Day: February 9, 2017

Till tomorrow……

Astronomy Picture of the Day – Crescent Enceladus

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2017 February 9

Crescent Enceladus
Image Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA

 

Explanation: Peering from the shadows, the Saturn-facing hemisphere of tantalizing inner moon Enceladus poses in this Cassini spacecraft image. North is up in the dramatic scene captured last November as Cassini’s camera was pointed in a nearly sunward direction about 130,000 kilometers from the moon’s bright crescent. In fact, the distant world reflects over 90 percent of the sunlight it receives, giving its surface about the same reflectivity as fresh snow. A mere 500 kilometers in diameter, Enceladus is a surprisingly active moon. Data collected during Cassini’s flybys and years of images have revealed the presence of remarkable south polar geysers and a possible global ocean of liquid water beneath an icy crust.

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Earth Sky News for February 9th: Moon in front of Cancer

Moon in front of Cancer on February 9

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Tonight – February 9, 2017 – the almost-full waxing gibbous moon puts the constellation Cancer in the spotlight, but out of view. Demure Cancer the Crab is the faintest of the 13 constellations of the zodiac. You can see Cancer only on dark, moonless nights.

The starry sky is like a great big connect-the-dots book, enabling stargazers to star-hop from brighter stars to more obscure nighttime treasures. And that’s why noticing the stars around the February 9, 2017 moon is important. By about mid-February, when the moon drops out of the evening sky, Cancer the Crab will be showing its delicate starlit figurine in the region of sky in between the Leo star Regulus and the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux.

Identify Regulus, Castor and Pollux now, and you can use them for years to come to help you identify Cancer.

Eclipse coming! Penumbral lunar eclipse February 10-11, 2017

Our featured chart at top shows the moon and Cancer for North American mid-northern latitudes. At nightfall, at mid-northern latitudes from around the world, the stars and planets are similarly positioned. As seen from Europe and Asia, though, the moon on February 9, 2017 is offset toward the Gemini stars, Castor and Pollux. This difference in the moon’s position, relative to the backdrop stars of the zodiac, is due to the moon’s own motion in orbit around Earth.

From the Southern Hemisphere, the differences are due in part to the moon’s movement, and in part to the difference in perspective from one hemisphere to the other. Still, we all live under the same sky, and no matter where you live worldwide, the moon beams in the vicinity of Cancer tonight, with the moon sandwiched in between Castor and Pollux on one side and the star Regulus on the other.

Just remember – although we outline Cancer for you on our chart, you’re not likely to see this constellation in tonight’s drenching moonlight. Notice the stars around it, and come back in a week or so to find the faint Crab when the moon has moved on its way – and left the evening sky dark for stargazing.

Bottom line: The almost-full moon puts the constellation Cancer the Crab in the spotlight – but out of view – on the night of February 9, 2017.

 

Bruce McClure

Bruce McClure has served as lead writer for EarthSky’s popular Tonight pages since 2004. He’s a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also writes and hosts public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York.

Published on EarthSky

Your Charm for February 9th is The Eye Agate

Your Charm for Today

Today’s Meaning:
The eye represents your will to be loved. The strength of your will controls this aspect. You have neglected needed emotions of love in your life. You cannot expect to be loved if you do not show it.

General Description:
These enati (eye stones) were first worn for protection in the East, but soon the custom of wearing these charms spread to almost all countries. Implicit faith was placed in their reputed magical power to guard the wearer from the dreaded influence of the evil eye. From the very earliest times the imagined influence of the evil eye has struck terror into the hearts of the weak minded, ignorant, and superstitious. The uncanny effect of the eye is produced by cutting through the parallel bands, or layers of the different colours which form the agate.

Your Ancient Symbol Card for February 9th is The Open Door

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today

The Open Door



The Open Door signifies the presence of new opportunities. However, to reap the benefits of these prospects you will have to move beyond where you are now–forsake the comforts and safety of your current life and head out in new directions. Moves like those symbolized by The Open Door require courage, because fresh opportunities signify the chance of gain, but do not guarantee they will be realized. Regardless of the benefits that may be reaped, with the transitions like those required to explore these new found opportunities, something is always lost. Before launching on a voyage down new paths it is a good idea to objectively assess your current state of being and decide whether what you have now is worth jeopardizing.

As a daily card, The Open Door indicates a time that is primed for you to pursue new goals and dreams. For you opportunity exists, but there are no assurances that they will lead to a richer life. Weigh your current circumstances carefully, and if you feel there is a more fulfilling path for you, then this is the moment for you to begin your walk down that path–the moment for you to walk through The Open Door before you.

Your Tarot Power Card for February 9th is The Empress

Your Power Cards

This card represents strengths you were born with.

The Empress

The Empress is “The Earth Mother” of the Tarot. She embodies all that is nurturing, clean and wholesome. Her powers resonate from her drive to create and care for life on a grand scale. She is in tune with Nature’s rhythm and realizes that life’s most pleasurable moments often stem from the simplest things. She is not afraid to enjoy herself–to let loose—to the point of being lavish. Abundance and luxury are important to her. The Empress is completely comfortable with her femininity and her sexuality. She is sensual, earthy, generous, and likes the good life. Still, her driving force is a need to create and nurture, and fulfilling this need overrides everything else.

When The Lover or The Star are among your personal cards, the influence of The Empress may be increased. Having the Emperor or Death in your personal cards may diminish the influence of The Empress.

Your Crowley Thoth Tarot Card for Feb. 9th is The Hierophant

Your Crowley Thoth Tarot Card for Today

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The Hierophant



The Hierophant represents the protector of a culture’s heritage and traditions. His purpose is to defend and teach the established ways and beliefs a group embraces. He is inherently conventional and a true believer in the power of the group. He loves the structure of the group and its values. It is the task of The Hierophant to bring new members into the group—to prepare the uninitiated to take their rightful place in his culture. In this sense he is very much like a teacher or a priest. He also acts as the repository of his group’s history. The Hierophant is certainly not one to buck proper authority. However, he is staunch and worthy defender of the tried and true. He represents the positive aspects of tradition and conformity.

Learn the Tarot -Death Card

Learn the Tarot

The Death Card

Shed the old to make room for the new.

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General Meaning

The Death card is not about the literal death of any person. It may represent the death of something else, like a project, plan, or relationship. This card also points to a time of harvest, symbolized in classical decks by the reaping skeleton. Unless the fruits of summer are harvested, they are lost to winter’s harshness, and the people do not eat. As the scythe cuts the cords that link us to the past, it liberates us to go forward without fear, because we have nothing left to lose. Everything being pruned away is recycled for the fertility of the future, so that nothing is really ever lost, despite seasonal cycles of gain and loss.

In more modern Tarot decks, we see Death mounted on a horse and wearing black armor. The emphasis in these decks is on the punishment of sin, as in the way the medieval Plagu (which the Death image was based on) was used to explain the wrath of God. Luckily, in modern times, we are not so encumbered with such a guilt-ridden philosophy.

In the Advice Position

Free yourself from a past that no longer serves you well and proceed toward the future.

The card in the Advice position suggests a course of action which will harmonize what you want with what is currently possible.

The Death card advises you to detach from the old order. You may want to close accounts, complete unfinished tasks, and gather your harvest. It is time to move on. If you cut the cords that have bound you to old ways and outdated conventions, you could free yourself to join the sweep of incoming light. This is not an excuse to reject others or hurt them in any way. It is simply a time to move toward your ultimate interests.

Do not allow nostalgia and outworn loyalties to hold you back. Be willing to go through whatever it takes to get to where you really want to be.

 

*Tarot.com is a Daily Insight Group site