This and Data

Mantle Clock

It's about time: http://www.timeanddate.com/

Use the link to find the time anywhere in the world, past, present, and future, and to convert it to your local time; to calculate Moon phases; to calculate the rise and set of the Sun and Moon; or to create a calendar for any year -- and much more.

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Do stocks crash during solar minimum? (Some people think so.) Did NASA send astronauts to the Moon during Solar Max? How do sunspots affect the length of mini-skirts?

You can investigate the relationship between solar activity and historical events -- as well as personal milestones --by using Spaceweather.com's Sunspot Plotter. The data goes back to 1775. Click the link below.

Sunspot Plotter

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Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 2009

Eclipses are more than curiosities in astrology. They serve as cosmic sign posts; and they often function as warning signs. When an eclipse falls on a natal planet, the planet "goes dark" for a time -- or it starts nagging for attention. For example, your phone could get disconnected when Mercury is eclipsed. When Venus is the target, resources dry up and romance is hard to come by. Total eclipses have the greatest impact. Eclipses are said to be strongest where they are visible.

There are six eclipses in 2009, an unusually high number, but two of them (both lunar) have only an academic interest because they will not be visible to the naked eye, anywhere. Their astrological significance is questionable.

Date

Eclipse

Visible

January 26

Annular Solar Eclipse

Visible from a wide track that traverses southern Africa, Australia. Southeast Asia, and Indonesia. Its zodiacal postion is 6.5 degrees of Aquarius.

February 9

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

Visible in East Asia, Australia, Alaska, and Hawaii. Visible at moonset in western North America. Its zodiacal position is 21 degrees Leo.

July 7

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

Invisible to the naked eye. Its zodiacal position is 15 degrees, 24 mintes of Capricorn..

July 22

Total Solar Eclipse

This is the Big One of 2009. It is visible in India, China, parts of Japan, and the South Pacific. It appears as a partial eclipse over most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean. This is the longest total solar eclipse of the twenty-first century -- it will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132. Totality will last for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds. Its zodiacal position is 29 degrees, 27 minutes of Cancer.

August 6

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

Invisible to the naked eye. Its zodiacal position is 13 degrees, 43 minutes of Aquarius.

December 31

Partial Lunar Eclipse

Visible from the entire Eastern Hemisphere. Its zodiacal position is 10 degrees, 15 minutes of Cancer.

Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC

Click here for 2009 Full Moon Names.

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2009 Retrograde Planets

There is usually a retrograde planet seomewhere in the solar system. Inner planets -- Mercury through Mars -- affect us most strongly. Even though the phenomenon itself is an optical illusion, all retrograde planets have astrological significance . For example, don't build fences and foundations when Saturn is retrograde. A retrograde Jupiter is inauspicious for founding an empire. Don't get married or start a partnership when Venus is retrograde. Avoid signing contracts when Mercury is retrograde.

Planet

Retrograde

Direct

Saturn

December 31, 2008

May 16

Mercury

January 11

February 1

Venus

March 6

April 17

Pluto

April 4

September 11

Mercury

May 7

May 30

Neptune

May 28

November 4

Jupiter

June 15

October 12

Uranus

July 1

December 1

Mercury

September 7

September 29

Mercury

December 26

January 15, 2010

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2009 Lunar Perigees and Apogees

The Moon is like a yo-yo as it orbits Earth. At perigee, the Moon comes closest. At apogee, the Moon is farthest away. Perigee is "emotional high tide," especially when it occurs within three days of a Full Moon or New Moon. Perigee intensifies the usual Full Moon effect -- and it can make a New Moon feel like a Full Moon.

We have a succession of perigee New Moons -- including a total eclipse of the Sun -- that runs from Spring through Autumn. This could turn into a long, hot summer.

PERIGEE APOGEE

Jan 10* Nearest perigee of the year.

Jan 23

Feb 7* Coincides with a lunar eclipse.

