Tag: Recipes

For Your Listening PLeasure

SONG OF SUMMER SOLSTICE | Kulning & Nyckelharpa

This song is short but sweet.

Samhain Celebration Guide

To read more about celebrating Samhain please click on this link

From Plentiful Earth – Northern and Southern Hemispheres Samhain

Beltane of the Southern Hemisphere

Today, in the Pagan calendar, the north celebrate the coming of winter at Samhainn. And all the while the sun is peaking up from behind the lush vernal trees and dancing for us once more in the southern hemisphere, as we welcome Beltane on October 31st. Or as I like to refer to it Beltane of the underworld.

A pagan spiral formation in Faerie Glenn where everything is miniature and enchanted. Copyright Content Catnip 2010

Beltane is  the Gaelic seasonal festival historically held to mark the midpoint between the spring equinox & summer solstice (Là Bealltainn in Scottish Gaelic; Lá Bealtaine in Irish). Fire is the traditional means of marking this spring festival of optimism & return.

A famous Ossianic lament…

Click here to read more about Southern Hemisphere Beltane from ContentCatnip.com

Golden Opportunity: How to Make Your Own Safe Food Coloring at Home

I was amazed when I read this article about what manufactured food coloring can do to a person. Than I was excited to read how it explains how to make your own out of vegetables and other things.

Information on how and why to make your own food coloring

It’s hard to imagine birthday cakes without colorful writing, vibrant flowers, or other exciting designs. But the colors in our cakes, candies, and other popular foods may not be as innocuous as their pretty exteriors would lead us to believe.

Research suggests that synthetic food coloring may harm human health in a variety of ways. But in spite of the risk factors, these colorants are cropping up in more foods than ever before. Although they provide no nutritional value, they’re added to a wide range of foods to intensify color or give those foods the color people expect to see.1 (For example, boxed cake batters may be dyed yellow in to look like they’re made from real eggs.)

With a little effort, you can avoid synthetic food coloring. Here’s why

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.

Today’s astronomy picture is a video.

Juno Flyby of Ganymede and Jupiter

Video Credit: Images: NASA, JPL-Caltech, SWRI, MSSS;
Animation: Koji Kuramura, Gerald Eichstädt, Mike Stetson; Music: VangelisExplanation: What would it be like to fly over the largest moon in the Solar System? In June, the robotic Juno spacecraft flew past Jupiter‘s huge moon Ganymede and took images that have been digitally constructed into a detailed flyby. As the featured video begins, Juno swoops over the two-toned surface of the 2,000-km wide moon, revealing an icy alien landscape filled with grooves and craters. The grooves are likely caused by shifting surface plates, while the craters are caused by violent impacts. Continuing on in its orbit, Juno then performed its 34th close pass over Jupiter’s clouds. The digitally-constructed video shows numerous swirling clouds in the north, colorful planet-circling zones and bands across the middle — featuring several white-oval clouds from the String of Pearls, and finally more swirling clouds in the south. Next September, Juno is scheduled to make a close pass over another of Jupiter’s large moons: Europa.

Global Moon Party Saturday, 10/9/2021

Join us on Saturday, October 9 to kick off the International Observe the Moon Night week of observing with a Global Moon Party. There will be live streams of the Moon and cultural lunar stories from around the world, NASA scientists, and amazing images, plus much more.
3-6pm PT/6-9pm ET

International Observe the Moon Night is a worldwide public engagement program that has been held annually since 2010. Every autumn, we ask people to observe the Moon in whatever way makes sense to them (via binoculars, telescopes, naked eye, images, artwork, songs, stories, etc.).

Join the party and find the latest schedule here: https://youtu.be/v61JyMG_zMs
Learn more about the International Observe the Moon Night: moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/
Date: Saturday, 10/9/2021

Time: 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Phase Details

From MoonGiant.com

Phase: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 13%
Moon Age: 3.40 days
Moon Angle: 0.55
Moon Distance: 363,679.30 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 149,389,987.53 km

International Observe The Moon Night – Global Moon Party

From NASA.gov (USA) National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Plan Your Event and Celebrate with Us

View our recorded Event Planning Webinar, and join the virtual Global Moon Party on October 9, for resources and activities that can take your International Observe the Moon Night to the next level.

Lunar Photography Guide

Capture the moment like a pro! Check out our Moon photography tips for cell phones, professional cameras, and more.

