MESSENGER flies by Mercury tonight

MESSENGER, the latest mission to Mercury, makes its second fly-by of the planet tonight. Keep your eyes peeled for articles online with the new pictures in the morning!

Let's see what the astrologers have to say about this one (considering that Mercury's in retrograde, yadda yadda).

Kepler College

Thanks to Matt for the link - I didn't even know that there was a whole college on astrological studies, Kepler College. Thankfully they're non-accredited, though they are authorized by the state of Washington to award degrees.

This means that (1) thankfully we don't have to waste time trying to get them unaccredited since they already are, and (2) I have to do more research to understand the distinction between accreditation and authorization. I suspect that the former means an independent national board of experts essentially peer-reviews the school, while the latter is just a small legal issue having to do primarily with paperwork but also with state educational boards voting (though not necessarily using any expert witnesses and detailed review).

Oh and, anyone else get a chuckle out of the school being named "Kepler"?

Your Astrological Career!

The Chronicle of Higher Education as a *stellar* article on how to find the best career after college - no more of those fancy schmancy personality tests, instead counselors should just ask your sign.

Took me three readings of the intro/closing paragraphs to figure out that it was tongue-in-cheek, despite my *knowing* the Chronicle wouldn't espouse pseudo-science. Have I mentioned I'm not too good at dry humor?

And my ideal career? Academe! :-P

Aquarius: (January 21-February 19) Like all Aquarians, you are unique. You have the celestial gifts of depth and foresight; you are the shaper of new paradigms. You are probably the voice of your generation. Everyone likes you and thinks you are beautiful, kind, and progressive. You are reluctant to stay in one place for too long: You need your freedom to be who you are, and many other places need to benefit from your wisdom and generosity. To Kill a Mockingbird is your favorite book and movie. Above all, you want to help people, and there is nowhere that they can hide in the long run. Of course, you don't want to be the "tool" of any kind of "institution," but you also know that the children are our future. Consider a degree in ethnomusicology, education, women's studies, ecology, or social work. Once you've grown beyond academe, consider expanding your horizons as a community activist, organic farmer, folk artist, co-op worker, weaver, basement gardener, or astrologer.

...or astrologer...

Astrology: Ophiuchus (1) and Time per Sign (2)

The simplest part of astrology is astrological / horoscope / zodiac signs. These were originally based upon the constellations in the sky that the Sun passed through during the year - you can't actually see that constellation at that time due to the Sun being out, but we can map everything and we know exactly which ones it passes through when. (The specific path of the Sun is called the ecliptic, the constellations it passes through, the zodiac.)

These 13 astrological signs are

1. Aries


2. Taurus


3. Gemini


4. Cancer


5. Leo


6. Virgo


7. Libra


8. Scorpio (constellation: Scorpius)


9. Ophiuchus


10. Sagittarius


11. Capricorn


12. Aquarius


13. Pisces

In between the sun passing through Scorpius and Sagittarius, it spends a while in Ophiuchus. In fact, the Sun spends more time in Oph than it does in Sco, begging the question of whether the Sun spends the exact same amount of time in each other sign, as is implied by the fact that the dates for signs are evenly distributed. If what matters is where the Sun is in the sky, it should matter how long it spends in each sign.

Note in the image to the right the red dashed line representing the ecliptic (the Sun's path), the yellow dashed lines indicating constellation borders, "Sgr" (Sagittarius) in gray on the left, and the little sliver of "Sco" (Scorpius) passed through on the right on the Sun's way from "Lib" (Libra).

As for Ophiuchus, it is one of the 88 internationally recognized constellations. The exact borders were proposed in 1875, and accepted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1933, but the thing to keep in mind is that they had been used in common practice for centuries earlier. Millenia even: the first record of any information about the constellations dates to the 700s BCE. (And unlike the IAU's decision on Pluto, the definition of constellations appears to have been entirely uncontrovertial and unchallenged.)

So two flaws to astrology: Ophiuchus isn't included, and each of the 12 (incorrect) signs is given the same amount of time, even though the Sun spends a different amount of time in them.

Astrology: Intro

I haven't done a post on astrology in a long time - too long. And it's going to take me forever to cover all of what I find wrong with it, and the few things that are good about it. To start off with, I'd like to solicit questions that you may have, and list a few topics that I will want to cover in a series on astrology - most are things that are wrong, a couple actually ARE right (though this begs the question of why they couldn't fix other related things).

1. Horoscopes' daily predictive value


2. Birth signs' personality predictive value


3. Ophiuchus


4. Precession of your sign


5. First point in Ares


6. Age of Aquarius


7. Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn


8. Planets and minor planets

I have to admit that I am only knowledgable about horoscopes and how birth signs work in general; I do not know the details about the planets, or exact birth times. If you wish to attempt to enlighten me, feel free, but do expect criticism as I am a self-proclaimed "skeptic" about astrology. And if there are topics you'd like to see me cover, lemmie know in the comments.