Saturn

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• Does the upcoming solar eclipse signal the second coming of Jesus?
• In all likelihood, no, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating that it does.

Finding meaning in the skies

• One of the more famous examples from the ancient world of people finding meaning in the skies occurred in 44 B.C.E., when a comet appeared in the skies over Italy just four short months after the assassination of Julius Caesar.
• Caesar’s deification was made official by a vote of the Roman senate less than two years later.
• Members of this movement believed that there was a spacecraft hidden in the tail of the Hale-Bopp Comet, which appeared in 1997.
• In March 1997, 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate movement committed ritualized, mass suicide through a lethal combination of phenobarbital, vodka and asphyxiation.

Chasing shadows

It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly where such interpretations of celestial events originate. In the case of the upcoming eclipse, one of the images that has fueled predictions of Jesus’ second coming simply notes southern Illinois as the location where the upcoming eclipse will overlap the path of the last North American solar eclipse in 2017.

• Second, on charting the paths of these eclipses on a map, they appear to form a cross.
• Some Christians have taken this as evidence that the upcoming eclipse is an indication that Jesus’ return is imminent.
• They seem rare because they affect only the narrow strip of land that falls in the shadow of the Moon.

• But this isn’t logical in terms of the larger argument that some are making.
• These eclipses – on August 21, 2017, and April 8, 2024 – are separated not by seven years but by six and a half years, or 2,422 days to be exact.

Seek and you will find

• But this way of thinking – of seeking to find significance in various random events like eclipses – persists among some Christians.
• Patterns emerge when and where they are sought, and much depends on the aims of the people doing the seeking.
• But it is interesting to note is that there is little agreement among these authors when it comes to timing.

Eric Vanden Eykel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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• Through the holidays, many people head away from the bright city lights to go camping.
• As a child, I loved such trips, and they helped cement my passion for the night sky, and for all things space.
• One of my great joys as an astronomer is sharing the night sky with people.

Learning the night sky

• A good place to start if you’re a budding astronomer is to learn your way around the night sky.
• Today, there are countless good apps to help you find your way around the night sky.
• A great example of such an app is Stellarium – a planetarium program allowing you to view the night sky from the comfort of your room or to plan an evening’s observing ahead of schedule.
• To memorise the night sky, you can try star hopping.
• By star hopping, you’ll slowly but surely learn your way around the night sky until the constellations become familiar friends.

Virtual observing

• Thankfully, software like Stellarium can give you a fantastic virtual observing experience.
• Imagine you want to see Saturn’s rings – a spectacular sight through even a small telescope.
• A virtual observing session is as simple as that – just pan around the sky until you find something you want to see, and zoom in.

A hobby best shared

• I’d recommend using planetarium programs like Stellarium to figure out what you want to see, then heading out to look at it with your own eyes.
• Astronomy is a wonderful hobby, and one that is best shared.
• I joined my local astronomy society, the West Yorkshire Astronomical Society in the United Kingdom, when I was just eight years old.

• At the society, we had weekly talks on astronomy, given by the club members and visiting astronomers from local universities.
• We also had regular night sky viewing nights, using the society’s very own telescope – a behemoth the members had built themselves.
• People who are passionate about their hobby love nothing more than sharing it with others.

Jonti Horner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.