Viewing Guide

The Moon is Earth’s constant companion, the first skywatching target pointed out to us as children. We watch its face change as the month progresses, and see patterns and pictures in its geological features.

It’s the object in the night sky that humanity knows best ― and the one that’s easiest to study. Whether your tools are a telescope, a pair of binoculars, or just your eyes, you can find plenty of features on the Moon.

We only ever see one side of the Moon from Earth. That’s because the interplay of gravity between Earth and Moon slows the Moon into a rotation that paces its own. The Moon rotates, but it rotates at the same speed that it orbits around Earth. This keeps the same side always turned toward us. We call this being “tidally locked.

The Moon has no glow of its own, but shines with the reflected light of the Sun. During its crescent phase in the twilight or dawn, you can also sometimes see the dark portion of the Moon glowing faintly in the sunlight that reflects off Earth, an effect called earthshine.

You can look at the Moon during any of its illuminated phases, but for better viewing of craters and mountains, try phases other than the full Moon. The shadows on the surface will be more pronounced, and help distinguish features you might otherwise miss.

Eyeballing the Moon

Looking at the Moon with only your eyes, you see mostly areas of white and gray. These gray patches are solidified volcanic lava flows. In the Moon’s youth, its interior was still molten, and magma would erupt onto its surface. These dark areas formed when massive asteroid or meteorite impacts on the Moon’s surface created basins. Because the impact basins were often the lowest places on the Moon’s surface, they would begin to fill with erupting lava. The lava was similar to the basalt that erupts on Earth and, like on Earth, cooled to form a relatively dark-colored rock. We call these areas the lunar seas, or maria.

The lighter-colored areas are called the highlands, and show the earliest crust on the Moon, dominated by a type of rock called anorthosite, which is primarily made up of the white mineral anorthite or plagioclase.

What you see on the Moon with your eyes only will vary depending on your eyesight. Give yourself plenty of time for your eyes to adjust and look carefully. You may be able to see some of the larger impact craters on the Moon’s surface if your vision is sharp enough, including Copernicus, Kepler, and Aristarchus and Tycho. You may even be able to see some of the bright streaks that are ray systems emanating from the Copernicus or Tycho craters, created when material was thrown outward by the force of the original impacts.

Lunar Sightseeing

Pick up a pair of binoculars, and the Moon transforms.

With binoculars, you’ll still see the entire Moon at once, but now it’ll have terrain. Smooth-looking patterns of gray and white resolve into craters and large mountain ridges. You’ll be able to tell where the Moon is relatively undisturbed and where it’s been pockmarked by impacts. Binoculars introduce texture, especially when you look at the Moon when it’s in any other phase other than full. Focus particularly along the terminator line between light and dark, where features will cast long shadows that make them clearer. Choose binoculars with a magnification of 7 at a minimum. Though a magnification of 10 or 15 will provide more detail, you may need a tripod to steady them.

Under the gaze of a telescope, the Moon becomes too big to take in at once. Now you’ll see real mountains, and not just craters but the crater chains created when impact debris splashes around the main craters. You’ll see valleys, and the cracks in the Moon’s surface called rilles, formed when the lava that once filled a basin cooled and contracted. If this is your first time looking at the Moon through a telescope, you may feel the same wonder Galileo felt seeing that familiar orb in the sky transform into another world. Be sure to examine the Moon at many different phases and on different days. Parts of the Moon near the edge of the disk come into view at some times but not others, a wobbling phenomenon known as libration. Experienced observers can take advantage of favorable librations to see about 59 percent of the lunar surface.

Astronomical League Observing Challenge

Published: September 20, 2021

Take on a Moon Observing Challenge from the Astronomical League. This activity challenges you to complete each of the following tasks:

  • Do an outreach activity. This could be an International Observe the Moon Night event or any activity that encourages observing the Moon in general.
  • Observe the Moon with just your eyes. No equipment is required.
  • Estimate the Moon’s percent illumination. Not illuminated at all would be 0%, half-illuminated would be 50%, and completely illuminated would be 100%.
  • Make a sketch or capture an image of the Moon that includes at least ten of the features below. Indicate your chosen features on your sketch or image:
    • Mare Crisium
    • Mare Fecunditatis
    • Mare Frigoris
    • Mare Imbrium
    • Mare Nectaris
    • Mare Nubium
    • Mare Serenitatis
    • Mare Tranquillitatis
    • Crater Copernicus
    • Crater Tycho
    • Crater Rays from Crater Copernicus
    • The Woman in the Moon

For more information about this challenge, and to learn how to submit your sketch or image, visit the Astronomical League website.

