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#T Coronae Borealis
dduane · 1 month
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Something to keep an eye out for.
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tenkuu-otoshi · 1 month
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The stellar explosion in the T Coronae Borealis system is a rare phenomenon that happens every 80 years.
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catilinas · 4 days
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who else is hypedddddd
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x1tadpole1x · 15 days
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my mom told me about the potential of t crb (t coronae borealis) going nova and i am SO EXCITED!!!!!
i love space so much and the fact that i could possibly see a nova eruption makes me SO UNBELIEVABLY HAPPY!!!! THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME MOMENT AND I MAY GET TO SEE IT
i'm not sure how to properly explain it cus i don't understand all the science talk from my sources, but apparently this star system has recurrent novas (get more accurate and well explained info from nasa's official site and t crb's wiki page, i suggest also reading up on recurrent novas which you can find on said wiki) which means it has nova eruptions more then once, the last time being in 1946
the reason for this is becus it contains a red giant and white dwarf and the red giant is feeding material to the white dwarf (which i believe is what causes it to be a recurrent nova??)
if i understand what i'm reading, t crb goes nova, not supernova, meaning that only the atmosphere explodes
but the point is this only ever happens possibly every 80 years and could happen anywhere from this month to september 2024. i could get to see a nova explosion for my BIRTHDAY
if you want to keep an eye on it yourself, t crb is in the coronae borealis constellation, between the constellations hercules and bootes
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josevte72 · 2 months
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Una impresionante nova visible a simple vista en 2024
Si los cálculos de los astrónomos son acertados, una constelación muy conocida podría transformar su apariencia de manera breve en el transcurso de 2024. Todo indicaría que una nova volverá a iluminar la región. La estrella en el epicentro de este fenómeno es T Coronae Borealis, también reconocida como ‘Blaze Star’ o T CrB. Situada en la esquina de la constelación Corona Borealis o Corona del…
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emilybeemartin · 1 month
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New Redbubble designs!!
I have a new batch of Redbubble designs for you, including new characters--Faramir, Merry, Pippin, and Gandalf! As an added bonus, Redbubble is currently offering free shipping on all stickers!
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Faramir's beautiful quote, available as a sticker or journal.
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Obligatory Boromir Lives design (put that iconic shield to proper use!), and ranger Aragorn under the Corona Borealis, or Northern Crown constellation.
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Set of stickers partially inspired by my Fellowship Characters Visiting National Parks breakdown, featuring Gandalf, Pippin, and Merry!
Check 'em all out! I'm always working on others, so don't despair if your favorite character isn't there yet. I'll also try to get some of these on other types of merchandise.
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Nova Explosion this Year!
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A star system, located 3,000 light-years away from Earth, is predicted to become visible to the unaided eye soon. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity as the nova outburst only occurs about every 80 years. T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, last exploded in 1946 and astronomers believe it will do so again between February and September 2024.
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lucifersgurl444 · 20 days
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Upcoming Important dates✨✨
April 8th... a once every 375 year event takes place...we are gonna see a FULL Solar Eclipse from Mexico, thru the USA to Canada.... Solar Eclipses are believed to bring about ENLIGHTENMENT .... Spiritual Awakening, Transformation and Rebirth ... Solar Eclipses are believed to HIGHLIGHT the things that exist in the shadows and bring them to the forefront.
The Green Devil Comet will also reappear after
71 years during this Solar Eclipse
..and should
be visible with the naked eye.....some cultures believe comets to be very fortuitous while others believe them to be bad omens... the Green Devil Comet was named for the Green colour gas it burns and the 2 horn shapes that appear around its coma or core.....Comets symbolize unpredictability, disruption, and Revolution.
A NOVA or an exploding star is ALSO about to be added to our night sky as star T Coronae Borealis is expected to explode any time now...with the power of a nuclear bomb in space it will be visible to the naked eye 3000 light years away.....near the North Star...Spiritually this event is seen as an ending and Rebirth...
