Altjira
148780 Altjira is a binary classical Kuiper belt object. It was named after the Arrernte creation deity, Altjira, who created the Earth during the Dreamtime and then retired to the sky.
Spears taken by Captain Cook in 1770 to be returned to Sydney's La Perouse Aboriginal community. Photo: Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge D 1914.4
Four spears taken during Captain James Cook's landing at Sydney's Botany Bay will be handed back to the local Indigenous community more than 250 years later.
Mars (warriors (the spears were taken by the HMB Endeavour's crew from campsites at Kurnell after a conflict with Gweagal warriors who opposed the landing)) conjunct Altjira (sense of appropriate position and need for involvement ("I think for us it's a momentous occasion that where Australia's history began, in 1770 on the shores of Botany Bay at Kurnell, the spears that were undoubtedly taken without permission are returned to the rightful people")).
The spears are the last remaining of 40 gathered from Aboriginal people living around Kurnell at Kamay, also known as Botany Bay, where Captain Cook and his crew first set foot in Australia in 1770.
Gujaga Foundation chair Ray Ingrey said the spears were taken by the HMB Endeavour's crew from campsites at Kurnell after a conflict with Gweagal warriors who opposed the landing.
"The spears were pretty much the first point of European contact, particularly British contact with Aboriginal Australia," he said.
"I think for us it's a momentous occasion that where Australia's history began, in 1770 on the shores of Botany Bay at Kurnell, the spears that were undoubtedly taken without permission are returned to the rightful people."
Aboriginal Australians 'still suffering effects of colonial past'. Photo: Keenan Mundine
The death of George Floyd in the US has also hit home in Australia. It has brought anger about mass incarceration and police brutality back to the fore in this country.
Mars (- combativeness, friction, + constructiveness, enterprise) quincunx Orcus (*death (tense relationship with the police, Keenan Mundine's charity, Deadly Connections). Venus (money) square Ceres (issues of taking care of people (Keenan Mundine's small charity relies mainly on donations)). Sun (authorities, men) square Eris (general sense of being forsaken, condemned or abandoned (Keenan was taken into care at the age of six when he lost both his parents)). Bienor ("strong man", *empowerment (calls to shift resources away from policing and prisons and towards empowering indigenous people)) conjunct Altjira (sense of appropriate position and need for involvement (calls to shift resources away from policing and prisons and towards empowering indigenous people).
In the past three decades, more than 400 Aboriginal people have died in police custody despite findings and recommendations from a national inquiry back in 1991.
And like in the US, there have been calls to shift resources away from policing and prisons and towards empowering indigenous people to make the decisions that affect their community.
Kiwi innovation uses microbes to extract precious metals from e-waste. MARTIN DE RUYTER / STUFF
A bio-refinery that extracts precious metals from e-waste could put an end to our unwanted electronics being shipped offshore.
Uranus (electronics) sextile Hades (waste (old electronics, e-waste)) quincunx Logos (clarity of personal priorities (the company hoped the technology could be rolled out in different countries to enable low-cost, local processing of electronic waste)). Mercury (commerce (world-first process now being tested at a commercial scale)) sextile Mars (initiative, enterprise) trine Altjira (visionary, proactive and energetic, strong sense of purpose (it was increasingly important countries were able to deal with the waste they produced).
Inside a small Auckland industrial building, a fine dust made of ground up e-waste is dissolved in a solution to make food for precious metal hungry microorganisms.
The process, a combination of chemistry and biology, known as biometallurgy has been developed by start up Mint Innovation to extract precious metals including gold, palladium and copper from printed circuit boards salvaged out of old electronics.
The guitar school for street children in Afghanistan. BBC Kabul
As renditions of a hit song by British music group Coldplay go, you won't have heard anything like it. A group of tiny girls strum their acoustic guitars, belting out a self-made Persian translation of the hit Don't Panic in a flat in Kabul.
Sun (creative self-expression (set up by American guitarist Lanny Cordola)) conjunct Vulcanus (power, empower (music school for street children)) conjunct Varuna (mastery of tasks accepted (the guitar girls are preparing to take their music outside)) trine Huya (focused, dedicated). Moon (children, inspirational, sociable) trine Zeus (creative and procreative endeavors). Venus (social activities, musical) square Poseidon (intellectual or spiritual influences, inspiration) sextile Altjira (sense of appropriate position and need for involvement, proactive and energetic (I never ever thought of coming to Afghanistan, but two years ago I came here to meet the family of Parwana and Khorshid)). Mars (initiative, enterprise) opposite Sedna (responsible, far thinking (the plan is to make this an entity where they can travel the world)). Mercury (youthfulness, self-expression) sextile Asbolus (motivated to reach the top (turn it into an international, global phenomenon)) square Deucalion (magical (the "Miraculous Love Kids" project)).
Playing along is a man very much in the mould of the Western rock musician, complete with wrist bands and bandana. These are "The Miraculous Love Kids", a music school for street children set up by American guitarist Lanny Cordola.
Nepal: Building earthquake-proof homes from local materials. Video: Leana Hosea
IT HAS BEEN one month since the first of two devastating earthquakes struck in Nepal. Thousands of people lost their lives and thousands more were injured.
Mars (goal-oriented) conjunct Altjira (strong sense of purpose/dharma, solid work ethic, sense of appropriate position and need for involvement). Mercury (adaptable. resourceful, efficient) square Teharonhiawako (inspires innovative ideas). Echeclus (solution oriented) square Chaos (orderly in the face of confusion).
Nepal's finance minister estimates the economic cost to the country is at least $10 billion - half the value of Nepal's economy.
One architect, Nripal Adhikary, founder of the company Abari, says part of the solution is to rebuild the country by developing low-cost and earthquake-resilient homes.
Discovery
2001 UQ18/148780 Altjira is a binary classical Kuiper belt object (cubewano). The secondary, S/2007 (148780) 1, is large compared to the primary, 140 kilometres (87 mi) vs. 160 kilometres (99 mi). The Altjiran lightcurve is quite flat, which is indicative of a "quasi-spherical body with a homogeneous surface". Discovery date 20 October 2001.
It was named after the Arrernte creation deity, Altjira, who created the Earth during the Dreamtime and then retired to the sky.
