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Welcome to the Classical Astronomy Update!
IN THIS UPDATE:
- Announcements
- Radio Interview - Truth That Transforms
- Mentioned in Classical Astronomy Interview
- Northeast Ohio Homeschool Astronomy
- Signs of the Seasons
- The Full Moon of Passover and Easter
In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's
passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days
ye must eat unleavened bread. - Leviticus 23: 5-6
Dear Friends,
I hope you all had the opportunity to follow the spectacular conjunction of Venus and Jupiter during March. I also hope you have been enjoying the current apparation of Mars and Saturn in the evening sky, as we have been explaining in the Celestial Almanack.
There are many other exciting coming up in the night sky in 2012! In May, there will be an annular eclipse of the Sun visible over nearly all of North America. Then in June, there will be the rare and historical transit of Venus, when the dark body of the planet passes in front of the Sun!
Both of these events will be visible with the unaided eye at sunset, but to see them before sunset, you will need a Sun filter to protect your eyes (such as Eclipse Shades, available from our Online Ordering page at www.ClassicalAstronomy.com). We'll briefly mention these events in this newsletter, but they will be explained in detail in the Celestial Almanack. Here's what's happening in the April edition:
* The Feast of Passover is defined in the Bible as occuring at the first Full Moon of spring. Similarly, the ancient Christian feast of Easter (Pascha) occurs on the Sunday following the first Full Moon of spring. Learn the astronomy behind the determination of these feasts, and how to to observe the lunar cycle of the Paschal Moon in the evening sky.
* The winter constellations are moving off into the west, but the spring constellations are swinging into the center of the sky. Learn 35 prominent constellations in a year with the Orion Challenge!
* The big planetary conjunction is past, but you can still see Venus and Jupiter in the western sky at sunset.
* Mars continues to dominate the night sky, and now Saturn is prominent in the early evening. Learn how to identify these visible planets, and follow their motions in the sky as they both approach bright stars.
* And much more! Check out the FREE PREVIEW and tell all your friends!
Here are some reviews from readers of the Almanack, posted at CurrClick:
This is amazing! Absolutely amazing! I've never been very knowledgeable about astronomy and the lack of knowledge has made it an intimidating subject for me. But these almanacks have made astronomy accessible to all!
I am finding Celestial Almanack very informative, especially with the many diagrams and easy-to-understand explanations.
This is the second issue of Celestial Almanack I have downloaded and I remain highly impressed. Jay Ryan offers up information that the whole family can benefit from.
All this for only three bucks! Really friends, why not give it a try? Take a chance on the Celestial Almanack!
Radio Interview - Truth That Transforms
I was on the radio this past week, on the Truth That Transforms program, formerly hosted by the late D. James Kennedy, currently hosted by Carmen Pate and John Raab. We discussed this silly notion that the ancient and holy Christian feast of Easter (Pascha) is actually based on pagan fertility worship. The interview is available online, at the "Truth That Transforms" radio box at the right navigation panel of this page. It was the 4/2/12 broadcast, "The Cross Among Bunnies."
Mentioned in Another Interview
My friend Wes Callihan was interviewed this week by Classical Conversations on the subject of Classical Astronomy. Wes gave a couple really nice plugs for our Signs & Seasons curriculum, and also our web site, at about 26:00 and 53:00. Wes has a lot of interesting things to say about the subject, so listen to the interview at this link.
Northeast Ohio Homeschool Astronomy (NEOastro)
Do you live in the "Western Reserve" area in Northeast Ohio? I'm in the process of launching a mailing list especially for Christian homeschoolers in my area, to post information about upcoming astronomy events and other related activities.
I will be a volunteer at the new Observatory Park in Geauga County, and will be on hand at public events in April, May and June. Also, I will be participating at the BIG Transit of Venus party at Edgewater Park in Cleveland on June 5. Additionally, I plan to also be at Edgewater in May to see the Sun set over Lake Erie in a state of partial eclipse. (Those are always a lot of fun!) Plus, I hope to put on other astronomy events for homeschool co-ops, and keep everyone posted about local planetarium and astronomy club programs.
If you live in Northeast Ohio, join the NEOastro newsletter list! And if you have any friends in the area, forward this info to them! Let's have some fun in 2012 looking at the sky!
Signs of the Seasons
The Full Moon of Passover and Easter
When most people hear that Passover and Easter are coming, this is just a fact that people receive on authority, handed down through their worship communities or through the media. Many people are puzzled since these events falls on different days each year. If anyone stops to give it a second thought, they might imagine that there must be some logical method for determining these times, but most probably never ponder it beyond that.
It's really quite simple to find the times of Passover and Easter. In fact these times are closely related. The times of these feasts were determined throughout all pre-industrial history, and were found by simple observations the sky.
 Here in our generation of "the forgotten sky," most people are not aware of the simple astronomical basis of our calendar, how to use the LORD's great lights in the sky as the timekeepers they were created to be (Genesis 1:14). We read in Exodus and Numbers that the Passover meal is to be eaten on the "15th day of the first month." In the Hebrew calendar, this turns out to be the first Full Moon after the first day of spring.
Similarly, in the early church, Easter (Pascha) was considered to be a type of Passover commemoration, and has been traditionally reckoned to fall on the Sunday after the first Full Moon of spring. So as you watch the waxing gibbous Moon in the evening sky this week, seeing it becoming thicker each night, note that Passover begins at sunset on Friday, the evening of the Full Moon. And then Easter falls on the following Sunday. We can observe the waxing Moon of early spring each year as a sign in teh sky to help us anticipate the coming of these holy days, just as did our pre-industrial ancestors.
All of this is explained in detail in the April edition of the Celestial Almanack, for only $3. Thanks to everyone who supports this product. If you can't spare three bucks for a detailed lesson on the subject, you can learn a lot from the following archive articles, that appeared in years past in the Classical Astronomy Update:
Since the early centuries of the church, Christians have honored the death and resurrection of Jesus in the celebration of Easter. And while the observance of Easter has changed over the centuries, it is based on the Hebrew Passover.
The Paschal Moon is the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox, and signals the arrival of Easter the next Sunday.
The feast of LORD's resurrection, commonly known by the name Easter in the English language, is one of the most ancient observances in Christianity. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing trend among evangelicals to shun Easter as allegedly being derived from a pagan source. This article examines some of the "urban legends" surrounding this claim.
Hopefully coming soon in the Classical Astronomy Update:
- The Moon will pass in front of the Sun in May, with a rare annular eclipse visible over most of North America.
- The planet Venus will pass in front of the Sun a couple weeks later in June, in an extremely rare Transit of Venus.
- In addition to all these exciting sky events, I hope to get around to explaining why I hate sky maps, and how these do more harm than good in teaching the sky to beginning stargazers.
- Homeschool Astronomy Club -- it's just a name, and I'm wondeirng how to make it a reality. Does anyone have any ideas about how we could do this? Can anyone write back with any ideas at all? With all these homescholars learning about the LORD's sky, there ought be a way for them to network and share the sky with their family and friends.
Til 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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