April 4th...A once every 175 year event is also occurring as Venus, Saturn, Mars and Neptune all align in the night sky...on the same side of the sun as EARTH.... planetary alignment symbolizes a shift in global energy... such as from war to peace.....or vice versa.
April 20th....brings a Jupiter conjunction with Uranus ..which happens every 80 years or so....bringing societal change.Jupiter is the planet of Abundance, Fortune and Expansion...Uranus is the planet of Sudden change and Revolution.....
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wumblr · 2 months
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if you're looking at the night sky this year, check corona borealis for a new star, possibly as bright as polaris. it's likely that astronomers will be the first to notice (within minutes due to an automated trigger or something, which will probably be distributed immediately in the publicly available gcn circulars) but i think noticing it yourself before the news cycle wakes up the next morning would be pretty neat
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saturniandevil · 25 days
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April 2024 Important Dates
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AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's April forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan and Diana Rose Harper (Austin is away on paternity leave). This is one of the most astrologically active months in the year. In addition to planetary movements, there's a comet that will be visible soon in the night sky and a nova.
We're going into the month right off the tail of a Libra lunar eclipse on March 25th. We're in "eclipse season," the time between eclipses, with much activity to report. Starting off, Baltimore's Key Bridge collapsed after a container ship crashed into it, which Austin called last forecast when he said that Mars's entry into Pisces (approaching a conjunction to Saturn) would involve a sudden halt in maritime trade. Astrologically it's quite on the nose, with a Libra (associated with trade/commerce) moon conjunct the South Node (symbolizing lack and decrease). We even have a chart for the opening of this bridge: it was an exact Mars return for this bridge, as well as its Uranus opposition and nodal opposition. Also on the Libra eclipse was the UN Security Council's vote for a ceasefire in Gaza. The April 8th eclipse will show us whether this resolution is successful, and a final Libra eclipse in October will tie these events together.
In celebrity news, we had obviously doctored photos of Kate Middleton prompting increasingly wild speculation on what the British royal family was hiding, culminating in Kate announcing her cancer diagnosis & chemotherapy plans on the March 22nd Venus(women, exalted in Pisces = royalty)-Saturn (slow illnesses) conjunction. She was also born on a lunar eclipse & announced this right before one. Just 3 days after the eclipse, on March 28th, Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the newest development in a story that began on an eclipse when BitCoin crashed and revealed his role in one of the biggest instances of financial fraud in US history.
In smaller news, a nova in the T Coronae Borealis system will be visible as a new star in the night sky this year. This nova is visible every 76 years or so (the last time was 1946), and has been observed as far back as the Middle Ages. Add this to the eclipses and the comet, and Chris hasn't seen such an astrological buildup since forecasting 2020. As the eclipse hit his 3rd house Donald Trump published a book combining the Bible and the US Constitution, while in other news an orca was stranded in British Columbia, another dolphin & orca-related development in the (Mars-)Saturn in Pisces in cycle and Arizona announced Pluto as their state planet.
April Overview: with significant activity in Pisces, Aries, and Taurus simultaneously, we'll be getting hard aspects to every modality (and trines to every element)--everyone will be getting hit with some kind of change (but will have opportunities for growth as well). Chris makes a distinction between the challenging first half of the month, and a second half which will see more clarity.
April 1st - Mercury stations retrograde By time of posting this retrograde is in full swing: disruptions in communication, plans, travel and technology. Diana describes this as especially frustrating in Aries, trying to go one way but some huge miscommunication gets in the way. We may have to walk back on words spoken in anger and renegotiate situations where we identified the wrong target as our enemy. With the eclipse's ruler Mars conjoining Saturn on the 10th, anyone who travels for the eclipse and hangs around for a few days may run into blockages, likely due to rain and floods. Other general Mercury retrograde significations: people come back into your life, unfinished projects become relevant again, and situations from the past resurface. For example, Sagittarius risings often see the "duderang" effect where male lovers come back into their lives, as Mercury rules their Gemini 7th house. Mercury rx also brings delays and slowdowns, and is generally a good time for introspection and "emotional alchemy."
