundane astrology only becomes really relevant when
applied to the natal chart of a country, so that the dashas
can be taken into account as well.
Transits December 10, 2006 at 6:30am (before sunrise)
Astronomically speaking, The Associated Press had this to say
about the event:
"Stargazers will get a rare triple planetary treat this
weekend with Jupiter, Mercury and Mars appearing to nestle together
in the predawn skies. About 45 minutes before dawn on Sunday
those three planets will be so close that the average person's
thumb can obscure all three from view. They will be almost as
close together on Saturday and Monday, but Sunday they will
be within one degree of each other in the sky. Three planets
haven't been that close since 1925, said Miami Space Transit
Planetarium director Jack Horkheimer. And it won't happen again
until 2053, he said.
The planets are actually hundreds of millions of miles apart,
but the way the planets orbit the sun make it appear they are
neighbors in the east-southeastern skies. They'll be visible
in most parts of the world — in the Western Hemisphere,
as far south as Buenos Aires and as far north as Juneau, Alaska,
Horkheimer said."
It will be worth it to get up early tomorrow before sunrise
to try to spot them just above the horizon. Or if not, try again
on Monday morning. As the week proceeds the conjunction will
still be there but just not as dramatically.
The Associated Press concludes:
"It is a lovely demonstration of the celestial ballet that
goes on around us, day after day, year after year, millennium
after millennium," said Horkheimer. "When I look at
something like this, I realize that all the powers on Earth,
all the emperors, all the money, cannot change it one iota.
We are observers, but the wonderful part of that is that we
are the only species on this planet that can observe it and
understand it."
Copyright 2006. Vaughn Paul
Manley. All Rights Reserved. |