Note: You may make your observation any time between October 15, 2021 and October 22, 2021. The deadline for submission is November 22, 2021. You do not need to be a member of the Astronomical League to participate in this challenge.

A lot more Activities to do with People and Our Moon Goddess

7 October Moon Goddess’ Current Phase, Southwestern and Southeastern Hemisphere Planetary Positions

Moon Goddess’ Current Phase

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else, you know was on the date the person was born. 

From Moongiant.com 

Today the Moon will be in a Waxing Crescent Phase. A Waxing Crescent is the first Phase after the New Moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon’s surface. During this phase the Moon can be seen in the wester sky after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for the right edge of the moon which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with a 50% illumination.

Visit the October 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Crescent Phase

The Waxing Crescent on October 7 has an illumination of 1%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On October 7 the Moon is 1.15 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 1%
Moon Age: 1.15 days
Moon Angle: 0.54
Moon Distance: 367,849.63 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 149,475,937.59 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

Custom Planetary Positions

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia  

7 October 2021
05:00 am GMT 4:00 PM AEDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:14 Libra 09
Moon:24 Libra 17
Mercury:19 Libra 29 Rx
Venus:29 Scorpio 43
Mars:14 Libra 28
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 32 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 53 Rx
Uranus:13 Taurus 54 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 11 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 19
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 39 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 04 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):08 Gemini 57

Chiron:10 Aries 30 Rx
Ceres:12 Gemini 08
Pallas:12 Pisces 16 Rx
Juno:18 Sagittarius 07
Vesta:08 Scorpio 31
Eris:24 Aries 20 Rx

Fire:3
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:4
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Pablo, Brazil, South America

7 October 2021
07:00 pm GMT 4:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:14 Libra 44
Moon:02 Scorpio 50
Mercury:18 Libra 49 Rx
Venus:00 Sagittarius 21
Mars:14 Libra 51
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 31 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 53 Rx
Uranus:13 Taurus 53 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 10 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 19

True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 37 Rx

Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 03 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):09 Gemini 01
Chiron:10 Aries 28 Rx
Ceres:12 Gemini 08
Pallas:12 Pisces 10 Rx
Juno:18 Sagittarius 16
Vesta:08 Scorpio 49
Eris:24 Aries 20 Rx

Fire:4
Earth:2
Air:9
Water:4
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8

October 6 Moon Goddess’ Current Phase, Northeastern and Northwestern Hemisphere Planetary Positions

Moon Goddess’ Current Phase

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else, you know was on the date the person was born. 

From Moongiant.com

The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a New Moon phase. During this phase the Moon is too close to the sun in the sky to be visible. The moon rises and sets with the sun and is not present in the night sky. Because of this the night sky is darker and an excellent time to view other celestial objects. Like the Full Moon, a New Moon happens at a very specific time when the sun and moon have the same ecliptic longitude and it can be measured down to the second it occurs.

Visit the October 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s New Moon Phase

The New Moon on October 6 has an illumination of 0%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On October 6 the Moon is 0.03 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: New Moon
Illumination: 0%
Moon Age: 0.03 days
Moon Angle: 0.54
Moon Distance: 371,419.45 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 149,518,954.95 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

Custom Planetary Positions

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

Northwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Chicago, Illinois, USA 

October 06, 2021
09:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM CDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:13 Libra 49
Moon:19 Libra 25
Mercury:19 Libra 51 Rx
Venus:29 Scorpio 21
Mars:14 Libra 15
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 33 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 54 Rx
Uranus:13 Taurus 55 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 11 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 19
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 41 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 05 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):08 Gemini 55
Chiron:10 Aries 30 Rx
Ceres:12 Gemini 07
Pallas:12 Pisces 20 Rx
Juno:18 Sagittarius 02
Vesta:08 Scorpio 21
Eris:24 Aries 20 Rx
Fire:3
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:4
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

Northeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Frankfurt, Germany, Europe