April 3rd - Venus conjoins Neptune This occurs right as she leaves the sign of Pisces. Venus-Neptune keywords: dreamy, fantastical, imaginative (especially with art), compassionate, and opportunities to find new avenues of enjoyment and pleasure. Saturn's copresence in Pisces can bring us some grounding and reality. This can also bring unclear boundaries, uncertain relationships, and idealizing one's lover--like using the soft lens. In events, AI images and videos and toxic synthetic dyes also fall under Venus-Neptune. Is the siren's call too good to be true?
April 4th - Venus enters Aries Chris hopes that Venus's copresence to the eclipse will mitigate some of its effects, but on the flipside this means she's left Mars and Saturn alone with each other in the Pisces chart of our house.
April 8th - Total Solar Eclipse in Aries This eclipse will be visible over much of the (particularly eastern) continental US:
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Diana calls it a chiron eclipse, so here's the chart with chiron:
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The Moon will eclipse the Sun at 19 Aries, which is where Chiron will be as well. Mythologically, Hercules brings back the head (North Node, Aries) of the hydra to Chiron, whose poison causes him incredible pain because he is immortal and cannot die from it. He eventually trades his immortality for Prometheus and Zeus puts him in the heavens as a constellation. Narratively, eclipses invert what we expect: it becomes dark in the middle of the day! Prominent people fall suddenly from grace and new rulers skyrocket to power during eclipses. Because the eclipse occurs in the sign of the Sun's exaltation, leaders and heads of state/organization/etc will be especially affected. A similar Chiron-influenced Aries solar eclipse occurred in 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Nelson Mandela was sent to jail under an eclipse, but was also freed under another eclipse and elected to office under yet another eclipse.
For individuals, make note of what house this occurs in for you; this will be the end of one chapter and the opening of a new one in this area of life. Anything close to 19° of Aries will definitely feel it, as will any placements at that degree of Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn (hard aspects to the cardinal signs), while 19 Leo and Sagittarius (trine to fire signs) may feel some support. Generally, this series of events in Aries-Libra began a year ago, and will have its final eclipse on this axis in March of 2025.
This eclipse is ruled by a Mars (♓) who's just about conjunct with Saturn (♓), grinding things to a halt. Whatever's happening in the Aries and Pisces place is going to take some extra time. Other keywords: the end of a life cycle, matters of great importance & turning points in world history, major disasters as well as scientific discoveries. Eclipses highlight just how much is out of our control, like being on a teacup ride that's going too fast and being unable to stop unless something hits you. 6 months later, we'll get an eclipse that connects to some of these events:
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Diana also points out that there will be an influx of tourists to rural areas of the US, advising travelers to stay courteous and noting that many local municipalities advise residents to stock up on basic supplies so they won't be lacking when a small area is flooded with new people & their needs. Generally, the eclipse will be a very creepy experience, with the Sun going completely dark, colors becoming muted, and stars may even be visible--some cultures have warnings against going outside during eclipses. Back to metaphors, Chris points out that the small seeds of much larger events are often planted during eclipses. Sometimes you don't know until later just how important this obscured implantation is because, like the Sun, our vision is occulted. Take notes, even of subtle things.
April 10th - Mars conjunct Saturn in Pisces We expect the two malefics to bring us challenges: their conjunctions in late Capricorn & early Aquarius heralded the first COVID lockdowns, and other hard aspects brought new variants and similar pandemic news. In 2022 a Mars-Saturn conjunction occurred with an epidemic of ebola. However, note that these are all airborne viruses, and these movements occurred with Saturn in the air sign of Aquarius. What will this look like in Pisces, a water sign? Chris predicts that existing Saturn-Pisces issues with water pollution and maritime trade/travel will have destructive moments as Mars comes in, while Diana thinks about water as a vector of disease, such as cholera & sewage treatment. Now that deep permafrost is melting due to climate change, we may also see new pathogens or substances released, as well as complications from farm water runoff. We'll definitely see the effects of this Baltimore bridge collapse, and, with the outbreak of dengue fever in Latin America, may see developments around diseases borne of insect bites. We may also hear about the ill effects of microplastics, lead, and asbestos as a result of this conjunction. More generally: pollution, ocean, liquids, extremes of hot and cold, feelings of constraint (and literal constraint), and spiritual or emotional burnout. Pisces is a sign of inescapable enmeshment with each other, so we'll likely deal with compassion fatigue and emotional isolation (especially involving social media). Questions of whether or not something is "real" remain relevant as ever.
