Feb 9 2009's 'dusky' Lunar Eclipse + Comet Lulin

Space Weather News for Feb 8, 2009

DUSKY LUNAR ECLIPSE: On Monday, Feb 9, the full Moon will pass through the outskirts of Earth's shadow, producing a penumbral lunar eclipse. The event will be visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading of the northern half of the Moon. Maximum eclipse occurs between the hours of 1400 and 1520 UT (6:00 am - 7:20 am PST).

The timing favors observers in east Asia, Australia, Hawaii and western parts of North America.

Visit SpaceWeather.com for a visibility map, animations, and more information.

COMET LULIN UPDATE: The plasma tail of Comet Lulin, torn off by a solar wind gust on Feb 4, has already grown back. Also, observers in dark-sky locations report that the comet is now visible to the naked eye as a pale "fuzzy patch" in the constellation Libra before dawn.

The comet is brightening as it approaches Earth for a 38-million-mile close encounter on Feb 24. See the latest images in the Comet Lulin Photo Gallery.

~:~

Speaking of Australia, my heart and best wishes for your safety go out to my friends in Australia, astrology and otherwise, on the worst wild fires in Australian history. And if there are culprits to catch, I hope you catch them! jc

Is Panetta strong-arming the press?

A reporter has had some of that 'strong-armed paternalism - aka, POLITICAL POWER' - of '18 Capricorn' used against him by a Panetta staffer so you know I think of 18Cap's Sabian Symbol for the Great Conjunction/s of Uranus and Neptune - three times in 1993.

(I use their conjunction of Oct 24, 1993, 1:11 pm edt - see chart here if you wish.)

And let me not forget the 'Images for Integration' for the NWO's Sun Sco (1:19) - Moon in Aquarius (conj US ntal Moon, we-the-people)...

Sun Sco-Moon AQ: 'A hovering hawk surveys the world, at one with nature...An exotic moth emerges from a crysalis, in perfect form, a sublimity of nature's intelligence.' (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Chas & Suzi Harvey.)

Seems to me that in 2009 there are several 'hovering hawks' and they're circling the globe as the spying eyes in the sky they are while gathering 'intelligence' on every global inhabitant.

Paul Krugman's Morning Joe video

Economist Paul Krugman sets the record straight.

Consumer Confidence way back in Oct 2002

Here's a walk down memory lane into US financial territory a la Oct 2002 with pre-Iraq-war economic murmurs, outsourced jobs au revoir, lowered consumer confidence, and post-9/11 shakiness all rolled into one ball of wax now melting at a bank near you...

Obama appointees: spotless in Washington?

The Obama adminstration has come upon what may turn out to be another snag with the appointment of Republican Judd Gregg and his staffer's connection to disgraced lobbyist and criminal kingpin Jack Abramoff who has been, it is said, singing like a bird while in prison.

For Obama, Washington malfeasance is making the search for an honest (enough) man in our nation's capital a hard climb up an insurmountable mountain of mountebanks.

Pitiful!

Mercury Returns to 2009 Inaugural degree

On Feb 15, 2009 at 2:06 am est, Mercury returns to 00AQ41, his degree in the Inauguration 2009 chart, if you're interested in reading a few of my notes on this Mercurial happenstance.

More power for the Fed?

Paul Volcker, advisor to the president is saying that he's against giving more power to the Fed but if he expressed reservations about the possibility because the Federal Reserve Bank is an association of private citizens who would them have more power over the US government than before, I'm not finding it in this article from The Hill.

"War on Terror" a crock of bogusness

There are many posts published here at Stars Over Washington, a blog I began in Oct 2005, and I have no idea when or where I've blurbed my disbelief in the propagandistic tactics of the so-called "War on Terror."

Obviously there are posts here and at my other blog, jude's threshold, relating to Nostradamus' famous 'King of Terror' Eclipse of August 11, 1999, a watershed solar eclipse which ushered in the New Millennium (also termed the 'King of Alarm" Eclipse), and which relates to finances, the upshot of which we've seen since 2008's (manufactured) economic crisis/meltdown.

But Eric Margolis is better able to line up his thought ducks in a row over the manipulative political thespianism that took over the US government some years ago, so check out his article when you have a mo:

The Bogus 'War on Terror' - Glasnost In London - War Fever In Washington

By Eric Margolis

Two senior British officials have created a sensation by finally speaking some hard truths that contradict all the lies spewed out by Washington and London about the bogus "war on terror."

Pluto Night and the International Year of Astronomy 2009

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and the Lowell Observatory is having a celebration of Pluto's 1930 discovery.

In honor of Pluto, dwarf planet of the Kuiper Belt, the Lowell Observatory's blog feed has been added in SO'W's sidebar - have a click and check out the astronomical goings-on.

As you know, one of Astrology's glyphs for Pluto is a capital P and an L melded together which stands for 'Percival Lowell'.

Yet it's astronomer Clyde Tombaugh who gets the credit for Pluto's discovery at the Lowell Observatory on Feb 18, 1930, with Pluto 17Can46 Rx.

On the evening of 2.18.30, the Sun was in AQ, Moon in mid-Scorpio, giving these Images for Integration:

Sun AQ-Moon Sco: 'A scientist dissects a scorpion with great tenderness and absolute precision...A researcher presents his findings to colleagues at a Science for Humanity conference...Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.' (Chas & Suzi Harvey.)

And so, precisely 79 years later, the celebration is set for February 18, 2009, when a Pluto Night program will be presented at the Observatory.

Perhaps you remember the New Horizons spacecraft which was launched toward the dwarf planet in Jan 2006 and could reach Pluto in 2015, if all goes well.

For Pluto Night, planetary scientist Will Grundy, a member of the New Horizons team, will speak on recent discoveries about Pluto and its neighbors, which should make for fascinating listening.

And Kevin Schindler will give a presentation on his research into Pluto's discovery which was "the dramatic culmination of a dedicated search program from this Observatory" - the Lowell Observatory of Arizona.

If you're in the area on Feb 18, I hope you can drop in for Pluto Night and let me know if you do!

~:~

image: Moss Cave Observatory, drawing by jude cowell 2009; from my Secret Moon Art collection.