6 October 2021
02:00 pm GMT 4:00 PM CEST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:13 Libra 32
Moon:15 Libra 11
Mercury:20 Libra 10 Rx
Venus:29 Scorpio 01
Mars:14 Libra 03
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 33 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 54 Rx
Uranus:13 Taurus 55 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 12 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 19 Rx
True Lunar Node:02 Gemini 43 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 06 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):08 Gemini 53
Chiron:10 Aries 31 Rx
Ceres:12 Gemini 07
Pallas:12 Pisces 24 Rx
Juno:17 Sagittarius 57
Vesta:08 Scorpio 12
Eris:24 Aries 20 Rx
Fire:3
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:4
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

October 3rd Northern Hemisphere Custom Planetary Positions

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

Northwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Chicago, Illinois, USA

October 03, 2021
08:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM CDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:10 Libra 49
Moon:06 Virgo 24
Mercury:22 Libra 48 Rx
Venus:25 Scorpio 59
Mars:12 Libra 15
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 41 Rx
Saturn:06 Aquarius 55 Rx
Uranus:14 Taurus 01 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 16 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 19 Rx
True Lunar Node:03 Gemini 06 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 15 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):08 Gemini 35
Chiron:10 Aries 39 Rx
Ceres:12 Gemini 03
Pallas:12 Pisces 57 Rx
Juno:17 Sagittarius 14
Vesta:06 Scorpio 46
Eris:24 Aries 22 Rx
Fire:3
Earth:3
Air:9
Water:4
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8

September 30th Today in History

History on September 30th

Important Events

  • 1520 Suleiman the Magnificent succeeds his father Selam I as Ottoman Sultan (rules till 1566)
  • 1846 Anesthetic ether used for 1st time by American dentist Dr William Morton who extracts a tooth

Today’s Historical Event

On This Day in Film and Television

Events in Film & TV

  • 1939 In the first televised college football game, Fordham beats Waynesburg, 34-7 at Randalls Island, NY
  • 1947 In first televised World Series Baseball game, NY Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 5-3 in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium; also largest WS crowd to date, 73,365
  • 1950 Radio’s “Grand Ole Opry” is broadcast on TV for 1st time
  • 1950 WSM TV channel 4 in Nashville, TN (NBC) begins broadcasting
  • 1953 WICS TV channel 20 in Springfield, IL (NBC) begins broadcasting
  • 1953 WMT (now KGAN) TV channel 2 in Cedar Rapids-Waterloo, IA (CBS) begins
  • 1954 Sandy Wilson’s musical “The Boy Friend”, cast includes Julie Andrews, making her Broadway debut, opens at the Royale Theatre, NYC; runs for 485 performances
  • 1955 American actor and cultural icon James Dean is killed in a car crash aged 24

More Events in Film & TV

On This Day in Music

Events in Music

  • 1791 Mozart‘s opera “Magic Flute”, with German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, premieres at Schikaneder’s Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria
  • 1935 George Gershwin‘s opera “Porgy and Bess” premieres in Boston
  • 1963 “Student Gypsy” opens at 84th St Theater NYC for 16 performances
  • 1964 “Oh What a Lovely War” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 125 performances
  • 1965 Donovan’s 1st US TV appearance (Shindig)
  • 1992 26th Country Music Association Award: Garth Brooks wins
  • 1997 “Too Close” single released by Next (Billboard Song of the Year, 1998)
  • 2006 Farm Aid 19 held in Tinley Park, Illinois; performers include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Jerry Lee Lewis, Los Lonely Boys, Arlo Guthrie, Gov’t Mule, Steve Earle and Allison Moorer, Steel Pulse, Shelby Lynne, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Jimmy Sturr & his Orchestra

More Events in Music

On This Day in Sports

  • 1659 Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands forbids tennis playing during religious services (1st mention of tennis in US)
  • 1882 British Open Men’s Golf, St Andrews: Bob Ferguson wins third consecutive Open title; beats fellow Scot Willie Fernie by 3 strokes
  • 1887 8th America’s Cup: New York Yacht Club’s cutter Volunteer beats Scottish challenger Thistle by 11:48.75 seconds on corrected time to win series, 2-0 off Newport, RI
  • 1904 White Sox lefty Doc White, pitches his 5th shutout in 18 days
  • 1915 Red Sox clinch AL pennant by beating Detroit
  • 1916 Giants lose to Braves 8-3, ends 26 consecutive win streak
  • 1922 Yanks clinch pennant #2, beating Boston 3-1
  • 1927 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth smacks his MLB record 60th home run off Tom Zachary in 8th inning of New York’s 4-2 win over Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium

Events in Sports

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Events in Sport

  • 1659 Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands forbids tennis playing during religious services (1st mention of tennis in US)
  • 1882 British Open Men’s Golf, St Andrews: Bob Ferguson wins third consecutive Open title; beats fellow Scot Willie Fernie by 3 strokes
  • 1887 8th America’s Cup: New York Yacht Club’s cutter Volunteer beats Scottish challenger Thistle by 11:48.75 seconds on corrected time to win series, 2-0 off Newport, RI
  • 1904 White Sox lefty Doc White, pitches his 5th shutout in 18 days
  • 1915 Red Sox clinch AL pennant by beating Detroit
  • 1916 Giants lose to Braves 8-3, ends 26 consecutive win streak
  • 1922 Yanks clinch pennant #2, beating Boston 3-1
  • 1927 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth smacks his MLB record 60th home run off Tom Zachary in 8th inning of New York’s 4-2 win over Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium
  • More Events in Sport

    Events in Sport

    • 1659 Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands forbids tennis playing during religious services (1st mention of tennis in US)
    • 1882 British Open Men’s Golf, St Andrews: Bob Ferguson wins third consecutive Open title; beats fellow Scot Willie Fernie by 3 strokes
    • 1887 8th America’s Cup: New York Yacht Club’s cutter Volunteer beats Scottish challenger Thistle by 11:48.75 seconds on corrected time to win series, 2-0 off Newport, RI
    • 1904 White Sox lefty Doc White, pitches his 5th shutout in 18 days
    • 1915 Red Sox clinch AL pennant by beating Detroit
    • 1916 Giants lose to Braves 8-3, ends 26 consecutive win streak
    • 1922 Yanks clinch pennant #2, beating Boston 3-1
    • 1927 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth smacks his MLB record 60th home run off Tom Zachary in 8th inning of New York’s 4-2 win over Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium
    • More Events in Sport

      Events in Sport

      • 1659 Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands forbids tennis playing during religious services (1st mention of tennis in US)
      • 1882 British Open Men’s Golf, St Andrews: Bob Ferguson wins third consecutive Open title; beats fellow Scot Willie Fernie by 3 strokes
      • 1887 8th America’s Cup: New York Yacht Club’s cutter Volunteer beats Scottish challenger Thistle by 11:48.75 seconds on corrected time to win series, 2-0 off Newport, RI
      • 1904 White Sox lefty Doc White, pitches his 5th shutout in 18 days
      • 1915 Red Sox clinch AL pennant by beating Detroit
      • 1916 Giants lose to Braves 8-3, ends 26 consecutive win streak
      • 1922 Yanks clinch pennant #2, beating Boston 3-1
      • 1927 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth smacks his MLB record 60th home run off Tom Zachary in 8th inning of New York’s 4-2 win over Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium
        ""
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

From NASA.gov

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.

The Hydrogen Clouds of M33

Image Credit & Copyright: Luca Fornaciari

Explanation: Gorgeous spiral galaxy M33 seems to have more than its fair share of glowing hydrogen gas. A prominent member of the local group of galaxies, M33 is also known as the Triangulum Galaxy and lies a mere 3 million light-years away. Sprawling along loose spiral arms that wind toward the core, M33’s giant HII regions are some of the largest known stellar nurseries, sites of the formation of short-lived but very massive stars. Intense ultraviolet radiation from the luminous massive stars ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas and ultimately produces the characteristic red glow. To highlight the HII regions in this telescopic image, broadband data used to produce a color view of the galaxy were combined with narrowband data recorded through a hydrogen-alpha filter, transmitting the light of the strongest hydrogen emission line. Close-ups of cataloged HII regions appear in the sidebar insets. Use the individual reference number to find their location within the Triangulum Galaxy. For example, giant HII region NGC604 is identified in an inset on the right and appears at position number 15. That’s about 4 o’clock from galaxy center in this portrait of M33.

September 28th Current Moon Phases and Northern and Northeastern and Northwestern Hemisphere Planetary Positions

Moon Goddess’ Current Phase 

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else, you know was on the date the person was born. 

