New Moon in Capricorn – Jan. 11, 2024, 11:57 UT
The New Moon in Capricorn is in conjunction with Arrokoth, the trans-Neptunian object that five years ago became the farthest and most primitive object in the Solar System visited by a spacecraft. The New Horizons space probe first made a flyby of Pluto in 2015, which later was followed by a flyby of Arrokoth. The closest approach to Arrokoth took place on Jan. 1, 2019. At the time of the New Horizons launch, Pluto was still a planet and Arrokoth was not even discovered.
New Horizons, the fastest spacecraft ever launched, took off on Jan. 19, 2006. Its primary mission was to perform a flyby of the Pluto system, and the secondary mission was to study one or more of the other Kuiper belt objects in the decade to follow. In the launch chart the Sun in the last degree of Capricorn was in conjunction with asteroid Photographica in early Aquarius. Astrologer Martha Lang-Wescott’s keywords for this asteroid are ”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.” And what stunning images of Pluto the probe sent us! Pluto in the launch chart at 25+ Sagittarius was novile Photographica in Aquarius and in conjunction with Arrokoth in the first degree of Capricorn.
Planetary scientist Alan Stern (born Nov. 22, 1957) is the team leader of the New Horizons mission. His natal Sun in the first degree of Sagittarius is squaring his Pluto in early Virgo and semisextile Arrokoth in early Scorpio. His Mercury in the mid-Sagittarius is semisquare Arrokoth and biseptile Pluto. His solar arc directed Pluto, progressed to the launch date, is in Libra conjunct his natal Jupiter.
Arrokoth was discovered on June 26, 2014, by astronomer Marc Buie (born Sept. 17, 1958) using the Hubble Space Telescope in order to find a target for New Horizons’s extended mission. Marc Buie’s natal Sun in Virgo is in conjunction with asteroid Photographica. His Jupiter in early Sciorpio is in tight conjunction with Arrokoth and sextile Pluto in Virgo. When New Horizons made its closest approach to Arrokoth on Jan. 1, 2019, the Sun, Photographica and Arrokoth were in conjunction in Capricorn. The probe delivered us astonishing images again.
The instruments of New Horizons still continue to be operational. According to team leader Alan Stern, there is potential for a third flyby in the 2020s at the outer edges of the Kuiper belt. This depends on a suitable Kuiper belt object being found.
The name Arrokoth means “sky” in the Powhatan / Algonquian language of native people from the Tidewater region of Virginia and Maryland. Alan Stern has said: “The name ‘Arrokoth’ reflects the inspiration of looking to the skies, and wondering about the stars and worlds beyond our own.” According to Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, Arrokoth’s name “signifies the strength and endurance of the indigenous Algonquian people of the Chesapeake region. Their heritage 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.”
Arrokoth is a bilobate contact binary, composed of two lobes, that are named as Wenu and Weeyo. Both names mean “sky”. “Wenu” is the word for the sky in the Mapuche language spoken in Chile and Argentina, and “weeyo” in the Pulaar language of western Africa.
Once astronomy and astrology were linked together, and both functions were practiced by the same person. Nowadays there is a distinction between the two disciplines, but Arrokoth is the guiding light for both practitioners and keeps inspiring us. Astronomer Mike Brown, the discoverer of the largest members of the Kuiper belt, has said:
“Astrology is not just figurative literature about humanity. Astrology cares about the sky. The astrologers who occasionally correspond with me love to hear about new solar system discoveries, figure out orbital relationships and patterns, and speculate about what else might be out there and how everything fits together. I do all of these things, too. I then take these thoughts and move on to think literally their scientific implications. The astrologers take these thoughts and move on to think figuratively about what these mean for humans. But we, astronomers and astrologers, start in the same spot, with an intense interest in the sky. To me, that matters. Astronomy and astrology are brothers. Brothers don’t always do the same things or make the same choices. But when they maintain their initial ties to where they came from, their connection cannot help but stay strong.”
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