Basics
Class: Sq-type asteroid
Location: Near Earth, Aten group (PHO)
Orbit length (approx): 0.88 years
Discovered: 19th June 2004, 04:05 UTC, from Kitt Peak Observatory, AZ, by Roy A. Tucker, David J. Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi
Notes: Projected approach to Earth less than 25,000 miles, and potential to impact Earth or the Moon, though low probability.
Events at time of discovery:
- June 19 – Witnesses and hospital officials say that 22 Iraqis, among them children, women, and youths, are killed in a U.S. air strike in a residential neighborhood in Fallujah. U.S. officials say that they targeted an Abu Musab al-Zarqawi safe house.
- – OpenBeOS becomes Haiku (operating system), announced at the first WalterCon in Columbus, OH.
- – Birth of Millie Gibson, British actress
Naming information
Name origin: Ancient Egyptian personification of chaos, also known as Apep or Apepi, and the opponent of Ra (light) and Ma’at (order/truth). Appears in art as a giant serpent.
Mythology: Unclear whether Apep was born after Ra, or was a primordial force. He is supposed to lie below the horizon and not remain in the mortal kingdom, thus consigning him to the underworld. His movements were believed to cause earthquakes, and his battles with Set may have been an explanation for thunderstorms. Egyptian priests held an annual rite wherein an effigy of Apep was burned to protect the people from his influence.
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| Bas-relief on the tomb of Ramesses I at Thebes, c. 1290 BCE, depicting creator god Atum warding off the snake-form of Apep. |
Astrological data
Discovery degree: 23+ Leo
Discovery Sabian: Totally Concentrated Upon Inner Spiritual Attainment, a Man is Sitting in a State of Complete Neglect of Bodily Appearance and Cleanliness
Discovery nodal signature: Leo–Gemini
Estimated orbital resonances: Mercury 3:11, Venus 7:10, Earth 9:8, Mars 12:5
Discovery chart details: New phase chart with stellium in Cancer/6th. Juno and Chiron rising; North Node on IC. Minor T-square between Venus, Mars and Jupiter; another between Juno, Uranus and Eris. Apophis quincunx Vesta and likely square Pholus. Moon semi-sextile Venus and Ceres, and sextile Jupiter; Sun conjunct Mercury, semi-square Ceres and quincunx Nessus. Venus sextile Ceres; Saturn quincunx Neptune. Juno semi-sextile and Asbolus square Pluto; Pluto trine Eris. Vesta trine Pholus.
Summary and references
Meanings given so far include: a destructive or evil force or person, anarchy, unusually horrible acts[1]; danger, reorientation when operating in a risky field, dramatic natural beauty or environmental hazards[2]; death and destruction[3]; fear, constant breaking down and regenerating[4]. I’d suggest additionally, per the Sabian symbol, a situation appearing worse than it really is; or the freeing effect of removing extraneous details and getting to the core.
References:
1) Alex Miller: Apophis 99942
2) Amable: (99942) Apophis
3) Mark Andrew Holmes: Apophis
4) TAKE Astrology: Asteroids in Astrology
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| Discovery chart for (99942) Apophis: 19th June 2004, 04:05 UTC, Tucson, AZ. The body is not depicted. |