"Sun, Moon and Stars for Signs"

13 Elul 5784

The full moon is almost upon us for the month of Elul.  Not only will it be a Super Moon (closest position to earth in its orbital track), but it will also be seen in partial eclipse across the globe. 

The next partial lunar eclipse on Sept. 17-18 will be visible over Europe, much of Asia, Africa, North America, South America, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic and Antarctica, according to TimeandDate.com. 

It will begin at 8:41 p.m. EDT (0141 GMT on Sept. 18), the maximum point of the eclipse will occur at 10:44 p.m. EDT (0341 GMT on Sept. 18) and the partial lunar eclipse will end at 12:47 a.m. EDT on Sept. 18 (0547 GMT). 

The total duration of the partial lunar eclipse is 4 hours and 6 minutes.  (Source)

Multiple sources are reporting that our Moon is about to have a companion - a "mini-moon" - for a period of 53 days...

Later this month, a new 'mini-moon' will revolve around the Earth, providing rare company to our very own satellite. Researchers Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid have recently published a study which reveals that a small asteroid, named 2024 PT5, will temporarily be trapped by the gravitational pull of the Earth from September 29 to November 25 this year.

By virtue of this, the 10 metre-wide asteroid will orbit the Earth for 53 days, before floating back in to space in its usual course. "2024 PT5 will circle the Earth one time before it escapes back into space," the researchers of Universidad Complutense de Madrid were quoted as saying in their research paper.  (Source)

Moving from moons to stars, our own star - the Sun - will be in annular eclipse on Erev Rosh Hashanah... 

After the Great North American Eclipse comes a long "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse that can be seen in some iconic destinations.

On Oct. 2, 2024, an annular solar eclipse will pass over parts of the Pacific Ocean, southern Chile and southern Argentina.

During an annular solar eclipse, the moon drifts in front of the sun while it's slightly farther from Earth than during a total solar eclipse, so it doesn't completely cover the sun's disk. Instead, it leaves a distinct ring of light around the moon, hence why an annular solar eclipse is also known as a "ring of fire" solar eclipse. At the point of greatest eclipse in the Pacific, the moon will obscure 93% of the sun's center, creating a "ring of fire" visible for 7 minutes and 25 seconds.

...The ring of fire will be visible only within a path of annularity that passes across the Pacific Ocean, southern Chile and southern Argentina. This area will include the volcanic island of Rapa Nui/Easter Island, an iconic travel destination that's famous for the mysterious stone statues called moai, some of which reach 40 feet (12 meters) tall and weigh 75 tons. The island, which is only 63 square miles (163 square kilometers), is located 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the Chilean coast, making it the most isolated inhabited landmass on Earth.  (Source)

But, before that happens, many geulah-minded Jews are hoping to see the Star of Jacob - the Kochav Mi'Ya'aqov heralding the Mashiach...

Any moment now, a star that was hiding for decades will light up the night sky! A nova eruption is about to occur in the constellation Corona Borealis.

...The event we're so eagerly anticipating is called a nova, specifically a recurrent nova. Simply put, a nova is the sudden brightening of a star. And a recurrent nova is a nova that happens in cycles of a few decades or less. Don't confuse it with a supernova, which is an explosion of a star when it dies.

For T Coronae Borealis, the cycle repeats every 80 years. The star tends to dim slightly for a year before an eruption, and it started dimming back in March 2023. So now, we're waiting for the nova to happen any moment.

During the nova eruption, the star T Coronae Borealis will brighten from magnitude 10 to 2, which is visible to the naked eye. (Source)

Many Jews speculate that this could be the Kochav miYa'aqov and that it will occur on the 25th of Elul in fulfillment of a prophecy in the Zohar (Balak 212b). 

We learned that in the future, HKB"H will build up Yerushalayim and will show 1 set star, shining on 70 planets (?), and it shines in the middle of the heavens in 70 directions, and 70 other stars will be swallowed up into it, and it will continue to shine for 70 days. And on the sixth day [Friday], it will be seen - on the 25th of the sixth month [Elul]. 

And on the seventh day [Shabbat], it will enter the end of the 70 days. 

On the first day [Sunday], it will appear in the city of Rome, and on that day, the 3 upper walls of the city of Rome will fall, and a great palace will fall, and the ruler of that city will die. 

Then, that star will spread to be seen in the world. And at that time, strong wars will be awakened in the world - in all 4 directions - and faith will not be found among them. And in the middle of the world, when that star will shine in the middle of the sky, a great king will arise and rule the world, and he will be arrogant over the other rulers, and he will initiate wars on two sides, and he will overcome them. 

And on the day that the star will be created, the Holy Land will shake 45 miles around the place where the Beit Hamikdash was, and an underground cave will be revealed. And from that cave, a strong fire will emerge to burn the world. And from that cave, a great, supreme bird will grow that will rule over the whole world, and the rulership will be given to him. And supreme holy ones will gather to him, and then, the King Mashiah will be revealed in the entire world, and the rulership will be given to him. 

And the people of the world - at the time that he will be revealed - will be caught up in trouble after trouble and the enemies of Israel will become stronger. Then, the spirit of Mashiah will be awakened upon them, and will cut off the wicked Edom and the entire Land of Se'ir, he will burn with fire. For then, it is written "while Israel doeth valiantly". That is what is meant with what is written, "And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also, even his enemies, shall be a possession" - the enemies of Israel. (Source) [My insertions in brackets.]

Halevai it should be this year!!