On the positive side, Mars-Saturn brings discipline and self-control. Sometimes Mars and Saturn can temper each other to give us self-sustaining focus. We can combine hard-won wisdom with the drive we need to achieve it, like a martial arts training montage. Do we have the belief and conviction to achieve mastery? With determination we can reach heights we once only imagined. There's also stamina, resilience, and rigidity. Overlapping with the Mercury retrograde, we can also see delays and obstructions. If there are boundaries you've been meaning to enact, now is the time. We can see potential pitfalls, but beware of pessimism and not believing in yourself. Resentment and pent-up anger can also come into play as Mars's impulse butts up against Saturn's inaction, but incremental progress adds up.
April 11th - Sun conjunct retrograde Mercury (Cazimi) This marks a turning point in the retrograde. Diana uses a spelunking metaphor: during the retrograde we're diving into the cave, and at the cazimi we've found our treasure...but we still have to make our way back out. Our personal eclipse stories may become clearer during this time as well.
April 19th - Sun enters Taurus, Retrograde Mercury conjunct Venus Venus will help sweeten communications during the last week of Mercury's regression.
April 20th - Jupiter conjunct Uranus This brings freedom, liberation, and sudden rapid growth--completely different from the Mars-Saturn activity earlier this month. This may also set us up for the Jupiter-Mars conjunction later this summer. The Uranus in Taurus story has brought labor organizing and unions to prominence, so expect those stories to intensify during this conjunction. General keywords: technological breakthroughs and scientific discoveries, sudden revelations and growth, revolutions, rupture, and unexpected shifts. This conjunction takes place every 14 years, so Chris expects new discoveries, optimism and "quantum leaps" or new precedents in some fields. In Taurus this is related to food and agriculture--in addition to new technologies we'll likely see further developments with the farmer's protests in India and Europe. Finance and money is another Taurus signification, so disruptions in banks & questions about decentralizing currency may arise. Freedom, rebellion, and general eccentricity become important. We'll feel like anything is possible, but in disregarding the rules and refusing to compromise we may make rash decisions.
The comet Pons-Brooks may also start to become visible during this time. It comes by about every 80 years and is named for its 18th century discoverers. Ancient literature on comets is similar to that of eclipse: an ominous phenomenon heralding the deaths of rulers and falls of kingdoms. However, they note the color and appearance as indicating some positive effects when associated with Jupiter, and the planets whose path it crosses are relevant as well. Pons-Brooks passes closely by the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, putting an exclamation point on the planetary significations.
April 23rd - Scorpio Full Moon
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We're finally out of eclipse season, so things are starting to calm down. However, this lunation (04♏) squares Pluto (02♒), bringing some conflict in. It'll be stabilizing, but not necessarily comforting. Acceptance is bittersweet medicine. The full moon illuminates the deep transformative experiences Pluto brings to the early degrees of fixed signs in our charts. We're really getting to the bedrock of things. When Venus enters Taurus she'll square Pluto, and Mars will trine Pluto when he enters Aries. With those personal planets in domicile, it'll feel like coming home, but home is a little different. Pluto will retrograde soon and Chris predicts this station will bring major events in AI and related technologies. Mars is also quickly nearing his conjunction with Neptune, bringing the weaponization of these technologies.
