ESA doubles the funwith findings fromTitan and Mars

"The European Space Agency will unveil wide-ranging findings today from a landing on Titan, as well as from the first-ever probing below the surface of Mars, which found traces of the presence of water ice.

"The presentations include a set of new wide-ranging results from the Huygens probe's two-and-a-half hour descent and landing, part of the extraordinary NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moons.

"At the same time, ESA's Mars Express mission is continuing its investigations of Mars, painting a new picture of the Red Planet. This includes the first-ever probing below the surface of Mars, new geological clues with implications for the climate, newly-discovered surface and atmospheric features and, above all, traces of the presence of water ice on this world."

Peep Piepols' pic

"This image is a combination of several solar images taken between March 2004 and April 2005. When viewed through red-blue glasses, the sun's disk and surface features jump out at you. The original images were rendered with PhotoShop's 3D Transfer feature and then converted with Callipygian 3D."

via SpaceWeather

Star trails and stellar motion

Moon asked about my star trail photo from Sinai: "Is it for real? Or it is a camera manipulation?" Here's the basic explanation, from a page about charting the celestial sphere:

"The celestial sphere has a north and south celestial pole, as well as a celestial equator, which are projected from reference points from the Earth's surface. Since the Earth turns on its axis once every 24 hours, the stars trace arcs through the sky parallel to the celestial equator. The appearance of this motion will vary depending on where you are located on the Earth's surface."

Starbirth captured by Spitzer

"Located 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus, a reflection nebula called NGC 1333 epitomizes the beautiful chaos of a dense group of stars being born. Most of the visible light from the young stars in this region is obscured by the dense, dusty cloud in which they formed.

"The knotty yellow-green features located in the lower portion of this Spitzer Space Telescope image are glowing shock fronts where jets of material, spewed from extremely young embryonic stars, are plowing into the cold, dense gas nearby. The sheer number of separate jets that appear in this region is unprecedented. This leads scientists to believe that by stirring up the cold gas, the jets may contribute to the eventual dispersal of the gas cloud, preventing more stars from forming in NGC 1333.

Tuk-tukkin' in Thailand

We blew through Bangkok en route to Taipei.

Bye-bye, Cairo.

Of course, we actually left two weeks ago.

Hold.The.Phone.[time to considertotality in Turkey]

"Soulclipse is an outdoor open air festival to celebrate one of nature's most spectacular natural manifestations, the Total Solar Eclipse.

"The Festival concept is based on a continuous history of other Eclipse festivals that have occurred throughout the globe.

"Indigokids, the organizers of this event, have a collective mission to unite the tribe in Turkey for this festive occasion. In order for us all to witness one of the most awesome sights displayed by nature, and to be immersed in its universal cosmic energy cycle...

"The central line of totality passes close to the famous Mediterranean resort city of Antalya (known as the Turkish Rivera) and right over Manavgat, a city in the Anatolia province. This region of Turkey has a mild climate during the winter, and viewing conditions in the early spring toward the end of March should be excellent.

"The festival will take place in Paradise Canyon, which is set on the banks of the beautiful Beskonak river in a national park approximately 75 km north east of Antalya city. The location is strategically located right off the central line of totality, for total seclusion and natural vibes. This site was carefully selected and will allow great visibility of the Total Solar Eclipse that will take place on March 29th, 2006, at 2:00 p.m., which will have a duration of 3:30 minutes."

Back to the art(that's why i startedthis site, ne?)

Two by Evgeniy Shaman

The falcon has landed(but its ascent is a little shaky)

"A Japanese spacecraft apparently succeeded in landing on an asteroid and collecting surface samples Saturday, part of an unprecedented mission to bring the material back to Earth, Japan's space agency said.

"The Hayabusa (meaning: falcon) probe touched down for only a few seconds on the faraway asteroid -- long enough to collect powder from its surface -- and lifted off again to transmit data to mission controllers, said Kiyotaka Yashiro, a spokesman for JAXA."

However...

