Natural and man made disasters strike many parts of the globe frequently. Immediately organizations such as Oxfam, Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies come to the rescue of the many people affected. The staff manning these service organizations have one thing in common, the influence of the star Menkar bestowing on them the ability in disaster management. In this blog post, I examine the star Menkar in terms of Astronomy, Constellation and Cosmics. Few tips are given in improving your life too.

Menkar in Astronomy

Menkar is a bright cool orange to reddish star beaming orange colour. The star was named after its original Arabic title “Al-Minkhar Al- Qaytaas” meaning “The Nostril of the Sea Monster”. It is in the Cetus constellation or simply “The Whale” constellation. Menkar is located on the Jaw of the giant whale alias sea monster. When you take the entire constellation per se it is located on the north-eastern part and rises fairly late in the eastern sky in the horizon. Due to the variability of its brightness, Astronomer Bayer was led to believe it as the brightest star in the Cetus constellation. Accordingly, he gave the alpha status to the star. Today, the star is considered as the second brightest one.

Menkar is astronomically referred to as “Alpha Ceti “. It is classified as “M 1.5 III a” indicating it is a cool orange giant and a variable star to boot. In its stellar evolution, Menkar is almost in the penultimate stage before its eventual death. Menkar has passed the early stages such as fusing hydrogen to helium, helium to carbon and now it is in the stage of contracting the remaining carbon at the core. Consequently the star is shedding its outer layers made of hydrogen. Once this stage is passed, Menkar is set to explode as a planetary nebula. Thereafter, perhaps the remaining rump part of the star could turn out to be a large white dwarf star.

A third magnitude star in brightness in the scale at 2.5, Menkar is located in Right Ascension (Celestial Longitude) 3 hour 2 minutes and 49 seconds and Declination (Celestial Latitude) 4 degree 7 minutes and 44 seconds north. Menkar has surface temperature of 3,700 Kelvin and is about 380 times luminous than the Sun. It is about 220 light years away and about 84 times the size of the Sun. It is a horizon star and is moving away from earth at a speed of 16 miles per second. Menkar is known for special features:

1. Its brightness vary in an irregular manner; being a giant star it is given an astronomical short hand “Lb “ which conveys to the laymen “ the brightness of this giant star varies in irregular manner “

2. Menkar emits radio waves as a result of cool winds on its surface. This may also have caused the orange colour beamed from the star throughout despite its variability of its brightness

3. Menkar is the last important star to rise in the Cetus constellation as it is located in the north-eastern part of Cetus

4. Menkar has steadily and greatly lost its carbon content after it entered the third stage of contracting carbon at the core. This means that Menkar is on the fast track to become a planetary nebula compared with other stars.

Cetus Constellation

Let me say few things about Cetus constellation. The word Cetus comes from Latin, meaning a whale. According to Greek Legend it all started when Cassiopeia queen of Cepheus, the King of Ethiopia, boasted that her beauty surpasses that of the sea nymphs Nereids. Hearing this impertinent statement, Poseidon (Neptune in Latin), the Lord of the ocean and father of the Nereids sent storms to ravage the Ethiopian sea coast. When Cepheus consulted the Oracle he was advised that as atonement for the vanity of his queen he must chain his daughter Andromeda in the sea to be devoured by the sea monster Cetus, who appears in the form of a Giant Whale. Later on Cetus is seen travelling towards Andromeda, the virgin who is chained to the rock to be devoured by him. Before Cetus can finish his job, Perseus the hero appears. He has in his hand the Head of Gordon Medusa. Perseus shows this head to Cetus; on seeing Medusa, Cetus is turned into a stone. There the sea monster lies eternally.

On the contrary, Gerardus D Bouw, writing in Biblical Astronomer No 104, traces the Cetus story from Nineveh, the Assyrian capital city on the bank of the Tigris River that was revived by God after the Ninevites repented as preached by Prophet Jonah. Obviously, the whale that swallowed Jonah could easily be traced to Cetus.

Whatever the story is, Cetus constellation is largely a southern constellation with few stars above the celestial equator. It is fourth largest constellation in the known sky. This constellation has several notable stars: Deneb Kaitos, Menkar , Baton Kaitos, Al Kaf Al Jidhmah, Deneb and Mira.

