WildMaven’s World

Astronomy and Astrology are linked at the hip, each constantly being confused and mistaken for each other. Astronomy, in fact, got its start in Astrology. The study of the moon and stars were key elements in figuring out astrologic charts for the planting of crops, sailing of ships, and curing of diseases. While studying the heavens, more objects were spotted and a curiosity grew. What is that object? Why is it in one part of the sky today, but another part later in the evening? The study of Astronomy was born. Early astronomers supplemented their income by practicing Astrology for the wealthy. Any astronomer who scoffs at Astrology is actually forgetting the birthplace of his beloved science.

Today, the term Astronomy is reserved for the scientific study of the Universe. Astrology is the belief that the heavens control our lives. Astrology spans many cultures and can be broken down into Western astrology, Chinese astrology, Jyotish (Vedic astrology) and Kabbalistic astrology. Even skeptics of Astrology agree that certain human rhythms are controlled by the influence of astronomical objects, most notably the Moon. Our internal body clock is controlled by a circadian rhythm, which has ties to the light/dark cycle of our day. Without the daily sun/moon cycle, our bodies would suffer a number of problems including sleep disfunction and mood disorders!

Is Pluto Really a Planet?
Pluto was an accidental find by Clyde Tombaugh as he looked for the next mysterious Planet X. In the early 1900’s, it was thought that a very large planet existed beyond Neptune, which would explain Neptune’s unexpected deviations of motion. (This is actually how Neptune was found in the first place, using erratic motions from Uranus.) Tombaugh found Pluto and quickly deemed it a planet. Unfortunately, Pluto is too small to have been the cause of Neptune’s behaviour. In fact, it turns out that Neptune’s behaviour was the result of miscalculations on the part of the scientists. Pluto was just a lucky find by a determined man.

Pluto’s status as a planet remained set until David Jewitt and J. Luu discovered an object way out in space past Neptune. This object, QB1, was the first of over a hundred objects found that are now called the Kuiper Belt. These objects are very similar to Pluto in composition and orbit. Pluto’s orbit is highly unusual for a planet; it is the only planet that crosses orbits with another planet. Once every 248 years, Pluto crosses the orbit of Neptune, becoming the 8th planet out, rather than the 9th. The size of Pluto also makes it “less than a planet”. In fact, it is smaller than seven of the moons in our solar system. The only difference between Pluto and other members of the Kuiper Belt is its reflectivity.

Scientists today consider Pluto to be just another object in the Kuiper Belt, though it notably is the largest object there. However, future discoveries may find Kuiper Belt objects (KBO’s) that are larger than Pluto. Should those be classified as planets? Or is Pluto’s time as our 9th planet coming to an end? We all grew up learning about the 9 planets. Will the public accept only 8? This almost happened years ago, and it became a media circus. The public loves tiny Pluto. The debate continues…

Last year, Pluto was demoted, though many still refuse to accept it.

Copernicus went to the University of Krakow, where he studied many subjects, including astronomy. Astronomy, however, in those days, was used mainly for navigation at sea, setting holy days, and calculating a person’s horoscope. He completed four years of study, but never earned a degree. His uncle, in charge of young Nicholaus after his father’s death, decided that the child would have a career with the Church, and thus sent Copernicus to the University of Bologna, where he studied Canon law. In his spare time, he also studied Greek, math, and astronomy. He began renting a room from his astronomy professor and even assisted him in his observations of the heavens.
In 1500, Copernicus journeyed to Rome and stayed to lecture the local scholars. Still without a degree, he convinced his uncle, and the Church, to allow him to finish his law degree as well as obtaining education in medicine. Astronomy was considered a big part of medicine, since a person’s health was believed to be influenced by the stars, so Copernicus was allowed to continue his astonomy education as well. He eventually obtained his doctorate in law, but never received one in medicine.

His astronomy study was put on hold for over five years as he floundered here and there as a canon and physician. After the death of his maternal uncle, Copernicus became a canon in the Ermland Chapter at Frauenburg. This gave him a lot of free time to study his growing love of the sky. He wrote a small, hand-written book, which he gave to his friends. This book, the “Little Commentary” spelled out his theories, radical ideas at the time:

1. There is no one centre in the universe.
2. The Earth’s centre is not the centre of the universe.
3. The centre of the universe is near the sun.
4. The distance from the Earth to the sun is imperceptible compared with the distance to the stars.
5. The rotation of the Earth accounts for the apparent daily rotation of the stars.
6. The apparent annual cycle of movements of the sun is caused by the Earth revolving round it.
7. The apparent retrograde motion of the planets is caused by the motion of the Earth from which one observes.

His formal theories were not published for many years as war and unrest forced Copernicus into service for his country. His manuscript was published only shortly before his death. Controversy raged amongst the scholars, and it was not until the 17th century that his ideas were fully accepted. He received the final copy of his book while on dying in his bed. He died shortly thereafter of a cereberal hemorrhage May 24, 1543.

Sir Isaac Newton
Born in 1642, Isaac Newton was the founder of many brilliant discoveries and formulas. Among them:

* Sunlight can be split into a spectrum.
* Discovery of why planets orbit the sun.
* The three laws of motion.
* The formula for gravity.
* The motion of the tides.

His discoveries helped future scientists figure out the movement of every object in the Universe and detect unknown stars and planets.

Isaac Newton struggled with math at first and almost gave up. Eventually, he fell in love with it, and developed his own theories as he learned. He studied math, astronomy, optics, light and color. The latter was the basis for his first nervous breakdown in 1678 when he got into an arguement about it with the English Jesuits in Liege. As a result, he became almost a hermit for a number of years. When he came out of seclusion, he was again in a scientific frenzy of work, producing more than a man twice his age. This all came to an abrupt stop with his second nervous breakdown in 1693. Theories abound as to the causes of his breakdowns. Everything from personal problems to poisoning from experiments have been mentioned. Today, scientists believe it was undiagnosed depression. Newton took a position at the Royal Mint in 1696, becoming Master in a year. In 1703 he was elected president of the Royal Society and was re-elected each year until his death. During his days as President he became involved in a heated controversy between himself and Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz as to which one had invented calculus. Because he was President of the Society, Newton arranged for an “impartial” committee to put an end to the debate.

“Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my best friend is truth.”
-Isaac Newton

Do you have any pine trees in your area? Do they have decaying cavities in them? Well, perhaps you have one of the largest woodpeckers in North America, the pileated woodpecker, living inside! They like to nest in such spots and will peck away at the hole so that the sap will flow, making for a really sticky entrance, which keeps predators away. Trees used for roosting may have as many as 16 exits to allow quick escape. It has been found that the male woodpecker does 3 times the work as the female when it comes to making the nest. (YAY!) They very seldom use an old nest again, though they may use the hole for roosting. It usually takes 3-6 weeks to make a suitable nest. Both parents feed the youngsters. A lot of their excavated holes are abandoned, only half finished, providing homes for many other species, especially tree-nesting ducks.

They eat insects, seeds, fruits, and sometimes sap from the trees. Their favorite food is carpenter ants, and they can be found sitting around on the forest floor searching for those yummy insects.

With their bright red caps, white streaks, and long necks, they are hard to miss. The male even has a bright red mustache to complete his dapper look. Most photos of the pileated woodpecker show them sitting on a tree, but if you are lucky, you will get to see it in flight. They are white under their wings, edged in black. Beautiful.

The pileated woodpecker has been removed from the status of endangered species, but you’ll still count yourself lucky to see one.