"The Hayabusa probe, hovering about three miles from the asteroid, appeared to be shaking due to a possible gas leak from a thruster, said Atsushi Akoh, a spokesman for JAXA.

"JAXA will put Hayabusa into 'safety mode' -- which stabilizes the probe by turning its solar panels toward the Sun -- for two to three days to investigate, Akoh said."

Mercury Retrograde is in effect until Dec. 4, y'know.

In other bird flu and food news...

"FOOLS, Kimchi is NOT Sauerkraut!!!"

"If anyone out there is rushing to the store to buy sauerkraut, thinking it will protect them from the bird flu, you are out of your minds."

Many news reports asserted that an additive in kimchi was proving effective in curing poultry that had developed avian influenza in Indonesia. The author writes at length about how there's much more to kimchi than fermented cabbage, which, along with salt, is all that sauerkraut consists of.

Anise as an agentagainst avian influenza

Or, "he who controls the spice, controls the universe."

OK, I'm being a little silly.

"In a large concrete yard covered with two-foot-high rows of star anise seeds, farmers shovel the pungent spice into boxes for export.

"The coin-sized buds' telltale liquorice scent fills the air. In that scent Chen Xiao, a town located in China's Guangxi province, smells opportunity.



"The dry, brownish star-shaped spice has flavored soups and stews for centuries, and seasons cola, toothpaste and perfume.

"But now, it is becoming famous -- and being hoarded -- for another reason: it is the source of a key ingredient in Tamiflu, a drug that might be the difference between life and death for people infected with bird flu.

"Within days of the first reports that star anise was the main source of shikimic acid, which is used in Tamiflu, its price more than doubled to 14 yuan per kilogram (2.2 pounds).

"The cost of a box of Tamiflu in Hong Kong, 350 km (220 miles) southeast of Gulong, has gone from about US$25 to as much as US$130 in a matter of weeks. Many doctors and pharmacies have run out.

"At least six pharmaceutical firms in China snapped up hundreds of tons of star anise each in the hope that they could make their own Tamiflu or develop other bird flu remedies.

"The sudden attention gave a shot in the arm to the tiny star anise world, centered in Guangxi. Its farmers harvest 30,000-50,000 tons a year, or about 70 percent of the world's total output of the spice."

Planetary gearshifting, part three:Fasten seat belts, save money,stock up on flu teas and kimchi

This was part two.


"Run a chart for any day in December 2005, and you will see a grand cross. A grand cross is a rare formation of four planets that form a perfect square in the heavens.

"This winter, there are two oppositions in fixed signs, Mars in Taurus opposite Jupiter in Scorpio, and Saturn in Leo opposite Neptune in Aquarius. This is an extraordinarily complex and stressful formation, which holds for an unusually long period of time.

"To help us understand this formation, let's break it down into its constituent parts:

"Mars: War, fighting, arguments, fire, knives, explosions, injuries, heat, inflammation, fever, crisis. Mars is in Taurus, the sign of money and financial systems.

"Jupiter: 'Lots of.' Jupiter increases whatever he touches. Jupiter also symbolizes law and courts, police, travel, education, publishing, teachers, religion and clergy. Jupiter is in Scorpio, sign of banking, loans, finance, major changes, as well as life and death situations, crises, emergencies. As Jupiter rules travel, and is involved in this cross during the holiday season, I expect there may be problems with major airlines. Keep your plans simple.

"Saturn: Restriction, limitation, shortage, hardships, big business, authorities. Saturn is in Leo, the sign of leaders, fathers, authorities, and bosses.

"Neptune: Fraud, deception, disappointment, dissolution, infections, addictions, water (god of the ocean), oil, gas and fuel, pharmaceuticals. Neptune is in Aquarius, the sign of technology, computer systems, broadcasting, electricity, energy.

"What happens when Saturn and Neptune combine? Psychologically, 'a dual character, a struggle between the lower and the higher nature, a frequent change of moods, distrust, insecurity, dissatisfaction.' Sociologically: 'poor, sick, or depressed persons.' Medically: 'the chronic and unhampered progress of malady.'