April 25th - Mercury stations direct
April 28th - Mars conjunct Neptune (typo in image) Aside from weaponization of AI and social media, Mars-Neptune also connotes the manipulation of reality for political purposes. Revealing that a shocking news story was actually false wont necessarily diffuse the feelings it arose. Even if it didn't happen, you may still hold resentment towards the wrong target. Think the "fog of war" or shadowboxing. Other keywords include conflicts in or about water, idealism & ideologically-charged conflicts, confusion, acid, corrosion, lethargy, sapped vitality, and unnecessary martyrdom.
April 29th - Venus enters Taurus She immediately squares Pluto. Venus in domicile brings us to the election for the month:
April 29th - Selected auspicious election (not pictured)
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Set the chart for about 12:55PM local time, which gets you Leo rising with the Ascendant ruler Sun in the 10th whole sign house in Taurus, where it's copresent with Jupiter, Uranus, and Venus. This chart is good for 10th house matters like career, reputation, social standing, overall life direction and accomplishing goals. The Moon is in Capricorn, applying to a trine with Jupiter, bringing support. Mercury has stationed direct, bringing us away from some of the delays and issues we experienced earlier. Even the Mars-Saturn conjunction is about as far away as we can get, and a day chart Jupiter conjunct Uranus brings creativity to our efforts. Diana associates the 10th house with the gestating parent and thus recommends doing something nice for your mom now.
April 30th - Mars enters Aries Entering firey and decisive Aries, Mars is no longer encumbered by slow Saturn and diffuse Neptune. This complete chapter change comes with a sextile to Pluto--the tone shift will feel like getting our oxygen back. This opens us up for a lot of quick movements through Aries and Gemini in May.
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moonspirit · 23 days
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Okay I really hope I get to see the T Coronae Borealis Nova explosion this year T_____T I'll do anything to see it.
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sun-in-retrograde · 1 month
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A star is about to explode
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The Blaze Star is about to go nova in the Northern Crown. For a day, this faint star will become as bright as the North Star. In the past, a new star appearing in the sky was a major omen and people would pay close attention to it, but people rarely understood that it could be a recurrent phenomenon.
Recurrent nova explosions basically happen when a star experiences a large explosion that is nonetheless not big enough to destroy it. In the case of the Blaze Star what happens is that a small white dwarf is orbiting close to a much bigger red giant star. The red dwarf has an “accretion disk” of chemicals around it and as the Blaze Star travels through it it takes in more and more glasses until this reaches critical mass and explodes. Then, for a day, the star becomes 1500 times brighter than it usually is. We know of ten recurrent novae but the Blazing Star has one of the longest known periods between recurrences - about 80 years.
The Blaze Star, also known as T Coronae Borealis (or T Crb) is currently at 18°22 Scorpio and it’s moving slowly through the Scorpio. The last time it lit up was 9 February 1946 when it was at 17°16, then before that it was at 16°10 on 12 May 1866. There’s also two documents that discuss the nova before it was properly discovered. It was observed in around 1787/8 and a medieval manuscript mentions the nova in mid Autumn of 1217 when it was at around 7°04. The Ursperger Chronicle reports it like this:
"In the autumn season of the same year, in the early evening, a wonderful sign was seen in a certain star in the west. This star was located a little west of south, in what astrologers call Ariadne's Crown. As we ourselves observed, it was originally a faint star that for a time shone with great light, and then returned to its original faintness. There was also a very bright ray reaching up the sky, like a large tall beam. This was seen for many days that autumn. The preachers also in these times asserted that many other signs had taken place in heaven and on Earth, which it would be too long to enumerate and to add to this brief account."
I share the full text here because I think as astrologers what it shows us is that ancient astrologers took events like novae seriously and if we are seriously making a case for following in their footsteps we need to do the same. But also, they didn’t understand what they were looking at. We are aware of ten recurrent novae in this galaxy and we didn’t have evidence of this phenomenon at all until the 1900s. Most people who saw a recurrent nova before that thought it was a possibly miraculous one off event. I am 100% expecting to find ancient mesopotamian, Chinese, or Indian records that show that someone somewhere noted a recurrence in ancient times. The ancients were so often able to see more and connect more than we give them credit for. But I’ve not yet seen any evidence of this. For now, we have to assume that the recurrence of nova explosions is something nobody understood until modern times.
