Anton Swanepoel Books Anton Swanepoel Anton Swanepoel Google Plus
Home Biography Free Stuff Download Center Videos Contact Subscribe to newsletter

If you enjoy my blog and would like to help with its upkeep, or found the information on this website informative, please buy me a cup of coffee.
Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Links:

Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, More Planets, Comets

In Ancient times it was believed that the planets circled earth and not the sun. Today we know that our solar system is formed around the sun, our closest star. We have 8 known planets, 146 moons, numerous asteroids and comets and intriguing dwarf planets such as Pluto and Ceres. The four planets closest to the Sun - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars - have solid, rocky surfaces. The four outer planets consist of two gas giants - Jupiter and Saturn - and two ice giants - Uranus and Neptune Uranus (1781), Neptune (1846) and Pluto (1930) were discovered only after the invention of the telescope. In 2006, Pluto was reassigned to a new class of dwarf planets

The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are visible to the naked eye.

What is a planet?

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) said that the definition for a planet is now officially known as "a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape and (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." At the same time, new moons are also being discovered, both around existing planets and within these mysterious new worlds. Once the existence of a moon is confirmed and its orbit determined, the moon is given a final name by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the organization that assumed this task since 1919.

A dwarf planet; is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, (c) has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite.

Plutoids

Almost two years after the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly introduced the category of dwarf planets, the IAU, as promised, has decided on a name for trans-neptunian dwarf planets similar to Pluto. The name "plutoid" was proposed by the members of the IAU Committee on Small Body Nomenclature (CSBN), accepted by the Board of Division III, by the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) and approved by the IAU Executive Committee at its recent meeting in Oslo, Norway.

Plutoids are celestial bodies in orbit around the Sun at a semi-major axis greater than that of Neptune that have sufficient mass for their self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that they assume a hydrostatic equilibrium (near-spherical) shape, and that have not cleared the neighborhood around their orbit. Satellites of plutoids are not plutoids themselves, even if they are massive enough that their shape is dictated by self-gravity. The three known and named plutoids are Pluto, Eris and as of July 2008, MakeMake. It is expected that more plutoids will be named as science progresses and new discoveries are made. For more information about the IAU and plutoids

Asteroids

Although there are very many asteroids in use in modern Western astrology, most astrologers pay close attention only to the four major asteroids, Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta, which were discovered in the nineteenth century. Note that we do not classify the planetoid Chiron as an asteroid, being an important 'planet' or 'planetoid' for our times and located in a far different orbit, between Saturn and Uranus. The traditional asteroids reside in a belt between Mars and Jupiter, where the empirical rule of planetary orbits known as 'Bode�s law' predicts there might once have been started a real planet that somehow failed to coalesce or was destroyed. The approximate meaning assigned to these small planet-like bodies is as follows. Ceres rules the harvest and nutrition. Pallas or Pallas Athene rules the plastic arts and a thoughtful process of selfdetermination that is warrior-like but not inherently violent. Juno rules marriage and the partnership concept. Vesta rules an independent feminine self-assertion that is unique and self-contained, although not asexual.

Planets and Astrology readings

The planets that were known and used in readings to the ancients, where seven in number including Jupiter and Saturn. Today we add the classical outer planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, and more recently, Chiron in the calculations of ones chart. To this list could be added the four major asteroids, Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta, making 15 bodies in all. Each planet has a set of associated meanings. For example, the Moon is watery, representing the feelings and the subconscious, and stands for nurturing and motherhood, as well as the child within, home and family, or tribe, and the past. The Moon rules the sign of Cancer. Each planet from the Sun to Pluto has an associated sign that it is said to rule, and also a sign where feels most comfortable, called its sign of its exaltation, so that the meanings of the planets and signs interact in intricate and subtle ways. In addition to the planets, the North and South Nodes of the Moon are incredibly significant. Known as Rahu and Ketu in ancient Vedic astrology, or the head and tail of the dragon, these abstract points indicate goals and talents, personal evolution and compulsions, depending on where they are located by house and what aspects they make to the other planets.
See our planet pages on more details of each planet.

Quick Links:

Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, More Planets, Comets