Post by chrissymgreen on Jan 7, 2005 17:18:35 GMT
given the recent meteor shower of the geminids, i thought i would do a little research on phaethon.
i found some technical information:
"The so-called Trojan asteroids lie in two clouds, one moving 60° ahead of Jupiter in its orbit and the other 60° behind. In 1977 the asteroid 2060 Chiron was discovered in an orbit between that of Saturn and Uranus. Asteroids that intersect the orbit of Mars are called Amors; asteroids that intersect the orbit of Earth are known as Apollos; and asteroids that have orbits smaller than Earth's orbit are called Atens. One of the largest inner asteroids is 443 Eros, an elongated body measuring 13 by 33 km (8 by 21 mi). The peculiar Apollo asteroid 3200 Phaethon, about 5 km (about 3 mi) wide, approaches the Sun more closely, at 20.9 million km (13.9 million mi), than any other known asteroid. It is also associated with the yearly return of the Geminid stream of meteors."
"3200 Phaethon (sometimes incorrectly spelled Phaeton) is an Apollo and Mercury-, Venus- and Mars-crosser asteroid with unusual properties, and may be an extinct comet.
Phaethon's most remarkable distinction is that it approaches the Sun closer than any other numbered asteroid. It was named after the Greek myth of Phaëton, son of the sun god Helios.
It is classified as an Apollo asteroid but is believed to be an inactive or extinct comet nucleus.
Phaethon will approach relatively close to the Earth on December 14, 2093, passing within 0.0194 AU (2.9 Gm)."
and some mythology-related info:
"In Greek mythology, Phaëton or Phaethon ('shining'), was the son of Helios (Phoebus, the 'shining one', an epithet later assumed by Apollo), or of Clymenus by Merope or Clymene.
Alternatively, Eos bore Cephalus a son, named Phaëthon but Aphrodite stole him away while he was no more than a child, to be the night-watchman at her most sacred shrines. The Cretans called him Adymus, by which they meant the morning and evening star (Hesiod, Theogony, 986; Solinus, xi:9; Nonnus, Dionysiaca, xi:131 and xii:217).
Phaeton bragged to his friends that his father was the sun-god. His friends refused to believe him and so Phaeton went to his father Helios, who promised him anything he should ask for. Phaeton wanted to drive his chariot (the sun) for a day. Though Helios tried to talk him out of it, Phaeton was adamant. When the day came, Phaeton panicked and lost control of the white horses that drew the chariot. First it veered too high, so that the earth grew chill. Then it dipped too close, and the vegetation dried and burned. He accidentally turned most of Africa into desert; burning the skin of the Ethiopians black. Eventually, Zeus was forced to intervene by striking the runaway chariot with a lightning bolt to stop it, and Phaëthon plunged into the river Eridanus (the Po). His friend, Cycnus, grieved so, that the gods turned him into a swan. His sisters, the Heliades, also grieved and were turned into alder trees, or poplars according to Virgil; their tears became amber.
The moral of the tale is a later addition. In earlier, Homeric references, (Iliad xi:735; Odyssey v:479) Phaëthon is simply another name for Helios himself. The substitution of Apollo for Helios as sun god occurred later than this legend.
The motif of the fallen star must have been familiar in Israel, for Isaiah referred to it in admonishing the king of Babylon for his pride (Isaiah 14:12ff). The Jewish Encyclopedia reports that 'it is obvious that the prophet in attributing to the Babylonian king boastful pride, followed by a fall, borrowed the idea from a popular legend connected with the morning star'. The falling star image reappears in John's Apocalypse without a name. In the 4th century Jerome's translation of the 'morning star' as 'Lucifer' carried the fallen star myth-element into Christian mythology. For fuller details, see Lucifer."
i checked phaethon in my chart and it's at aries 27° in my 7th house. i don't really know the importance of that yet, but it's interesting i suppose because i have a couple of other important asteroids in my 7th house: eros and amor. eros is conjunct my DC.
anyone else have any thoughts on phaethon? what sign/house is it in? is it conjuncting anything? kinda neat stuff.
i have an asteroid encyclopedia that i meant to check last night but didnt, but i will this weekend and ill let you guys know if it says anything else interesting.