Cosmics

Menkar is located just above the celestial equator and always rises in the horizon. It can influence a person in four counts:

1. Birth star sighted by the Moon

2. Lucky star sighted by one of the other six planets

3. Rising star

4. Culminating star

Positive Cosmics

1. Menkar makes you a ‘service to humanity” person. You have charitable nature in helping affected people during calamities. It can be natural disaster such as an earthquake or a man made disaster such as arson. Whatever the nature of the disaster you are one of the few to rush in with whatever help you can garner

2. Though you often languish in the cocoon shelf of your office when the moment arrives you rise to the occasion with speed and agility second to none

3. Quick analysis is your hallmark and moving men and logistics under trying conditions is the task made for you

4. You will not easily give up in your actions be it in the office or in the sports ground. Your enthusiasm never fades

5. Plump, fat with an over sized belly and besotted with un-combed hair you are, in appearance wise an anti-thesis to the heroes in the celluloid films; but when it comes to work you are marvellous and often get adulation from many quarters.

Negative Cosmics

1. The chief negative is that you are too emotional; if anything is denied you are going to take it up grudgingly and wait for the moment to demonstrate that the other party is simply wrong

2. You can be caught in a web of deceit especially in relation to financial scandals or in extra marital affairs

3. You are prone to major accidents resulting in the loss of life or limb; you are also susceptible to major breakdowns in terms of health

4. As you tread the path of helping people in the throes of crisis the chance of tripping onto electricity wire or stung by venomous snakes or attacked by hyenas and other predators cannot be over-emphasized.

Improving Your Life

The following are few recommendations to improve your life:

1. You should select white, green orange and light colours for your dress

2. Numbers 1, 5 & 8 do wonders for you

3. You must sleep, keeping your head towards the south -east

4. You must join social services or disaster management or special services organizations

5. Single marriage lasts till end

6. It would be better for you to be in the public service or work for a Non-Governmental Organizations(NGO)

7. You should use the combination of alphabets “H “ in name or user name or pet name

8. You must develop lifestyle where your suitcase is stuffed and ready to fly away on call. Like in the Lyrics of a Jim Reeves number “ I hear the sound of distant drums” you wait for the mobile to ring for the call of duty

9. During leisure, enjoy at home peacefully.

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

(Originally written on Blogspot on Wednesday February 18, 2009)

“Butterflies are always following me, everywhere I go”, said Mariah Carey after her music album “Butterfly” was released in 1997. The best selling female vocalist of our time, more than 200 million albums sold for her credit, Mariah Carey has played multiple roles: singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and TV presenter. Her epitome came in 2008 when she surpassed legendary Elvis Presley into number one spot for her song “Touch my body” What endeared her to many? Her vocal range of octave 5 to 7 , her talent in singing diverse melody from ballads to hip-hop, her babe face look or her mixed background (her mother is Irish, her father is black Venezuelan). What is that keeps this Celebrity Diva going against all odds? The answer is simple; it is her magical birthday of March 27. In this blog post I give you a review of Mariah Carey & Cosmics surrounding her birthday of March 27.

Mariah Carey

Born on March, 27, 1970 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, Mariah Carey got into music after her graduation. She was just 18 when she started as a back-up singer in 1988. Thereafter, her career spanning some 21 years can be grouped into three phases:

Development phase: In 1989 she met Tommy Mottle and signed up with his Colombia Records. Her debut album “Mariah Carey” hit the market in 1990, followed by “Music Box” in 1993, “Merry Christmas” in 1994, “Daydream” in 1995” Butterfly” in 1997. Her hit song “I still Believe” was released in 1999. In the meantime she married Tommy Mottola in a celebrity wedding in 1993 whom she divorced in 1998.

Transition phase: In 2001 she left Columbia Records to join Virgin Records, a subsidiary of EMI , for a record US $ 100 million contract. But her first album under Virgin Record ” Glitter” was a failure and she fell overnight from her exalted position as a Diva. By this time she was hospitalized with complaints such as exhaustion. Later the rumours floated around her undergoing psychiatric treatment. Consequent to these developments EMI announced the buy-out of the remaining portion of the contract for U S $ 28 million landing a body punch on Mariah Carey. She did not give up; she redoubled her effort to get into the box seat once again.