The Northern Crown
The Coronae Borealis constellation is named after the garland Venus gave to Ariadne when she married Dionysus. It therefore traditionally has some Venus-Mercury themes. In some cases this seems to play out with a connection between the nova event and children. For instance Spiro Agnew had his Sun conjunct the Blazing Star and his wife’s pregnancy at the time of the novae encouraged him to go back to law school. 
In some cases it can also relate to adult experiences of children and succession - for instance the month of the nova architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s son sent him a copy of his book about their relationship. It had the very Saturnian title: My Father Who Is On Earth. Frank was not happy and wrote notes throughout the book, his son responded to his comments. The book was published with the full disagreement available for everyone to read. This is all very Saturn-Venus to me - succession, children, creation, difficulty, and legacy all wrapped up in one story.
Passing the Torch from Conflict to Conflict
The most notable event at the last nova was the Soviet prosecutor giving his opening statement at the Nuremberg trials. A couple of Nazis had key signs on those strongly conjunct the Blazing Star - Wilhelm Frick (the architect of Germany’s anti-Jewish laws) and Alfred Rosenberg (the administrator in charge of occupied Russia). Oddly Frick was one of only two Nazis to refuse to testify in his own defense, and Rosenberg was the only Nazi executed following his trial who refused to give a last statement before being hanged. I don’t know what this is about but Hess, the other Nazi who refused to testify had the Blazing Star strongly trine is ascendent. Maybe the influence of the Blazing Star encouraged them to let their lives end with the mercy that we didn’t have to hear them whine about it. Because honestly, nothing of value was lost when the leaders of the WW2 Nazi Party were executed. 
Passing the torch from one conflict to another seems kind of key to this nova. On the day of the nova Stalin gave his first major post war speech and said that another war was inevitable because of the "capitalist development of the world economy", and that the USSR would need to concentrate on national defense in advance of a war with the Western nations. This is considered by some to be the start of the Cold War. Meanwhile in Britain, Jewish ex-servicemen beat up a group of fascists who were trying to rebuild their movement - this was both a reflection on the war that had just gone and inspired the formation of the 43 group of anti-fascists which was an essential part of the post war anti-fascist movement. One conflict ends, but immediately, another one starts.
What I’m looking out for
We can expect the nova in the next six months so I’m keeping my eye out for conflicts that are ending and sparking an immediate new conflict. The change over from Israel invading Gaza to a more sustained occupation as part of their ongoing genocide against the Palestinians strikes me as a key one to watch for. The Blazing Star is loosely conjunct Ukraine’s MC and Pluto and its at a sensitive part of various Russian natal charts so this is a conflict to watch when the Blazing Star goes up.
Prince Harry is a key celebrity in this - he has the Blazing Star conjunct his MC and it’s interesting that we’re currently in a period where for the first time ever the British press has more complaints about Prince William’s wife than Meghan Markle. The monarchy is less of a joke than we make it out to be sometimes - the ongoing conflict between the Windsor siblings and their wives demonstrates major faultlines in British society on issues like how tolerant we are of secrecy within the executive arm of government, and how a lot of people understand race and racism. A shift in this conversation could be important. 
Of course, with the conception connection some of the most important events of the transit might not become apparent right away. It could be conception, or women finding out they’re pregnant, or starting to tell people. The key thing seems to be how the arrival of a child impacts the parent and this is a really personal thing we might not be aware of unless this hits your personal chart at the right time in the right way.
In general, I’ll simply be watching out for a new star in the sky. Astrology isn’t just about fortune telling, it’s about forming a personal connection to the universe and watching an event like this is one way to do that. I also think astrology is about forming a link to the past. We do this by following the cycles of planets, or in this case, stellar explosions. We also do this by understanding our ancestors who also tried to understand the stars. We have an opportunity to understand the cyclical nature of an event that most past astrologers could only understand as miraculous. I think that’s really beautiful.
Underneath, for the nerds, I have the charts for the three known nova explosions so far:
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catilinas · 3 months
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anyone else hyped for the probably upcoming eruption of T coronae borealis (T CrB) the recurring nova in the constellation corona borealis
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covenawhite66 · 1 month
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The Corona Borealis is home to a white dwarf star named T Coronae Borealis. It is in a binary star system with a red giant type star.
As the red giant in T CrB's system ejects matter, T CrB's gravity attracts or collects it and puts it on its own surface, doing so for years and years, until it reaches its limit.
REFERENCE LINKS IN THE ARTICLE
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Astrophysicist explains science behind once-in-a-lifetime nova outburst that will light up the sky this year
The total solar eclipse isn't the only reason to keep your eyes to the sky this year. For the first time in 80 years, a star system 3,000 light years away will be visible to the naked eye thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime nova outburst.
NASA announced that the nova, which will create a "new" star in the night sky, will light up the night sky some time between now and September and be as bright as the North Star. One of only five recurring novae in our galaxy, it will be visible for a week before it fades back down.
Jonathan Blazek, an assistant professor of physics at Northeastern University, says this is an exciting moment for amateur astronomers and astrophysicists alike. It's not technically a new star, just a star that is now bright enough for people to see more clearly, Blazek says, but it provides an opportunity to see and understand the cosmos in a new way.
What exactly is a nova?
"There's a broad class of these sorts of events, and they typically share the trait of having two objects, or sometimes more than two objects, close to each other, and you're transferring mass from one to the other," Blazek says. "Eventually, you build up enough mass on usually the hotter object that it ignites, in this case undergoing fusion, and then suddenly you get a very rapid release of energy so it gets much, much brighter."
The star system in question is T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, and it contains a white dwarf and red giant, two stars that create the perfect conditions for a nova outburst.
A red giant is what happens when a star, like our sun, runs out of fuel and becomes larger and cooler, turning red instead of the white or yellow of a hot star. A white dwarf is what a red giant turns into when it runs out of even more fuel: a very compact star.
What happens when these two stars co-orbit one another is that the white dwarf steadily strips away the atmosphere of the expanding red giant.
"The white dwarf is much smaller and much more compact, so you build up a little disk of mostly hydrogen and maybe some helium as well sitting on the white dwarf," Blazek says. "Eventually enough of it builds up and basically ignites. It's not literally burning in the sense of fire; it's thermonuclear burn and you have hydrogen undergoing a fusion reaction."
As it undergoes that runaway thermonuclear reaction, the white dwarf gets hotter, bigger and brighter, making it easier for us to see it back on Earth. This entire process is part of the natural lifecycle of these stars and why they happen every 80 years. After a white dwarf like this goes nova, it goes back to stripping gas away from the red giant, building up gas at the same rate before eventually another outburst occurs.
Outside of the novelty of these novae,, Blazek says systems like T CrB are particularly interesting for astrophysicists because they are prime candidates for Type 1a supernovae, even larger stellar explosions that are integral to mapping the cosmos.
When a star like T CrB's white dwarf hits a certain mass after repeated novae and it can't support its own mass, it starts to collapse and erupts into a massive, bright explosion, known as a supernova. Novae occur every 80 years, but supernovae are one-time events because they are so powerful that they end up destroying a star. Type 1a supernovae are even more notable because they seem to always have the same brightness, which means they likely always happen to stars of the same mass, Blazek says.
"These are cosmologically super interesting because you can see them really, really far away, and because they're almost always the same brightness, you can use them as very particular probes of the universe," Blazek says. "You can basically map out how bright something is at different distances away and use that to say, "How is the universe changing at different distances?" This is actually how they discovered dark energy."
This is why organizations like NASA and astrophysicists across the globe will likely be pointing countless telescopes at the sky to monitor this nova, Blazek says.
