This is the Classical Astronomy Update, an email newsletter especially
for Christian homeschool families (though everyone is welcome!) Please feel free to share this with any interested friends.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. -- Psalm 19:1 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. -- Psalm 50:6 The
heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. -- Psalm 97:6
IN THIS UPDATE Prepper Pro
Tip - Vega and Capella "Balanced" The "Star" Remphan See Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas This Month Hello Friends, I'm very grateful to all of you readers of this newsletter and those who have learned from our Signs &
Seasons astronomy curriculum. You're special people since Classical Astronomy is a dying subject here in the 21st century. But it had been one of the most important subjects down through history. In pre-industrial times Classical Astronomy
offered the only methods for telling time and navigating. Observing the stars was the only way creaky wooden sailing ships could find their way "across the pond," between London and Jamestown or Plymouth, and around the globe to Sydney. Imagine the courage of those sailors of old, to venture forth onto the high seas with simple sky observing instruments! And astronomy was not just for finding the time of day but the day of the month and the month of the year, for learning the times
of planting and harvest. Survival itself depended on observing the stars. But hardly no one cares today. You can find the time by a glance at your phone, and direction from a computer voice in your car. So Classical Astronomy is a hard sell to the general public in the year of our LORD 2024. So thank you again for your
interest. I do find it discouraging that so few Christians take an interest in the celestial creation, even devout creationists, and -- dumbfoundingly -- the Classical Christian Education movement. As shown in the scriptures at the top of this newsletter, "the heavens declare the glory of God" and they also declare his righteousness.
There's nothing else mentioned in Scripture that declares either the glory or righteousness of God. One might think that God's people would have some interest in learning more about that. It's easy to understand the "glory" part. It's plain to see if you can get far enough away from the city lights and witness a pristine night sky
as it was created to appear -- velvet blackness sprinkled with glittering diamonds. It's an awe-inspiring sight, certainly a glorious declaration. But I had a problem grasping the "righteousness" part. I always thought "righteous" suggested morality and virtuousness, attributes of the holiness of the Creator. How can those
qualities be embodied by anything in the physical world, celestial or terrestrial? Then I learned that the English word righteousness is translated from the Hebrew word tsedeq (צֶדֶק) which connotes "right," "correct," "lawful" and "just." Here's the Strong's entry for the word. That puts a different spin on the interpretation. In Ancient Israel, one was deemed righteous if one followed The Law. But we know from Classical Astronomy that the heavens also follow a "law" of their own -- a mathematical law. The Sun rises single every morning without fail because it must, by necessity. The Moon and planets follow their orderly orbital courses with the regularity of clockwork.
The heavens obey the unerring law of "cause and effect." This is a concept from modern science that could not have been articulated in Biblical times. And we know that, for this very reason, Classical Astronomy was the only modern science known in ancient times, recognized as part of the Quadrivium, one of the seven classical
liberal arts. Isaac Newton created modern physics upon the ancient foundation of Classical Astronomy, upon which our modern technological culture is built. So for these reasons and more, the lawful heavens do declare the righteousness of God. And when we human creatures live moral and virtuous lives, seeking to emulate our sinless
Creator, we practice righteousness by operating within the lawful bounds of human behavior set forth by the LORD. As the Shepherd King of Israel continued in the 19th psalm: The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. But when we sinners inevitably fail to live up to the LORD's righteousness, it's as if the Sun fails to rise or the planets depart from their orbits. Anyway, I find this an interesting insight. So thank you all again for seeking to learn more about the heavens that declare the LORD's glory and righteousness! NEW! Classical Astronomy FB Group For more information about topics from Classical Astronomy discussed in this newsletter, please check out a homeschool astronomy curriculum (but popular with adult readers too!) Visit our archive of previous editions of the Classical Astronomy Update newsletters, going back to 2007. ***** Prepper Pro Tip -- The Big Dipper It takes years to learn the many "signs" in the
sky that indicate the seasons. You need to carefully observe the annual cycles that tell the time of year. But just as the shortening of days, the changing colors of leaves, and the migration of birds are signs of autumn, there are signs in the night sky that tell unerringly that the fall season is upon us. This came to mind when I recently
stepped onto my front porch to see the bright star Capella rising over the neighbors' trees. Capella is in the Orion sky and prominent in the evening sky of winter. So the evening appearance of Capella is a sure fire sign that winter is on the way. There's a sight currently visible around midnight that is also a sign of fall.
As depicted in our Signs & Seasons curriculum, you can currently see Capella and the equally bright star Vega
"balanced" in the midnight sky. These two stars can be seen in the north at equal heights above the horizon, on opposite sides of Polaris, the North Star, with Vega in the northwest and Capella in the northeast. You can see this balancing act around midnight at the present time, maybe a little before or after. Capella is a winter star, on the way up, and Vega is a summer star, on the way down. So when you see these two
stars at similar elevations in the middle of the night, that signifies that it is currently the season BETWEEN the summer and fall, hence autumn. QED. Look for the Big Dipper low in the north, maybe lost in the trees, while Cassiopeia is high overhead in the midnight sky. You can turn around toward the south to see the Great Square of
Pegasus high above at the meridian. This same balancing act can also be seen before sunrise on summer mornings, occuring earlier and earlier as summer gives way to fall. And you can also see this pair balancing at earlier times throughout the fall, and then in the early evenings of winter before Vega disappears into the sunset. You can see
the flipside pattern when Capella is in the northwest and Vega in the northeast, which is a sure sign of spring when spotted at midnight on the other end of the calendar. Homesteaders should like to learn these signs, to revive lost practices of timekeeping. And preppers would do well to learn them since there is survival benefit in knowing the times of
the year without technology. But for everyone, such celestial signs can enrich your life and make your days richer and more meaningful. The "Star" Remphan I recently read this verse in the Book of Acts, in the sermon of Stephen prior to his stoning. After recapping the history of Israel, Stephen scolds his hearers with the following: Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. -- Acts 7:43 I've read that verse many times but never looked up that Greek word "Remphan" (̔Ρομφά). Stephen was quoting from the Prophet
Amos: But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts. -- Amos 5:26-27 Amos used the Hebrew word "Chiun" (כּוּן). Strong's and other authorities state that this was an Assyrian or Babylonian god associated with the planet Saturn. The Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek
Septuagint in the 3rd century B.C. at the behest of King Ptolemy Philadelphus, so that they could be included in the famous Library of Alexandria. Interestingly, for whatever reason, the Septuagint rabbis rendered the Hebrew
word "Chiun" from Amos 5:26 as the Greek "Remphan:" καὶ ἀνελάβετε τὴν σκηνὴν τοῦ Μολὸχ καὶ τὸ ἄστρον τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῶν Ῥαιφάν, τοὺς τύπους αὐτῶν, οὓς ἐποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς. This entry in the Encyclopedia of the Bible says that this "may be the result of a mistaken transliteration or a form of Repa, an Egyp. name for the god of the planet Saturn." This comports with the above-linked Strong's entry which says that Rempham is a proper Coptic name for
Saturn, suggesting that the Ancient Israelites might have adopted this idolotrous worship while slaves in Egypt. This other source offers similar cognate
names to Chiun, including the Arabic and Persian Syriac Kaivânu and the Babylonian Ka°âmânu. (Wonder if Ann has any insights?) These ancient names show that there is a long and ancient Saturn tradition that spanned many cultures. Eytmology is a fascinating subject. I'm especially interested in the lineage of the word "day" and how it intertwines with "Zeus" and "deus" across ancient languages as far away as India. Speaking of Saturn, ancient nonsense notwithstanding, you can see the REAL Saturn that the LORD created in the evenings of the current season, occupying the constellation Aquarius near the seasonal cardinal point of the vernal equinox. Saturn is the bright "star" not far below the Great Square of Pegasus. Look for the nearly-full waxing gibbous Moon to pass Saturn on the evenings
of Sunday, October 13 and Monday, October 14. See Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas This Month As mentioned in the last edition of this newsletter, I've been
following the story and am happy to report that confidence is HIGH for a favorable appartition of Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas in October, 2024. This comet was co-discovered at the Tsuchinshan Observatory in China and outside the by Atlas, a robot observatory in South Africa. That observatory name is not that hard to pronounce -- SOO-CHIN-SHAN. Try it a couple times, and you can impress your friends when the comet appears in the evening sky over the next week. This new comet was spotted sailing toward the inner solar system in 2023, though it was too faint and far away for human eyes to see. The comet crossed the plane of the ecliptic (i.e., the orbit of the Earth) back on June 18, outside the orbit of Mars, after which it was most readily visible from the southern hemisphere, especially in the morning sky. The comet made its closest approach to the Sun at perihelion on September 27. Comet hunters were pleased that this one did not break up and dissipate as many promising comets have done when they pass close to the Sun. So having now survived the Sun, Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is poised to
possibly be the best comet apparition in over a quarter century! This comet appears to be especially "dusty," which means it has a large cloud of debris coming off its head. This means there are more particles to reflect and scatter the Sun's light, increasing the odds of visibility. The current expectations are that the comet will be as bright as Venus,
which is finally becoming quite prominent as the "Evening Star" over the western horizon after sunset. The comet might even be visible in the daytime for crafty observers who know exactly where to look. Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas will again cross the plane of the ecliptic heading north on Tuesday, October 8, between the orbits of Venus and Mercury. So it will
begin to emerge above the western horizon and be visible in the evening sky after sunset. Moreover, it will make its closest approach to Earth the next day, Wednesday, October 9. However it will appear very close to the Sun at this time and will be more apparent in the following days. Though the comet will be at its largest and brightest, it will not have a
favorable "phase angle" for viewing from Earth. Early on, when it is still close to the Sun, it will be in a "New Moon" phase, with its brightest side facing away from the Earth, and its shadow side pointed toward us. But this will quickly improve over the next several days when it will be in a "waxing crescent" phase, turning more and more of its illuminated side toward the Earth as it rises higher and higher above the horizon with each passing night. Problem being, as the phase angle increases, the comet will be flying away from the Sun toward the outer solar system. Moreover, the Earth will be receding the from the comet as it swings away in its orbit. We can be hopeful that there will be a "Goldilocks sweet spot" for a few good days where the phase angle will be more favorable while the comet is still in the general vicinity of
Earth, around the middle of October. There is always so much uncertainty about comets. They are notorious for fizzling after getting people's hopes up. But the fact is, we can expect to see a "Great Comet" maybe 3 or 4 times in a century. The last really good comet show was Comet Hale-Bopp in
1997, which hung around the solar system for months and became a commonplace object in the evening sky before finally fading from sight. It's been 27 years so we're due for another. If not Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, there will likely be another before too many more years go by. Here's a link and another link with more info about the comet, including a 3D interactive NASA model of the comet that you can rotate and zoom and look at from any angle you like
to help visualize this cosmic visitor to the inner solar system. TIPS! If you have clear skies, do your best to take the kiddos on a drive to the country, away from city lights. And make sure you do not have a city directly to the west as that sky glow will still spoil your
view. Take a pair of binocs with a tripod or another stable mount so you can get a close up view. And visit a local observatory, planetarium or astronomy club who will likely have public observing programs for seeing the comet. A list of local organizations is found at the Sky &
Telescope site. Please share this info with all your frirends and family so they can be prepared for the comet. Drop me an email with your comet report and any decent pix. If this comet does not fizzle, maybe we can have a special followup newsletter. Happy Comet Hunting! Till next time, God bless and clear skies, - jay The Ryan Family Cleveland, Ohio, USA When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? - Psalm 8:3-4, a Psalm of David
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