sincerely,
chrissy
i found some technical information:
"The so-called Trojan asteroids lie in two clouds, one moving 60° ahead of Jupiter in its orbit and the other 60° behind. In 1977 the asteroid 2060 Chiron was discovered in an orbit between that of Saturn and Uranus. Asteroids that intersect the orbit of Mars are called Amors; asteroids that intersect the orbit of Earth are known as Apollos; and asteroids that have orbits smaller than Earth's orbit are called Atens. One of the largest inner asteroids is 443 Eros, an elongated body measuring 13 by 33 km (8 by 21 mi). The peculiar Apollo asteroid 3200 Phaethon, about 5 km (about 3 mi) wide, approaches the Sun more closely, at 20.9 million km (13.9 million mi), than any other known asteroid. It is also associated with the yearly return of the Geminid stream of meteors."
"3200 Phaethon (sometimes incorrectly spelled Phaeton) is an Apollo and Mercury-, Venus- and Mars-crosser asteroid with unusual properties, and may be an extinct comet.
Phaethon's most remarkable distinction is that it approaches the Sun closer than any other numbered asteroid. It was named after the Greek myth of Phaëton, son of the sun god Helios.
It is classified as an Apollo asteroid but is believed to be an inactive or extinct comet nucleus.
Phaethon will approach relatively close to the Earth on December 14, 2093, passing within 0.0194 AU (2.9 Gm)."
and some mythology-related info:
"In Greek mythology, Phaëton or Phaethon ('shining'), was the son of Helios (Phoebus, the 'shining one', an epithet later assumed by Apollo), or of Clymenus by Merope or Clymene.
Alternatively, Eos bore Cephalus a son, named Phaëthon but Aphrodite stole him away while he was no more than a child, to be the night-watchman at her most sacred shrines. The Cretans called him Adymus, by which they meant the morning and evening star (Hesiod, Theogony, 986; Solinus, xi:9; Nonnus, Dionysiaca, xi:131 and xii:217).
Phaeton bragged to his friends that his father was the sun-god. His friends refused to believe him and so Phaeton went to his father Helios, who promised him anything he should ask for. Phaeton wanted to drive his chariot (the sun) for a day. Though Helios tried to talk him out of it, Phaeton was adamant. When the day came, Phaeton panicked and lost control of the white horses that drew the chariot. First it veered too high, so that the earth grew chill. Then it dipped too close, and the vegetation dried and burned. He accidentally turned most of Africa into desert; burning the skin of the Ethiopians black. Eventually, Zeus was forced to intervene by striking the runaway chariot with a lightning bolt to stop it, and Phaëthon plunged into the river Eridanus (the Po). His friend, Cycnus, grieved so, that the gods turned him into a swan. His sisters, the Heliades, also grieved and were turned into alder trees, or poplars according to Virgil; their tears became amber.
The moral of the tale is a later addition. In earlier, Homeric references, (Iliad xi:735; Odyssey v:479) Phaëthon is simply another name for Helios himself. The substitution of Apollo for Helios as sun god occurred later than this legend.
The motif of the fallen star must have been familiar in Israel, for Isaiah referred to it in admonishing the king of Babylon for his pride (Isaiah 14:12ff). The Jewish Encyclopedia reports that 'it is obvious that the prophet in attributing to the Babylonian king boastful pride, followed by a fall, borrowed the idea from a popular legend connected with the morning star'. The falling star image reappears in John's Apocalypse without a name. In the 4th century Jerome's translation of the 'morning star' as 'Lucifer' carried the fallen star myth-element into Christian mythology. For fuller details, see Lucifer."
i checked phaethon in my chart and it's at aries 27° in my 7th house. i don't really know the importance of that yet, but it's interesting i suppose because i have a couple of other important asteroids in my 7th house: eros and amor. eros is conjunct my DC.
anyone else have any thoughts on phaethon? what sign/house is it in? is it conjuncting anything? kinda neat stuff.
i have an asteroid encyclopedia that i meant to check last night but didnt, but i will this weekend and ill let you guys know if it says anything else interesting.
sincerely,
chrissy