"What happens when Saturn and Jupiter combine? Difficult aspects between Saturn and Jupiter have historically brought economic difficulties.

"What happens when Neptune and Jupiter square? Jupiter is 'lots of' and Neptune is 'infection.' Another signal to be ready for a bad flu season. Lots of infection, lots of lies, lots of deception, lots of fraud, lots of water. You need to be on your toes, and you need to trust your instincts. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

"What happens when Mars and Saturn come into contact? Normally these two are only in contact with each other for a couple of days at a time. But this winter, Mars remains within 2-3 degrees of a perfect square to Saturn for about two months. Mars is the accelerator pedal. He's energy and drive. He's anger. Anger is energy to solve a problem. But Saturn is the brake pedal. He both provokes and limits Mars' expression. The result alternates between fatigue and utter lack of energy, to massive frustration, acts of violence, explosions.

"What happens when Mars touches Jupiter? Jupiter overdoes, and Mars acts. Overdone actions. Overdone responses. Excessive speed. Violence (Mars) against judiciary, clergy, academics, police (represented by Jupiter).

"Finally, what happens when Mars and Neptune tangle? Our actions and drives (Mars) lose focus (Neptune). In medical astrology, Neptune is infection, Mars is inflammation and fever. Again with the flu thing...

"What can you do to make the most of this? I think everyone's best bet is to simplify your life. Realize that there is big stuff moving through. Turn off the TV. And get things in perspective. If you stay healthy, safe, fed, and warm this winter, you are doing quite well. I can think of a few million Kashmiris who would agree with me on this.

"My teacher Lance taught me that a grand cross signals a time when your boat either stabilizes or capsizes. It's the trying times that shape our lives the most, when we figure out what we're made of.

"At best, adversity uncovers our weak places, so we can shore them up and make them stronger. That is my prayer for humanity today. That we may reach a turning point. That we may collectively realize that things are terribly, terribly out of balance. That we may learn from adversity, free our minds, open our hearts, love our neighbors, get over ourselves, forgive those who trespass against us, and stop the madness."

By Molly Cliborne from her website, North Node Astrology

Intelligence in Nature

The new book by Jeremy Narby, who previously wrote 'The Cosmic
Serpent' (which finds me inclined to recommend this new one, sight
unseen)

"Anthropologist Jeremy Narby has altered how we understand the shamanic cultures and traditions that have undergone a worldwide revival in recent years. Now, in one of his most extraordinary journeys, Narby travels around the globe -- from the Amazon basin to the Far East -- to probe what traditional healers and pioneering
researchers perceive about the intelligence present in all forms of life.

"'Intelligence in Nature' offers overwhelming illustrative evidence that independent intelligence is not unique to humanity. Indeed, bacteria, plants, animals, and other forms of nonhuman life display an uncanny proclivity for self-deterministic decisions, patterns, and actions. The Japanese possess a word for this universal knowing: chi-sei. For the first time, Narby presents an in-depth anthropological study of this concept in the West. He not only uncovers a mysterious thread of intelligent behavior within the natural world, but also probes the question of what humanity can learn from nature's economy and knowingness in its own search for a saner and more sustainable way of life."

via Magpie

Meanwhile, at asteroid Itokawa...

"In this photo released by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), part of asteroid Itokawa is seen with the shadow of probe Hayabusa on top right on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005. Japan's space agency suffered another glitch in its mission to collect surface samples from asteroid Itokawa and return to Earth when a can-sized robot lander apparently became lost in space while attempting a practice landing.

"The rehearsal landing followed an earlier attempt that was aborted due to mechanical trouble, but the space agency said it will go ahead with actual landings on the potato-shaped asteroid Itokawa on Nov. 19 and Nov. 25. Another procedure Saturday to collect surface data with laser altimeter was largely successful, the agency said.

"JAXA hopes Hayabusa, launched in May 2003, will be the world's first two-way trip to an asteroid. A NASA probe collected data for two weeks from the Manhattan-sized asteroid Eros in 2001, but did not return with samples.

