The Sun entered Cancer on June 21, marking the Summer Solstice. The New Moon in Cancer occurred on June 25. Also in early Cancer there are Jupiter, tno Chaos, centaur Asbolus, and comet 39P/Oterma. Cancer is the home sign of the Moon.

The trans-Neptunian Chaos was discovered in 1998. Its orbital period is almost 310 years and its diameter is about 400 – 500 km. Recent studies suggest that Chaos is a binary, possibly a contact binary. It is named after the primeval state of existence in Greek mythology, from which the first gods appeared, including Gaia, the Earth. Wikipedia says that Chaos was the state the universe was in before it was created. Because early christians did not understand how to use the word “chaos” properly, the word’s meaning changed to the opposite of order.

It is easy to draw connection between the mythological Chaos and the scientific origin of the universe. The Big Bang marks the origin of the universe and the start of spacetime. Spacetime is the bending fabric of the universe, blending space and time. The universe started billions of years ago from a hot point which then rapidly expanded, and this expansion is still happening. First the universe was in a chaotic state, but it slowly cooled and the chaos gave way to the orderly cosmos of today. The Solar System evolved and the planets formed.

Cancer is the sign of home, the place where we need to feel safe. Jupiter is the planet of expansion and the symbol of hope and optimism. Centaur Asbolus orbits between Jupiter and Neptune. The name means carbon dust and in mythology he was a seer who made forecasts from the flight of birds. The New Moon is the seeding moment for future growth.

Although the world around us is in chaos, as the meaning of the word is understood today, at this New Moon we can focus on the good in our lives and wait for the seeds to sprout.

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NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The first images of the powerful new telescope of Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile were released on June 23. There is a stunning conjunction of asteroid Photographica and tno Varda at the Galactic Center in Sagittarius. Martha Lang-Wescott interprets that “while useful for showing the importance of photography and visual images, Photographica also relates to the brain’s ability to retain and interpret visual imagery.” The trans-Neptunian Varda is named after the queen of stars and light in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional mythology. Varda lived with Manwë, a Jupiter-like deity, and together they saw “further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness”, and heard more clearly than all other ears.

Astronomers anticipate that the new telescope of Vera C. Rubin Observatory will soon reveal the location of the so far hypothetical Planet Nine in the outer region of our Solar System. I am eagerly waiting the news!

The Full Moon is in Sagittarius. Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius has entered Cancer on June 9. It is now in the first degree of Cancer in conjunction with centaur 39P/Oterma and square Saturn. Centaur Oterma is a currently inactive Chiron-type comet. Mars in Leo is trine the Chiron-Eris conjunction in Aries, which was exact two weeks ago. The Sun in Gemini is in conjunction with the trans-Neptunian Altjira.

The recent study has revealed fascinating information about cubewano Altjira. Altjira was discovered in 2001 and so far has been considered a binary. The secondary was discovered in 2007 and is yet unnamed. There is strong evidence that Altjira consists of three bodies. Two of them are orbiting closely together and the third one is circling them further away. It is a rare setup and Altjira is the second known system of this kind in the Kuiper belt. The first known trinary is Lempo, Hiisi and Paha. Scientists will learn more during Altjira’s eclipsing season, which has already begun and will last several years.

The orbital period of Altjira is 294 years and the size of the two known components is approximately 246 kilometres and 221 kilometres. It was named after the Arrente creation deity Altjira, the eternal creator of the world and humankind. The Arrente people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people, whose spirituality focuses on the landscape and The Dreaming. The concept of the Dreaming has been described as “an all-embracing concept that provides rules for living, a moral code, as well as rules for interacting with the natural environment.” It embraces past, present and future.

There are other exciting news about the distant minor planets. A large cubewano 2002 MS4 was officially named Máni on June 9. It was discovered 23 years ago. The orbital period is almost 270 years and its mean diameter is about 796 km. Máni’s topographic features are among the tallest and deepest known for Solar System bodies. Máni was discovered in 2002 at 23+ Sagittarius in conjunction with Arrokoth and near the Galactic Center. The Sabian symbol for Sagittarius 24 is A bluebird standing at the door of the house. The bluebird is a symbol of hope and happiness. Máni is now at 19+ Capricorn.

Máni is the first distant object named from Norse mythology. Máni is a personification of the Moon and the brother of Sól, the Sun. They must pass through the heavens every day to count the years for mankind. They travel across the sky in chariots and are chased by two wolves, who would eventually devour them. It is the sign that Ragnarök, the final battle between the gods and the demons is about to begin. After Ragnarök the world is reborn.

In May the discovery of 2017 OF201 was announced. It is an extreme trans-Neptunian object (ETNO) estimated to be at least 550 – 850 km in diameter. The orbit is extremely large and elongated. The orbital period is over 24,000 years. It last passed perihelion around November 1930. The orientation of 2017 OF201’s orbit does not align with other extreme TNOs like Sedna, whose orbits are thought to be clustered because of the gravitational influence of Planet Nine. The discoverers first thought that 2017 OF201 would challenge the existence of Planet Nine, but Konstantin Batygin, the co-author of the Planet Nine hypothesis, has argued that it is not the case. 2017 OF201 is not numbered yet, but according to the premilinary data it is located around 8+ Taurus at the moment.