Feb 19

March 7

March 19

April 28

May 14

May 25*

June 10

June 23*

July 7

July 21* Total Solar Eclipse July 22

Aug 3

Aug 19*

Aug 31

Sept 16*

Sept 28

Oct 13*

Oct 25

Nov 7

Nov 22

Dec 4

Dec 20

*Within three days of New Moon or Full Moon

2009 Conjunctions in Right Ascension

Date	Time UTC	Planet	Angle distance	Planet	Elongation to sun
January 18, 2009	06:19:19	Mercury	3°15' north of	Jupiter	4.7° East
January 23, 2009	15:34:10	Venus	1°24' north of	Uranus	46.3° East
January 26, 2009	18:23:39	Mercury	4°25' north of	Mars	13.5° West
February 17, 2009	09:35:27	Mars	35' south of	Jupiter	18.8° West
February 24, 2009	03:08:31	Mercury	37' north of	Jupiter	24.1° West
March 1, 2009	20:21:59	Mercury	36' south of	Mars	21.8° West
March 5, 2009	00:52:04	Mercury	1°39' south of	Neptune	19.9° West
March 8, 2009	04:18:03	Mars	48' south of	Neptune	22.9° West
March 21, 2009	21:36:59	Mercury	1°24' south of	Uranus	8.3° West
March 27, 2009	11:31:44	Mercury	10°37' south of	Venus	4° West
April 15, 2009	03:46:10	Mars	28' south of	Uranus	30.9° West
April 18, 2009	16:22:43	Venus	5°36' north of	Mars	29.8° West
May 25, 2009	14:20:29	Jupiter	24' south of	Neptune	98° West
June 19, 2009	14:16:32	Venus	2°02' south of	Mars	44.6° West
July 13, 2009	17:22:12	Jupiter	37' south of	Neptune	145.5° West
August 18, 2009	21:20:26	Mercury	3°27' south of	Saturn	25.4° East
September 20, 2009	12:26:59	Mercury	5°24' south of	Saturn	3° West
October 8, 2009	09:19:27	Mercury	19' south of	Saturn	17.6° West
October 13, 2009	15:39:41	Venus	34' south of	Saturn	22.1° West
December 7, 2009	06:57:29	Mercury	7°29' south of	Pluto	17.1° East
December 20, 2009	05:35:39	Jupiter	34' south of	Neptune	55.6° East
December 28, 2009	04:21:10	Venus	5°24' south of	Pluto	3.5° West

From Wikipedia.org

Venusian Trivia

Venus

Venus orbits the Sun in 225 days, spending about 18.75 days in each sign of the Zodiac. Venus is the ruling planet of Taurus and Libra.

In Roman mythology Venus, was the goddess of love and beauty, famous for the passions she could stir among the gods.

Venus is the only planet in the Solar System named after a female figure, although three dwarf planets -- Ceres, Eris, and Haumea -- also have female names.

Most planets rotate counter-clockwise but Venus rotates clockwise, in "retrograde" rotation, so that the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.

Venus rotates once every 243 days -- the slowest rotation of any major planet -- hence a Venusian sidereal day is longer than a Venusian year (243 versus 224.7 Earth days). The solar day is significantly shorter. The time from one sunrise to the next is 116.75 days.

Venus' 584-day average interval between perigees -- close approaches to the Earth -- is almost exactly equal to five Venusian solar days.

Venus overtakes the Earth every 584 days as it orbits the Sun. As it does so, it goes from being the Evening Star, visible after sunset, to being the Morning Star, visible before sunrise.

As it moves around its orbit, Venus displays phases like the Moon. It is new when it passes between the Earth and the Sun; full when it is on the opposite side of the Sun; and a half-phase when it is at its maximum elongations from the Sun. Venus is brightest when it is a thin crescent; it is much closer to Earth when a thin crescent than when gibbous, or full.

In astrology Venus rules love, lucre, and creature comforts. It is associated with harmony, beauty, balance; the feelings and affections, and the urge to merge. It also governs the desire for pleasure, sensuality, and personal possessions. It is linked to romantic relations, marriage and business partnerships, sex (the origin of the words venery and venereal), the arts, fashion, and social life.

In medicine Venus is associated with the lumbar region, the veins, parathyroids, throat and kidneys.

Venus is considered moderately warm and moist. Its prominence in a region during seasonal changes is a barometer of warm, moist weather.

Venus is the modern ruler of the 2nd and 7th houses (money and relationships, respectively) but traditionally was said to have "joy" in the 5th, the fun house of the horoscope. In the northeast, the Venus-Mars conjunction takes place in the 5th House.

Friday is the Day of Venus on the astrological calendar. In languages deriving from Latin, such as Spanish and French, the word for Friday often resembles the word Venus (viernes and vendredi respectively).

Adapted from Wikipedia.org