"Hayabusa has until early December before it must leave orbit and begin its 290 million kilometer (180 million mile) journey back to Earth. It is expected to return to Earth and land in the Australian Outback in June 2007."

Love in the Mist gets much love in Egypt

One night, my Lady Friend and I ordered some falafel burgers from a take-out place not far from our apartment in Cairo. With our order came a little bag of rolls -- some looked and tasted like typical dinner rolls, others had a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor. A couple of them were dotted with tiny, matte-black seeds, which my Lady Friend had seen in other dishes. When I asked what they were, she said that they were simply referred to as "blackseed." Ok, then.

We were shopping at a local pharmacy some time later, and my Lady Friend bought a couple packets of organic sesame wafers. Some of the biscuits had those same black seeds inside, so I flipped over the package to read the ingredients. To my surprise, I read that they were Nigella sativa seeds. That species is known commonly as Love in the Mist, and I had grown it in my garden in Columbus, OH, three years earlier. I didn't know it was a medicinal plant, though [as if most plants aren't].

Once this discovery was made, I went on to learn that blackseed oil products are sold all over the place in Egypt. It seems that Nigella seeds have been well-regarded for their medicinal properties since the Pharaonic era, with particular applications for metabolism and immunity.

"According to an Arab proverb, it is said that 'in the black seed is the medicine for every disease except death.'"

Dated news about Plutofrom my Cairene backlog

"Two tiny, additional moons have been found around Pluto, making it the first object in the outer solar system known to have multiple satellites. But how the moons got there remains a mystery.

"The moons, designated S/2005 P1 and S/2005 P2, appear to be just 140 kilometres and 125 km wide, respectively, although their exact sizes will remain uncertain until astronomers determine how much sunlight their surfaces reflect. They lie about twice as far from Pluto as Charon does, with the smaller object about 49,000 km from its host planet and the larger moon at a distance of about 65,000 km.

"And based on the new observations, taken in May 2005 – and Hubble images from 2002 that the team recently re-analysed – the moons appear at this stage to orbit Pluto on circular paths, in the same plane as Charon."

Midnight spirals,turquoise tidesand the crescent Moon

That's some of what I can show you from our trip across the Sinai Peninsula last month.

No stars to see at night

My Lady Friend and I spent a considerable amount of time applying for jobs to teach in Korea. I just found this story, which lends support to our desire to work away from the major metropolitan areas in East Asia (or at least to live near the coast).

"During my time in Korea, I would never become accustomed to the severity of the air pollution where I lived. The pollution from Seoul's 11 million cars all running at the same time would come to settle each rush hour in our area. I would often bring my umbrella in the mornings, convinced it would rain - only to understand later in the day, it was just the haze of the pollution appearing time and again like heavy rain clouds. I would also become used to scrubbing my skin each evening when I returned from work to remove the greenish colouring of pollution from my body - much like the green residue I used to find as a young girl on my finger after wearing costume jewellery.

"After a lively discussion, I turned to the class material and took out a large picture that they were each to write down five sentences about it and then share with the class. The first picture showed a young girl and boy inside a home playing, with many things happening around them -- a dog spilling over a fishbowl, a cat jumping up on a bookshelf that was falling overm, a bird flying out of its cage, and the list goes on. In a very small corner of the picture was a small, insignificant window showing a black, nighttime sky with stars.

"The instant I showed the picture all the children gasped very loudly as if to be impressed -- making a 'w-o-w' sound with their voices. I didn't understand. There was no laughter at the picture depicting all this distress, there was not an 'oh no' sound in their voice. It was if they were looking at something beautiful.

"One student asked me if it looked like that in Canada. 'Looked like what? Animals on the loose?' No. 'Many pets in the home?,' thinking it was unusual in Korea to see many pets. No. Did she mean the way the home looked? No.

"She walked up to the picture and pointed to the small window. She was asking -- all the students were asking -- if I could see stars in Canada like in the picture. I still didn't understand. 'Stars?' Yes. 'How is it different here?'

