NASA Satellite Fails to Reach Orbit

From the NYTimes:

"A NASA satellite to track carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere failed to reach its orbit during launching Tuesday morning, scuttling the $278 million mission.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a four-stage Taurus XL rocket on Tuesday morning but failed to reach orbit and fell back to Earth, landing in the ocean just short of Antarctica.

“It’s a huge disappointment to the entire team that’s worked very hard over years and years and really did their best to see it through,” said Charles P. Dovale, the launch manager. “The reason not everyone is able to do this is — it’s hard. And even when you do the best you can, you can still fail. It’s a tough business.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory lifted off on schedule at 1:55 a.m. Pacific time from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a four-stage Taurus XL rocket."
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NASA really needs to hire an astrologer if they wish to be more successful. All the usual suspects were stressfully placed in the take-off chart- i.e. Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. And the Moon was void-of-course in late Aquarius- which is never a great time to start anything.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Update: Feb. 25, 2009
Satellite Failure Impairs Climate Study
"A new satellite to track the chief culprit in global warming crashed into the ocean near Antarctica after launch yesterday, dealing a major setback to NASA's already weak network for monitoring Earth and its environment from above."
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SF Astrological Society Event

February 26, 2009

“Nimitta:” Omens in Vedic Astrology

Nimitta is the science of omens. Typically assigned to the realm of superstition, omens have been used effectively by many ancient cultures throughout time to understand life and to make accurate predictions about the future. In ancient India, astrologers used the science of Nimitta as an extension of Vedic astrology. In fact, one need not be an astrologer to use this science or to take this course. Every householder in India used and benefited from a little knowledge of common omens in his immediate environment. In this presentation, James presents the science of omens in a new light, bringing it out of the area of superstition and into the light of awareness. Intelligently used, Nimitta allows one to extend his awareness to the subtle clues given by the environment in such a way as to read those clues and better understand the workings of karma.

During the class, James presents a variety of omens and techniques for how to use them in astrology. Although the class is aimed at astrologers (for the benefit of showing astrologers how to use omens in their practice) it is presented in a non-technical manner that non-astrologers can understand.

James Kelleher has been a student of the traditions of India for more than 25 years. In 1975 he met his Guru, the renowned Vedic Astrologer and spiritual adept, M.K.Gandhi. After a long and intense period of study and pilgrimages, James moved to London. Five years later, in 1984, he moved to the United States of America where he quickly became one of the nation's leading Vedic Astrologers; renowned for his accurate world predications.
In 1994, he was awarded the title of”Jyoyish Kovvid” and in 1996, “Jyotish Vachaspati” (Professor of Astrology by the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences). He is an adjunct professor of Jyotish at Hindu University of America, in Orlando Florida. He is also the co-founder of the American Council of Vedic Astrology and the American College of Vedic Astrology.


Meetings cost $7 for members and $12 for non-members for the general public.

$2 discounts off meeting fees for:
* Students with a student ID card
* Senior citizens (age 65+),
* People experiencing their Uranus Return (born 1925 or earlier) with membership get in for free!

Meetings start promptly at 7:30 p.m.
Meeting location:
Fort Mason
Building C, Room C-210
Marina district, San Francisco
At the intersection of Marina and Buchanan.

Deadly Inferno in Oz

The state of Victoria is devastated after the worst natural disaster in the nation's history has killed almost 200, with destructive bushfires burning out of control- some appear to have been deliberately set.

The 2008 Capricorn ingress(winter solstice) chart for Victoria, Melbourne's capital, foreshadowed this crisis, with the fateful Moon's Nodes on the horizon, and the fire sign of Leo on Ascendant. The angular Nodes in a mundane chart tend to act like an eclipse. And the activation of the 8/1/08 solar eclipse(9 Leo 32), has been implicit in the US financial meltdown, the Mumbai attacks, and Israel's war on Gaza.

Australia's founding chart('first landing') set for Jan. 26, 1788, 5:23 am, in Sydney, took a direct hit from the Jan. 26, 2009 solar eclipse(6 Aquarius 30).
Australia's Sun-Ascendant = 6 Aquarius = 1/26/09 solar eclipse 6-7 Aquarius.

Planetary Phenomena 2009

Date h:m Event
Jan
4 12:00 FIRST QUARTER
4 14 Earth at Perihelion
4 14 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 19.3°E
10 11 Moon at Perigee: 357501 km
11 03:28 FULL MOON
14 23 Venus at Greatest Elong: 47.1°E
18 02:47 LAST QUARTER
20 16 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction
23 00 Moon at Apogee: 406116 km
24 07 Jupiter-Sun Conjunction
26 07:56 NEW MOON
26 07:57 Annular Solar Eclipse; mag=0.927
30 12 Venus 2.8°S of Moon

Feb
2 23:17 FIRST QUARTER
3 13 Uranus at Aphelion
7 20 Moon at Perigee: 361487 km
9 14:39 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.895
9 14:50 FULL MOON
12 07 Neptune-Sun Conjunction
13 21 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 26.1°W
16 21:36 LAST QUARTER
19 17 Moon at Apogee: 405132 km
21 13 Venus at Perihelion
22 22 Mercury 1.1°S of Moon: Occn.
23 01 Jupiter 0.7°S of Moon: Occn.
23 08 Mars 1.7°S of Moon
25 01:37 NEW MOON
27 23 Venus 1.3°N of Moon

Mar
4 07:48 FIRST QUARTER
7 15 Moon at Perigee: 367020 km
8 19 Saturn at Opposition
11 02:38 FULL MOON
13 10 Uranus-Sun Conjunction
18 17:46 LAST QUARTER
19 13 Moon at Apogee: 404302 km
20 11:45 Vernal Equinox
22 21 Jupiter 1.5°S of Moon
24 14 Mars 4.1°S of Moon
26 16:08 NEW MOON
27 20 Venus at Inferior Conjunction
31 03 Mercury at Superior Conjunction

Apr
2 03 Moon at Perigee: 370014 km
2 14:34 FIRST QUARTER
9 14:56 FULL MOON
16 09 Moon at Apogee: 404232 km
17 13:34 LAST QUARTER
19 16 Jupiter 2.3°S of Moon
21 12 Mars at Perihelion
22 14 Venus 1.1°S of Moon: Occn.
25 03:24 NEW MOON
26 08 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 20.4°E
26 17 Mercury 1.9°S of Moon
28 06 Moon at Perigee: 366042 km

May
1 20:43 FIRST QUARTER
9 04:02 FULL MOON
14 03 Moon at Apogee: 404916 km
17 07:25 LAST QUARTER
17 08 Jupiter 3.0°S of Moon
18 10 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction
21 08 Venus 6.7°S of Moon
24 12:12 NEW MOON
26 04 Moon at Perigee: 361155 km
31 03:19 FIRST QUARTER

Jun
5 20 Venus at Greatest Elong: 45.8°W
7 18:12 FULL MOON
10 16 Moon at Apogee: 405786 km
13 12 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 23.5°W
13 18 Jupiter 3.5°S of Moon
13 21 Venus at Aphelion
15 22:15 LAST QUARTER
21 05:46 Summer Solstice
22 19:36 NEW MOON
23 11 Moon at Perigee: 358018 km
29 11:25 FIRST QUARTER

Jul
4 07 Earth at Aphelion
7 09:22 FULL MOON
7 09:38 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.145
7 22 Moon at Apogee: 406233 km
10 22 Jupiter 3.6°S of Moon
14 02 Mercury at Superior Conjunction
15 09:56 LAST QUARTER
18 12 Mars 4.9°S of Moon
19 05 Venus 5.9°S of Moon
21 20 Moon at Perigee: 357465 km
22 02:35 NEW MOON
22 02:37 Total Solar Eclipse; mag=1.081
28 21:57 FIRST QUARTER

Aug
4 01 Moon at Apogee: 406027 km
6 00:41 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.400
6 00:56 FULL MOON
6 22 Jupiter 3.4°S of Moon
13 18:59 LAST QUARTER
14 19 Jupiter at Opposition
16 03 Mars 3.2°S of Moon
17 14 Neptune at Opposition
17 21 Venus 1.7°S of Moon
19 05 Moon at Perigee: 359642 km
20 10:02 NEW MOON
22 12 Mercury 2.9°N of Moon
24 16 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 27.4°E
27 11:41 FIRST QUARTER
31 11 Moon at Apogee: 405269 km

Sep
2 21 Jupiter 3.1°S of Moon
4 16:04 FULL MOON
12 02:20 LAST QUARTER
13 16 Mars 1.1°S of Moon: Occn.
16 08 Moon at Perigee: 364054 km
16 18 Venus 3.3°N of Moon
17 18 Uranus at Opposition
17 18 Saturn-Sun Conjunction
18 18:45 NEW MOON
20 10 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction
22 21:20 Autumnal Equinox
26 04:51 FIRST QUARTER
28 04 Moon at Apogee: 404432 km
30 00 Jupiter 3.0°S of Moon

Oct
4 06 Venus at Perihelion
4 06:12 FULL MOON
6 01 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 17.9°W
11 09:00 LAST QUARTER
12 01 Mars 1.1°N of Moon: Occn.
13 12 Moon at Perigee: 369068 km
16 19 Venus 6.8°N of Moon
18 05:33 NEW MOON
25 23 Moon at Apogee: 404168 km
26 00:46 FIRST QUARTER
27 09 Jupiter 3.2°S of Moon

Nov
2 19:15 FULL MOON
5 08 Mercury at Superior Conjunction
7 08 Moon at Perigee: 368900 km
9 06 Mars 3.5°N of Moon
9 15:59 LAST QUARTER
16 19:14 NEW MOON
22 20 Moon at Apogee: 404736 km
23 22 Jupiter 3.7°S of Moon
24 21:44 FIRST QUARTER

Dec
2 07:32 FULL MOON
4 14 Moon at Perigee: 363479 km
9 00:15 LAST QUARTER
16 12:03 NEW MOON
18 08 Mercury 1.4°S of Moon
18 17 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 20.3°E
20 15 Moon at Apogee: 405731 km
21 15 Jupiter 4.2°S of Moon
21 17:48 Winter Solstice
24 17:41 FIRST QUARTER
31 19:14 FULL MOON
31 19:25 Partial Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.067