Full Moon in Capricorn – July 13, 2022, 18:37 UT
The Full Moon in Capricorn on July 13, 2022, is the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year, because the Moon will be closer to Earth than at any other Full Moon this year. The Moon is in conjunction with 486958 Arrokoth, a contact binary with orbital period of almost 300 years, orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune. Arrokoth was discovered in 2014 by astronomer Marc Buie and the New Horizons Search Team using the Hubble Space Telescope. Arrokoth is the most distant and most primitive object in the Solar System ever visited by a man-made spacecraft.
The New Horizons space probe was launched on Jan. 19, 2006, at 14:00 EST (+5:00) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The ascendant of the chart is in Gemini, the sign associated with gathering and processing information. Since this is not a birth chart of a person, but an event, we could say that the ascendant is the label of the event. The Midheaven, the highest point in the chart, is in Aquarius, the sign of technology and science. Pluto in late Sagittarius was in conjunction with the Galactic Center. Arrokoth was in the first degree of Capricorn, one of the four cardinal signs (which are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). The first degrees of the cardinal signs are all related to the Aries point, joining individuals with the collective. Arrokoth was semisextile to the Sun in the last degree of Capricorn, semisquare to Neptune in Aquarius, semisquare to Jupiter in Scorpio, square the Moon in Virgo, and sesquisquare to Mars in Taurus.
Planetary scientist Alan Stern is leading the New Horizons mission. Alan Stern (born Nov. 22, 1957, New Orleans, Louisiana) has his Arrokoth in conjunction with Neptune in Scorpio, semisextile Sun in Sagittarius, semisquare Mercury in Sagittarius, sextile Pluto in Virgo, and quintile Uranus in Leo. The New Horizons launch chart’s Sun in the last degree of Capricorn was sextile to Alan Stern’s Sun, square his Arrokoth, and quincunx his Pluto.
New Horizons was originally planned as a voyage to the only unexplored planet in our Solar System, Pluto, and to perform a flyby of the Pluto system. Pluto was still classified as a planet in 2006. The closest approach of the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto occurred at 11:50 UT on July 14, 2015. The spacecraft transmitted beautiful images of Pluto, Charon, and the four small moons of Pluto to us on Earth, and the images greatly changed our perception of Pluto.
The New Horizons mission was extended to explore additional Kuiper belt objects. Arrokoth, which was not yet officially named then and known by the nickname Ultima Thule, was chosen as the flyby target. Closest approach to Arrokoth occurred on Jan. 1, 2019, at 05:33 UT. The first detailed image of Arrokoth confirmed that it is a contact binary consisting of two lobes attached by a narrow neck or waist and was described as a “snowman” by Alan Stern.
486958 Arrokoth by NASA
Team leader Alan Stern stated there is potential for a third flyby in the 2020s at the outer edges of the Kuiper belt, if a suitable Kuiper belt object is being found in time.
Arrokoth was officially named on Nov. 8, 2019. Arrokoth is the word for sky from the Powhatan language of native people indigenous to the state of Maryland, where Arrokoth’s discovery took place. Director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, Lori Glaze, stated in the name announcement ceremony, that the heritage of the Powhatan / Algonquian people continues to be a guiding light for all who search for meaning and understanding of the origins of the universe and the celestial connection of humanity. According to Alan Stern, “the name Arrokoth reflects the inspiration of looking to the skies, and wondering about the stars and worlds beyond our own.”
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the most powerful space telescope ever built. It is the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope. JWST was launched on Dec. 25, 2021, at 12:20 UT, from Kourou, French Guiana. The ascendant of the launch chart is in Aquarius. Arrokoth in Capricorn is in conjunction with Mercury, sextile to the Midheaven in Scorpio, sextile to Neptune in Pisces, and novile to Mars in Sagittarius.
NASA released the first science images from JWST appropriately on July 11 – 12, 2022, just before the Capricorn Full Moon. The Sun is opposite Arrokoth now, and the Full Moon will be exactly conjunct Arrokoth. Let Arrokoth inspire us to look to the skies and to search understanding of our celestial connections.