From Moongiant.com

Today the Moon will be in a Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9pm and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

Visit the September 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waning Gibbous Phase

The Waning Gibbous on September 28 has an illumination of 55%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On September 28 the Moon is 21.64 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

Phase Details

Phase: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 55%
Moon Age: 21.64 days
Moon Angle: 0.49
Moon Distance: 403,885.94 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 149,862,428.63 km

Custom Planetary Positions for

Chicago, Illinois/Frankfurt, Germany, Los Angels, California

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link 

Currentplanetarypositions.com

 To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link  

For Your Local Time and Date

Northern Hemisphere 

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America

September 27, 2021
08:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM CDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:04 Libra 55
Moon:21 Gemini 20
Mercury:25 Libra 27 Rx
Venus:19 Scorpio 19
Mars:08 Libra 20
Jupiter:23 Aquarius 01 Rx
Saturn:07 Aquarius 02 Rx
Uranus:14 Taurus 12 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 25 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20 Rx
True Lunar Node:03 Gemini 26
Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 34 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):07 Gemini 55
Chiron:10 Aries 55 Rx
Ceres:11 Gemini 45
Pallas:14 Pisces 18 Rx
Juno:15 Sagittarius 45
Vesta:03 Scorpio 39
Eris:24 Aries 26 Rx
Fire:3
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:4
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8

Northeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Frankfurt, Germany, Europe

28 September 2021
01:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM CET
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:05 Libra 37
Moon:29 Gemini 43
Mercury:25 Libra 22 Rx
Venus:20 Scorpio 06
Mars:08 Libra 47
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 58 Rx
Saturn:07 Aquarius 01 Rx
Uranus:14 Taurus 11 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 24 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20 Rx
True Lunar Node:03 Gemini 26
Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 32 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):08 Gemini 00
Chiron:10 Aries 53 Rx
Ceres:11 Gemini 47
Pallas:14 Pisces 08 Rx
Juno:15 Sagittarius 55
Vesta:04 Scorpio 01
Eris:24 Aries 25 Rx
Fire:3
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:4
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8

Northwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Los Angels, California, USA

28 September 2021
10:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM PDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:05 Libra 59
Moon:04 Cancer 11
Mercury:25 Libra 18 Rx
Venus:20 Scorpio 31
Mars:09 Libra 02
Jupiter:22 Aquarius 57 Rx
Saturn:07 Aquarius 00 Rx
Uranus:14 Taurus 10 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 23 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20 Rx
True Lunar Node:03 Gemini 27
Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 31 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):08 Gemini 02
Chiron:10 Aries 52 Rx
Ceres:11 Gemini 49
Pallas:14 Pisces 03 Rx
Juno:16 Sagittarius 00
Vesta:04 Scorpio 13
Eris:24 Aries 25 Rx
Fire:3
Earth:2
Air:9
Water:5
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

Northern Hemisphere September 26 Daily Correspondence Digest

 Moon Goddess’ Current Phase

Click here to find out the Moon phase for anyone’s birth date.

From Moongiant.comcom

The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9pm and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

Visit the September 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waning Gibbous Phase

The Waning Gibbous on September 26 has an illumination of 73%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On September 26 the Moon is 19.86 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 73%
Moon Age: 19.86 days
Moon Angle: 0.49
Moon Distance: 405,486.27 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 149,947,648.76 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

Custom Planetary Positions

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Chicago, Illinois, USA

September 26, 2021
03:00 pm GMT 10:00 AM CDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:03 Libra 44
Moon:07 Gemini 05
Mercury:25 Libra 27
Venus:17 Scorpio 57
Mars:07 Libra 32
Jupiter:23 Aquarius 06 Rx
Saturn:07 Aquarius 03 Rx
Uranus:14 Taurus 14 Rx
Neptune:21 Pisces 27 Rx
Pluto:24 Capricorn 20 Rx
True Lunar Node:03 Gemini 25
Mean Lunar Node:04 Gemini 38 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):07 Gemini 47
Chiron:10 Aries 58 Rx
Ceres:11 Gemini 39
Pallas:14 Pisces 35 Rx
Juno:15 Sagittarius 27
Vesta:03 Scorpio 02
Eris:24 Aries 26 Rx
Fire:3
Earth:2
Air:10
Water:4
Cardinal:6
Fixed:5
Mutable:8

Witchcraft/Magickal

From witchswap.com

Sunday

is associated with the Sun and zodiac sign of Leo. I add Cancer and Aries to this because they are also associated with the Sun. The elemental correspondence is Fire, (shocking, I know). In my opinion Sunday is the most diverse day in terms of its spell correspondences. Spells for success, money/prosperity, healing, protection, insight, fame/power, attraction and empowerment are just a few of the spells that can be amplified if performed on a Sunday. Gods/Goddesses: Helios, Brigid. Brigid is the Goddess of Fire and the Hearth and is celebrated on Imbolc, which is known as the “Festival of Lights”. By invoking her on Sundays you can tap into her powers of illumination and maternal energy. Angel: Michael. Archangel Michael is the ultimate warrior. He can be petitioned to help aid your cause or to destroy an enemy. If this is an angel you work with often, Sunday would be an auspicious day for honoring him and offering him gifts of thanks.

