Head Scratching ~ 28 February 2006

This past weekend I spent heaps of time scratching my head. Sunday night I scratched in accord with my perplexed reaction to the U.S. version of television’s “Dancing with the Stars.” How could the most talented dancer have the lowest scores, much of it based upon popular voting? Guess there’s no accounting for taste. Judging from the SUV I saw yesterday decorated with paisley patterned frogs that proves it (and it was a Hummer). But even before last week wrapped up, I sat watching news shows on Friday boggled by how people can deny irrefutable facts and maintain opinions completely disconnected from the progressive implications of Galactic Center reality. I could not believe how wrong these people were and how adamantly then insisted they were right about all the opinions they hold that disagree with mine. Cosmic facts are cosmic facts, after all.

So Saturday morning following the cold boot on my computer the daily check of data that’s part of my get-back-in-my-body drill quickly informed me that the Minor Planet Center just named the numbered centaur 60558 as Echeclus. That’ll work. Echeclus maintains a closest contact to the Sun orbital pivot point of 5 Aquarius 42 (heliocentric) and a node of 23 Virgo 19 (also helio). The observations of collective and rabid mental conclusions that don’t fit made more sense. The urgency of thinking outside the box, within perfectly tangential abstract parameters, nudged all of humanity to think beyond its norms. Given the naming of 60558, the importance of the nudge grew exponentially. Yet the node demands that a simplistic and pure logic must peacefully coexist within this twist in thinking. Add to the mix the fact that Pluto gets some pretty far out ideas from Sgr A, the black hole at the core of our galaxy, and all mental conclusion bets are off. The resultant architecture implies clear thinking and well-tracked logic no matter which way you go.

The mythology of Echeclus contributes another glimmer of insight. He was one of the many centaurs attending the wedding of Pirithious where the centaurs became intoxicated and adopted very poor wedding crasher behavior (see the movie, it accurately portrays the archetype of the baser centaurs). Most were slain by members of the clan of Lapiths attending. Echeclus was no exception. He suffered the blunt end of a spear whose tip had been knocked off in battle. And he took the weapon’s fatal blow right in the face. As the old saying goes, “What’s better than a poke in the eye with a stick?” How about a hybrid mode of mnemonic processes? “Huh,” say those who voted off the best dancer and most vibrate personality on “Dancing with the Stars.” Think clearly, considering straight lines and tangents, taking all conclusions to the end point. The end point could be defined as the place where there are no more questions regarding the topic of consideration.

Echeclus is interesting for another couple reasons. He moves pretty fast, right behind Thereus (34.63 yr) who is right behind the fast Okyrhoe (24.38 yr) coming in with a period of 35.34 years. Like Okyrhoe, he comes pretty close for a centaur... 5.86 AU, which is close to the perihelion distance of Jupiter - a defining parameter for centaurs (centaurs are supposed to have perihelion distances that exceed the semi-major axis of Jupiter 5.203 AU, Astronomical Units). So, he puts a fast spin on everything he touches and he does so with Jupiterian certainty as inspired by his proximity to Jupiter’s orbit. While the result of the Echeclusian thinking ought to be beneficial ultimately, what if it occurs too quickly and disregards either the Aquarian perihelion or Virgo node emphasis factors? That could poke out a clear seeing eye.

Now while I was actively head scratching and reviewing the centaur and scattered disk data (which includes Sedna and the new planet) I noticed minor planet 12929 on the list. “Huh?” I rendered, wondering how I had missed this body’s dance. Where’s it been? And more, its perihelion distance is less than the semi-major axis of Jupiter (5.004 AU) thus, redefining the definition of centaurs. What we previously used to use as defining centaurian criteria is now wrong. Better yet, 12929 has its most distant point at 5.408 AU, meaning the orbit is rather round and a centaur entirely affiliated with Jupiter. Amazed, I had to prove this right. So I checked three sources to confirm the status of this body. Recently it was reclassified a centaur from previous assignment as a Jupiter Trojan. With lots of jokes implied, I’ll leave the Trojan definition out of it. But it was presumed to be an asteroid in Jupiter’s orbit, and now it’s not. How about that fancy foot work? And how embarrassing is it that astronomers change their minds about what’s so with grace and ease once evidence impels them to create new geometric shapes into which things are categorized. They not only think outside the box, but well inside the trapezoid and dodecahedron. Maybe we could emulate their thought processes.

I’m grooving on the new plural emphasis on Jupiter’s orbit. Jupiter does rule Sagittarius, the temporary residence of Pluto and sign of the Galactic Center for about another 230 + years. It’s making more sense and the new big picture slowly comes together. Funny how it goes, when one makes new conclusions that go well beyond the known limits, one feels no need to scratch the head. As for me, I’m now hands free and that’s better than a poke in the eye with a stick, by Jove.

For those of you Galactic Trilogy owners, a major update is in progress. It’ll take a little while longer to complete some of the data components and sort out a font snafu. Later, when 2003 UB313 gets named, you’ll be one of the first kids on the block with well thought accurate information, including its real name. For those of you not owning the CD, well jeez, visit my website’s store. Should some of the data ideas be hard to wrap around, consider supplementing this with a copy of my short story collection, Glimpses. This book will allow you to begin to bend your mind just a bit more and off on the tangents that support the Galactic Center. These are exciting times. And if you don’t keep up, you’ll sound like a TV pundit in no time.