"No one, not one student in my class in all their eight years of living had seen stars in the sky. One student reported proudly he had gone to an IMAX film the summer before, and saw stars in the film -- but no one had seen stars in the Korean sky. Why? I didn’t understand. Well, they explained, because the air pollution was so high that all they saw were dense pollution clouds.

"That moment in Korea, in a classroom of eight-year-olds, I had been the student and they were my teachers, and I had been taught a lesson of a lifetime."

From Sprol via Magpie

Planetary gearshifting, part two

This was part one.

From AstroGraph's November forecast:

"Mars is still retrograde from last month, for the entirety of November and on into December as well, making it difficult to go forward with our planned activities, but being great for internal dialogue with ourselves and reflecting on the quality of our assertive energy...

"What might this retrograde Mars for the next month and a half signify? Mars normally represents our outgoing side, the servant of our life purpose, our ability to 'get things done' in this world. With this planet retrograde, we become more introspective, getting ourselves squared away regarding inner rather than outer priorities. This internal stance is intensified this month, because at the time of the New Moon [on Nov. 1/2] that planet also began to square Neptune, symbolic of cosmic mystery beyond conscious ken.

"Meanwhile, Mercury turns retrograde itself on the 13th of November. Mercury Retrograde is not only famous for mechanical and communication breakdowns, but is also great for revisiting old patterns and reflecting on where life is taking us this time around.

"Mercury remains retrograde into December, turning direct on December 3rd. Mercury leaves its Retrograde Shadow on December 21st, just in time for the Winter Solstice. The Mercury retrograde period of time is not the time to move forward with new initiatives, but is an excellent time for reviewing, revisioning and renewing our lives.

"Thus, the second half of the month is especially difficult in terms of moving forward, but may be rich in revelation if we are willing to look deeply enough into our own motivation and that of others... And better knowledge of our internal workings can only help in our struggle toward greater and greater awareness.

"It is said that 'to know all is to forgive all,' and that sense of surrender may become an important component of our life lessons during this month. The lessons that we are likely to absorb during this monthly cycle have a large spiritual factor, since Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are all involved. There is, in fact, a Grand Cross forming this month and in December between Neptune in Aquarius, Saturn opposite in Leo, retrograde Mars in Taurus, and Jupiter in Scorpio*.

"This volatile combination of planets suggests a transformation in our understanding of where we are headed with our lives at this time, based in part on activities being difficult to for us accomplish. If we silently observe what is going on inside of us at this time, then we may benefit long-term from the increase in perspective.


* An article about Jupiter's transit through Scorpio appears on Carolyn Brent's Shamanic Astrology website. An excerpt follows:

"Jupiter’s move into Scorpio on Oct 25, 2005 expands all shamanic themes of Death, Rebirth, Regeneration, Right Use of Will, and Edgewalking. We are being invited to consciously walk the edges of what is dying and what is being birthed [within and outside of us] with opportunities for willfully creating a new paradigm that is aligned with Divine Love and Divine Will.

"Conscious Edgewalking occurs when we seek out the edges of contemporary beliefs and existing paradigms, choosing to move beyond them, exploring and expanding into new, passionately alive territory. Conscious Edgewalking requires willingness to walk the edges of old and new ways, bridging what has been with what is emerging, allowing death to embrace what is ready to die, creating space for new ideas, new ways, and new experiences to birth.

"As Jupiter travels through the Scorpio Realm over the next 13 months, this will be an opportune time to give ourselves permission to explore and accept our feelings in ways that are safe and healthy, while also supporting ecstatic growth. Finding safe, healthy ways to clear the Will and all of the emotional trauma it has been holding is often hugely overwhelming, and it can greatly help to find skilled assistance.

"Any process work that provides a safe space for getting in touch with our deeper feelings -- such as breathwork, body-oriented counseling, shamanic journeying, and whole-being integration work -- can be powerfully supportive during this next year."

Just a couple from Cairo

Two of just a few additions
to nmazca.com/cairo.

Total coverage of our trip
to SE Sinai is forthcoming,
insh'allah.