Happy and Blessed Ostara Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Guests

Happy and Blessed Mabon Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Guests

Ostara – Sabbat Lore and Traditions

For more about Ostara

Date: September 20  – 23

Other Names: Spring Equinox, Lady Day, Alban Eiler (Druidic)

Pronunciations: uh-star-uh, oh-star-uh

As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Herbs: Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers

Traditional Foods: Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts

Incense: Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type

Stones: Jasper

Recipes

Ancient Celebrations for Today – OSTARA

For more about Ostara and the Wheel of The Year

Ostara marks the Spring Equinox, which happens between March 19 -23. Ostara is a pagan celebration of the German goddess Eostre and the origins of the Christian celebration of Easter. As the beginning of spring Ostara is a good time to literally and figuratively plant seeds for the future.

In modern day living Ostara is also good time to start taking action on the ideas and goals you started thinking about around Yule and Imbolc. What you plant during Ostara will be ready to be harvested during the coming summer months and the sabbats of Beltane, Litha and Lughnasadh.

Ostara is also a good time to freshen up your home and life. Take time to do some spring cleaning. Cleaning isn’t just limited to your home. Take some time to declutter and clean up areas where you spend a lot of time, like your car, your computer (delete those old emails!) or your work office.

Symbols Of Ostara

Colors:  Green, pink, blue

Foods:  Eggs, honey, sprouted greens, baked goods, asparagus

Stones:  Aquamarine, amethyst, rose quartz

Symbols:  Rabbits, eggs, spring flowers , lambs, clover, baskets

Flowers & Plants: clover, daffodils, crocus, tulips

Deities:   Isis, Estotre, Adonis

Ways To Celebrate Ostara…

Ancient Celebrations for Today – MABON

For more about Mabon and the Wheel of The Year

Known as the pagan Thanksgiving, Mabon marks the Autumn Equinox, when day and night are equal, making it a time of balance, equality and harmony.  In ancient times Mabon was a celebration of the second harvest (Lughnasadh was the first) when farmers gathered hearty foods like gourds, pumpkins, grapes and apples.

Modern Mabon celebrations are a time to give thanks for the abundance of Mother Earth – both literally and spiritually.  It’s also a good time to reflect on the Wheel of the Year, recognizing your successes and letting go of the things that did not serve you during the past twelve months.

History Of Mabon

Modern Pagans began celebrating Mabon as the last of the eight Sabbats in the 1970s, but its roots as a harvest festival go back to ancient times.

Named after the ancient Welsh hero named Mabon ap Modron, which means Son of Mother, Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals that take place in the Wheel of the Year (Lughnasadh is the first and Samhain is the third).  Similar to Apollo, the figure of Mabon was depicted as a handsome youth with a lyre. As a baby Mabon was said to have been held hostage as a baby in the underworld, similar to the story of Persephone and Demeter.

Indeed, the Greek goddess Demeter is much more closely associated with the Autumn harvest, as…

Mabon Sabbat Lore and Traditions

For more about Mabon

Date: September 20th – 23rd, depending on the year

Other Names: Atumn Equinox, 2nd Harvest

Pronunciations: MAY-bun, MAY-bon, MAH-boon, MAH-bawn

The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year’s crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea’n Fo’mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth.

Various other names for this Lesser Wiccan Sabbat are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, Winter’s Night, which is the Norse New Year.

At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain. It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and reflection.

Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle-bussle of everyday life. May your Mabon be memorable, and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing!

Deities: Goddesses – Modron, Morgan, Epona, Persephone, Pamona and the Muses. Gods – Mabon, Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and The Green Man

Symbolism: Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality and Balance

Symbols: wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty

Colors: Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, and gold

Herbs: Acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, solomon’s seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables

Traditional Foods: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions

Incense: Autumn Blend-benzoin, myrrh, and sage

Stones: Sapphire, lapis lazuli, and yellow agates

Ritual