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We know where it is... and where it is going. We are not quite sure yet though, quite when it is going to get there. Astronomers are excited about their big new discovery, KX76. They don't yet though, have all the data that they want. Till they get this, they can't issue a proper history and prediction of its movements. We asrologers must wait for that till we can get a proper fix on who it has been influencing - and how. We are also a little stumped without a name. Traditionally, astronomers just flip open a book of ancient gods and goddesses and then pick, at random, a name that they happen to fancy. Sometimes, as if by magic, that name really DOES embody the spirit of the planet - or asteroid. And sometimes... er, not quite! It may be year or more before KX76 is officially named. A committee at the International Astronomical Union will eventually meet to discuss proposals. These can come from absolutely anyone - but preference is always given to the ideas of the people who first discovered the planet. Two of these people are Bob Millis and Larry Wasserman from the Lowell observatory in Arizona who say they have so far given little thought to naming this object. Suggestions, they tell us, are welcome. With this in mind, here's our first ever ASTRO NEWS competition.
NAME THAT PLANET - WIN A PRIZE! Take a moment to ponder. Have things have changed in these areas of life over the past few months? Might this new planet have been responsible? Be silent for a moment. Listen to your intuition. If that draws forth a name for this planet... let us know. Email [email protected] (with subject heading: name that planet). We'll give free chart readings for 2002 for the twenty most apt or amusing suggestions and, though we can't guarantee that our suggestions will be accepted, we'll pass all our favourites on to Millis and Wasserman themselves. Aries: Been travelling? Suddenly found new spiritual faith? Signed up for any courses? Consulted many professionals? Been having strange dreams? Taurus: Change in your sex life? Received an inheritance? Borrowed any money? Taken out or claimed on insurance? Gemini: Made a new enemy? Made a new lifelong friend? Formed a partnership? Changed your whole idea about getting close to other people? Cancer: Emotional or physical upheaval? Hired some help? Has it made a difference? Feeling more (or less) responsible for others lately? Leo: Been having more fun? Or less? Fallen in love? Or out? Got a new hobby? Taken up dancing? Or gambling? Focussing hard on childcare? Virgo: Planning a move? How's your family life? Getting on OK with kith and Kin? Feel more secure? Or more like running away? Libra: Have you started a diary or journal? Taken on more paperwork? Changed your main mode of daily transport? Had a brainwave? Scorpio: Are you getting significantly richer? Or poorer? Has there been a big change in your approach to money lately? Sagittarius: Do you feel exposed? Are you changing your whole idea about who you are? Are others treating you differently? Capricorn: Are you dreaming more? or less? Do you feel more guided or more guarded? Are you exploring amazing new worlds? Aquarius: Are your hopes and wishes still the same? Have you joined any groups - or left any? How do you feel about your friends these days? Pisces: How's your career? Become the boss? Or become more bossed about? What are your ambitions? Has your public image altered? ASTRO FACTS: KX76 is definitely a large planet, not an asteroid. It passes the IAU's crucial size test for celestial bodies orbiting the Sun. KX76 is part of the Kuiper Belt - a collection of oddities, floating in space between and beyond Neptune and Pluto. We currently suspect that it follows the orbit of Pluto but that it may take up to one and half times as long to cover the distance. Certainly it has an orbit which, like Pluto's is inclined at an eccentric angle to the ecliptic. When we translate the co-ordinates of KX76 into tropical longitude we find KX76 is now approaching the sixth degree of Sagittarius. This is a key degree in the chart of Afghanistan (it conjuncts its Neptune) - and the EEC (conjuncts its Mars). Interestingly, in the chart of China it conjuncts Chiron. Could China have a healing role to play in the current world crisis? Thanks to our astronomy researcher Nick Kollerstrom
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