Rejuvenation phase: In 2005 entire calculus changed. She is back on the top of the chart with her album “Emancipation of Mimi”. The hit song in that chart “We belong together” mesmerized her fans. Later she was nominated for 8 Grammy awards and won 3 of these. In 2006 she signed up with Pepsi for their TV commercials. In 2008 she bypassed the legendary Elvis Presley for the Number 1 spot with her single “Touch my body”. She has been featured in many TV shows and in the recent Obama inauguration. One of her performing photo is shown below:

http://www.popstarsplus.com/music_mariahcarey.htm#Bio

In her career she has made few statements that are noteworthy and show her inner structure:

Quote 1 It’s hard to be someone that people talk about and write about, you know? They don’t know me.

Quote 2 I always felt like the rug could be pulled out from under me at anytime. And coming from a racially mixed background, I always felt like I didn’t really fit in anywhere.

Quote 3 I hope to be around past the 90’s. I don’t want to just be categorized as one of this era. My goal is to have a career that stands.

Quote 4 In this world, I call the shots and I think I know best.

You realize that she is talking about fear, anxiety, sense of not belonging, and determination to make it; she also hints at something magical that keep her going and to bounce back from calamities. You got it; it is her birthday of March 27.

Birthday March 27

Every year on March 27, something unusual happens in the Sky. At this time the Sun is traversing the constellation Pisces. The Sun enters the Pisces on March 11 and stays there till April 18. On March 27 it breaks new ground by parking into the constellation Cetus. What happens is half of the Sun’s disk is in Cetus constellation and half of the Sun’s disk is still in the Pisces constellation. This unique process lasts almost 18 hours in that day.

Many celebrities and historical figures share this birthday with Mariah Carey. Some of them are: Actress Gloria Swanson ; Actor Richard Denning; British politician Nick Hawkins ; U S politician Cyrus Vance; British Prime Minister James Callaghan; German Historian Golo Mann; British automobile pioneer Sir Henry Royce and King of France Louis the Seventeen.

Cetus Constellation

Whoever born on this date has two Sun signs: Pisces and Cetus. They receive the cosmics from both these constellations. Pisces is well known as a constellation. Let me say few things about Cetus constellation. The word Cetus comes from Latin, meaning a whale. Legend says that Cetus is a sea monster who is travelling towards Andromeda, the virgin who is chained to the rock to be devoured by Cetus. Therefore, it starts moving from Eridanaus where he usually resides bypassing the Pisces to reach Andromeda. Before Cetus can complete his task, Perseus the hero appears. He has in his hand the Head of Gordon Medusa. Perseus shows this head to Cetus; on seeing Medusa, Cetus is turned into a stone. There the sea monster lies eternally. This constellation has several notable stars: Deneb Kaitos, Menkar , Baton Kaitos, Al Kaf Al Jidhmah, Deneb and Mira.

Cosmics

Both Pisces & Cetus together provide Mariah Carey with dual strength; it is something like twin engine aeroplane; when one engine stops the other starts. These two constellations give Mariah Carey a sense of being evergreen, a feeling of renewal, and lot of cosmic energy related to sex & survival; these constellations make her a person of religious belief; person of wisdom & perseverance; person with a fascinating and lavish life-style. Determination to reach the zenith is her main driving force. She is pushed to work hard and her work is appreciated globally. Millions benefit by listening to her song. Her work contributes to the lively hood of sundry. Mariah Carey has special gift and talent: octave voice and fascinating beauty.

There are negatives as well: she becomes a part of a Cult, a Diva, quite some fan clubs, films about her not to forget the gossip columns. She will have craving for popularity and if she does not get it she can be psychologically affected. She needs care and attention more than average women. Fear, anxiety and sense of not belonging would continue to mar her progress. Moreover, her compulsiveness & moodiness would drive away friends and colleagues. Consequences of any hasty decision would take lot of time to turn around. More than that she lacks vital salt in her system causing physical exhaustion.

You can contact me via E-mail:cosmicgems@gmail.com or Webpage http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser