Editor’s Note:В The following article was written by Phil Sedgwick, an astrologer and long-time friend of Planet Waves. Sedgwick has done a lot of work with centaurs: comet-like bodies orbiting our Sun. Today, he wrote about Comet Lulin, which will be visible in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Phil explains what what to look for, and what it might signify, in the article below. To read more from Phil, or to subscribe to his Galactic Times, click here. –EFC
It cruised around our Sun quietly in January, gaining momentum and popularity as its visibility increased to naked eye proportions and now everyone wants to know the dets, at least that’s what the e-mail requests I’ve received indicate. What the hell is a Comet Lulin and, other than a great chance to observe cool stuff in the night sky, should I care? Actually, yes.
Comet Lulin was “discovered” on July 11, 2007. This comet possesses an extreme eccentricity: 0.999986, which means it has an orbit that is nearly parabolic and we get one look at this comet in a hugely long time. Tomorrow, Feb. 24, after nearing the Sun on Jan. 14, the comet comes as close to the Earth as it does, outbound. The result of this is the best viewing. It’s easy to find. The comet is near Saturn, whose moons are putting on quite the show for telescope viewers. The simplest star map is available on www.spaceweather.com. When you look near Saturn you’ll see the comet, looking a little fuzzy on the edges and its green color may not be evident to the naked eye. I saw it the other evening from the yard just as it was entering Virgo nearly equidistant between Arcturus and Saturn. Of course, Tucson lacks street lights in most neighborhoods because of our proximity to Kitt Peak. You might have to get out of town for better viewing.
Tomorrow, Comet Lulin and Saturn virtually hold hands in the sky. This places them conjunct in the sign of Virgo. Now the full import of a comet can be determined by checking the degrees of its node and perihelion. While I’ve found differing date/times for the exact perihelion, suffice it to say that the comet reached closest proximity to the Sun as we observed the Sun in mid-Capricorn. The node degree (heliocentric) is 8 Pisces 32. The comet bears a Capricorn-Pisces mindset and as it nears us it flavors its influence with a strong shot of Saturn, Capricorn’s ruler. So let’s see, we have reality vs. fantasy and hard-core life vs. inspired spirit as the comet’s prevailing themes? Yes.