Hello Friend,

     You simply can't believe everything you read in the newspaper, and certainly not the Toronto Star.

      Where's Conrad Black when you really need him?  (Just kiddin'.)

              I'll preface this Toronto star article written back in 2009, with the words of my buddy,  Randy Atwood.

Take it away Randy:

"The Worst Vernal Equinox article - ever!

"A few years ago a Toronto Star reporter called me and asked for an interview about the Vernal Equinox. No problem. What he didn't tell me is that he included an interview with an astrologer. Reporters are taught to write a balanced story I guess - what they are not taught is how to use BS filters."

Thanks Randy.

Now onto the Toronto Star article reprinted below:

Today, the first day of spring, also goes by another name: the vernal equinox. To better understand it, the Star enlisted the help of two professionals.

Astronomer Randy Attwood is president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Mississauga branch, and former president of its Toronto branch.

Astrologer Michael Barwick sits on the board of Astrology Toronto. He is also a member of the Canadian Association for Astrological Educators and the National Council for Geocosmic Research.

What is the vernal equinox?

Attwood: The true definition of the equinox is when the Earth is in its orbit at a point where day and night are equal. That's why they call it the equinox. The sun is directly overhead for people on the equator at noon. And for everyone else, we get equal day and night.

Barwick: The vernal equinox kicks off the beginning of the astrological year. It marks zero degrees of the tropical sign of Aries. It is the beginning of the zodiac as we understand it in the practice of Western astrology.

Does the fact that the equinox occurred at 7:44 a.m. have any significance?

Attwood: It's the exact time when the sun is directly over the equator, but it's not like you can go outside at that time and notice anything. It's like one of those really useless sports statistics, like the number of goalies who have red hair.

Barwick: For sure. People could do an ingress chart, which is basically a horoscope set up for 0 degree Aries. From the basis of that, you can use it to make predictions on a variety of things including elections. But that's not the kind of work I do.

What are the implications of today's equinox?

Attwood: As the earth goes around the sun it appears that the overhead sun seems to be creeping towards the north. For the next three months it will continue to creep north until the first day of summer, when it's at its farthest point north. As the sun gets higher that means it's able to concentrate more heat on the ground.

Barwick: Somebody who's born at 0 degrees Aries – that's a particularly strong Aries person ... William Shatner, Captain Kirk, has kind of the ultimate Aries energy in a way: going forth, boldly going where no one has gone before, pioneering, being in command, leading intuitively. This is Aries. 

end

Ok, Mr. Barwick, I think this BS should boldly go into the nether regions of space, to a galaxy, far, far away!

Happy Spring.......................

Clear Skies,

Ray " Bring on Spring" Khan

PS We've gotten Spring onto the right start with the Celestron "Capture the Cosmos"  Sale.
      Be sure to check it out