"We're at the stage where we have discovered dark energy using the supernova, but if we want to go to the next level of precision, we need to do a better job of really understanding deep down what these things are, how much variance there is between different objects and things like that," Blazek says.
As for the rest of us, looking up into the night sky and seeing a new source of light in the night sky will be enough. Luckily, it's so bright that this might be one of the few times where city dwellers might have an advantage when it comes to stargazing.
"Obviously, you'll get a better view if you go somewhere dark, but if you go somewhere dark, you'll see a lot of stuff up there," Blazek says. "If you want to have an easier time finding it, stay somewhere bright and then you can only see the really bright stuff, so it'll pop out behind the Boston glow."
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canonatypical · 2 years
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Hello! Are you still taking requests? I really love your writing and you capture Eddie soooo well! I wondered what your thoughts were on how Eddie would choose to take someone out on a proper date. Is he a disaster case? Hehe :>
Hi, friend! Yes, my requests are always open! Thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate that and I'm happy that you like my take on Eddie. Here are my thoughts on a date (perhaps even our first!) with Eddie:
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If there's one thing that Eddie is good at, it's putting up a front. All of the hurtful words that used to pierce him like bullets now ricochet off of him, but in the comfort of the home that he shares with his uncle, he can allow the mask to slip...and tonight, slip it does.
Nervous doesn't even begin to explain how he's feeling. He's been plucking away at his guitar all evening, but his fingers are fumbling and he's screwed up more times than he cares to count. A string of expletives leave his mouth when Eddie glances to his watch, opting to give up on the guitar practice for now. He has only allotted himself a measly half an hour to get ready and he better get a move on or risk either looking worse for wear or ,worse yet, being late for the agreed upon date.
With his guitar safely cradled back in its designated spot, Eddie's fingers crimp and detangle the mess of curls that cascade down to his shoulders, stopping only once he's satisfied with the reflection peering back at him in the dirty bathroom mirror.
He ditches his trusty Hellfire Club shirt and exchanges it for a well worn plain black t-shirt, but as he heads out the door, he still dons the all too familiar leather jacket and hand decorated denim vest.
Eddie's mind has been racing, plotting all of the various places he can take you, things he can experience with you, ever since he'd proposed taking you on this date. When he climbs into his van and brings the engine to life, his heart thumps wildly in his chest as he hopes that the idea he'd finally settled on will be enough to make you want to come back for more.
You don't make him feel embarrassed when he picks you up, you introduce him to your parents and seem thrilled—proud, even—to be in his presence around your folks, a rare courtesy only ever extended to him on one or two other occasions by friends he's made through Hellfire. When you climb into his van, you begin rifling through the 8-tracks that are thrown into the small box in the footwell of the passenger seat.
"Do you mind," he asks, holding up an unlabeled 8-track which instantly piques your curiosity.
He slips it into the designated slot when you nod your ascent and returns his now clammy palm to the steering wheel as one of many songs begins to fill the vehicle. As the two of you drive to your destination, a flurry of conversation carrying on during the ride, Eddie doesn't tell you that these are songs he's hand picked—songs that make him think of you.
Maybe one day he'll tell you. If tonight goes well.
Eddie takes you to Lover's Lake, not for its scandalous reputation, but for another purpose entirely. It is here that you discover Eddie's passion for the cosmos.
"When I was little," he says as your back rests against his chest whilst the two of you sit on the blanket he's laid on the ground, "I used to go outside at night and stare up at the sky, wishing to be anywhere but here."
It should be a sad thought—it is a sad thought—but Eddie doesn't allow you to linger on the past. Instead, he keeps one arm hooked around your midriff as the other lifts to point out the shape of a constellation—Corona Borealis; Northern Crown—that shimmers overhead.
There is so much more to Eddie the freak Munson, you realize in the midst of his tale of the Northern Crown and the love gained from the legend. Perhaps your story and his will end much in the same light. If you're lucky, your stories will continue to intertwine.
He certainly hopes so.
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