He could call up the skies of Septemon Stellarium and see for himself that this celestial arrangement was a real thing. My caller was familiar with the Stellarium sky software. We know that there are a lot of smart people out there who have not had much formal education in a topic like astronomy, and that interest in questions like this reflects a basic interest in astronomy combined with interest in religion and scripture. We thrive on diversity! No question phases us! Fortunately, I am a community college professor! Community college people are the ‘A-Team’ of the academic world (as in B.A., Hannibal, and the crew from the TV show and the movie - who are tougher than anyone else and able to save the day using duct tape, PVC pipe, and a butane lighter). Some of you are probably saying right now, “what a bunch of nonsense!” Others of you may be thinking that my caller had a good point, and you would like to learn more. People with interest in astronomy are a diverse group! And you all will have diverse reactions to this question. Now, I know that the readers of this blog are diverse. Must this not be a sign of something momentous, as the Internet sources say? In fact, after researching it, I found that, in only the past 1,000 years, this same arrangement in the sky has happened at least four times, in 1827, 1483, 1293, and 1056. Jupiter is the largest of the planets, the “king” of the planets, so to speak - “ She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod”. The planet Jupiter will be in the center of Virgo, and, as the weeks pass after September 23, Jupiter will exit Virgo to the east, past her feet, so to speak - “ She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth”. The ‘nine’ stars of the zodiac constellation Leo, plus three planets (Mercury, Venus, and Mars), will be at the head of Virgo - “ on her head a crown of 12 stars”. The moon will be at the feet of Virgo - “ with the moon under her feet”. On Septemthe sun will be in the zodiac constellation Virgo - “ a woman clothed with the sun”. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth … She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. On that date, according to various Internet sources, the heavens themselves will be a tableau of Revelation 12 in the Bible:Ī great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. It turns out that the momentous thing to which my caller was referring was an arrangement of celestial bodies that will occur this year (2017) on September 23. He asked why the Vatican Observatory blog was full of discussion on black holes or whatnot, when there was something much more momentous to talk about. It was a reader of The Catholic Astronomer, calling me with a question. One day last fall I was working in my office when my desk phone rang. Originally printed at The Catholic Astronomer. Just a few of the results of a Google image search for the words Septemand Revelation 12.
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