DEC 20, 2004 - A Breeze From the Stars is cosmically as well as philosophically instructive. Cosmically speaking, this site is a NASA newsbrief on the interaction between our solar system and the Local Interstellar Cloud. Every year in early December, the Sun's gravity focuses the helium-rich particles of the Local Interstellar Cloud into a cone, through which our home planet passes. (NASA's ACE spacecraft has been measuring this annual concentrated beam of helium particles for seven years now.) As interesting as the cosmic stuff is, NASA ought to stick to it. After all, that's what they know. What they don't know is astrology, as is evident in the newsbrief's confused attempt to comment on astrological 'houses' and signs versus astronomical constellations. What they call houses in one place and signs in another, they then confuse with constellations because they don't know any better. No, NASA, the sign Sagittarius has nothing to do with (nor has it been in any way supplanted by) the constellation Ophiuchius. Since at least the time of Claudius Ptolemy (2nd Century CE), even nominally educated astrologers have known the difference between signs and constellations. Smart people say and do dumb things when they don't know what they're talking about, alas. It's been years since I've launched any rockets, and I'll gladly promise not to launch any more - if only NASA will demonstrate the good sense to stop trying to do astrology.
