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Marco Fumagalli

The dark sky

Ancient and modern nebulae[1].

English translation by Margherita Fiorello

 

The ancient concept of "nebula"

In the ancient astronomical catalogs are present some stars called "nebulae" or "nebulous stars": they are celestial objects difficult to observe to the naked eye because they emit a very weak light, not punctiform as common stars. This optical characteristic has a precise astrological significance: the nebulae engaging sight may mean some "darkness" in those who are born, if they occupy important positions in the nativity: the darkness will manifest in eyes, soul, actions, etc.., according to the different astrological significators involved with the nebulae. Even today astronomy describes some non-stellar objects in the sky[2], whose observation engages sight and requires the use of more or less powerful binoculars or telescopes. But the point of view has changed: what matters to the modern astronomer is not the appearance but the object's physical character, its chemical composition, age, position in the galaxy or universe.

The constellation of Cancer, with the nebula Praesepe in the center. Abd ar-Rahman al-Sufi, Liber locis stellarum fixarum, 964. From a fifteenth century manuscript Pergamenthandschrift M II 141.

An example may immediately help to clarify the difference in perspective: if two or three small stars appear very close together, so that the eye hardly distinguishes and perceives them as a set of light escaping a well defined vision, the ancient astronomer will tell you we are in presence of a "nebula", the modern rather will not say anything, unless they are really close each other, belonging to the same stellar group sharing age, physical and chemical characteristics, mutual gravitational force etc.. If they look close because the simple fact that their light projections correspond in respect to the Earth, this is of no interest to the modern scientist.

Andromeda "nebula" (Chambers GF Descriptive astronomy, Oxford 1867, p. 512)

Visible celestial objects of non-stellar nature today are classified into three broad categories: clusters nebulae galaxies[3].   In each of these categories there are naked eye objects which in antiquity have been called "nebulae". Compared to the old nebulae, however, are excluded the small asterisms, patterns of two or more stars the eye can hardly distinguish.

 

All dim and no punctiform light celestial objects are more brilliant when observed with averted vision (better known as "out of the corner of the eye") that is not directly turning the look to the object but to the slight right or left, in order to receive its light in the lateral part of the retina.

This depends on the particular distribution of the two types of visual receptors in the retina: the rods and cones. The cones are responsible for visual acuity, are very sensitive to colors, not very sensitive to light and are mainly present in the central part of the retina; rods are insensitive to color, contribute to a lesser extent the visual acuity, but they are very sensitive to light and are especially present in the lateral sides of retina.

For example, a star cluster as Pleiades, if observed with averted vision, appears more blurred and indistinct in color but much wider and brighter.

 

Some very weak objects are completely invisible using direct vision while appear as dim spots with averted vision. Since this increase in brightness with averted vision also occurs with small asterisms (like the Water of Aquarius o the Eye of Sagittarius) we can define ancient nebulae as all the celestial objects that take advantage of averted vision. If looking at the night sky, we see a light which greatly varies moving our eyes, we are in front of a nebula.

 

Ptolemy's nebulae

Ptolemy in the Almagest uses seven times the term νεφελοειδής, nebulous, cloudly, like a cloud (νεφέλη). The seven Ptolemy's nebulae are the following:

 

Of these seven nebulae, only the first four are now recognized as non-stellar objects, the others are simple asterisms[4]. Perseus'right hand and Praesepe were already present as nebulae in Hipparchus' catalog (second century. b.C.), while Coma Berenices and the sting of the Scorpio are Ptolemaic additions[5].

In the third book of the Quadripartite, Ptolemy talks again about "nebulous clusters", in the chapter on diseases and illnesses of the body:

«The eyesight, and one of the eyes, is damaged when the Moon is by itself upon the aforesaid corners, or joined to the Sun or full, or when it is configured to the Sun, in any other proportional aspect, also applying to one of the nebulous clusters in the zodiac, such as the Crab Nebula, the Pleiades in Taurus, the Arrow in Sagittarius, the Sting of the Scorpio, the parts of Leo near the Coma Berenices or the Pitcher of Aquarius»[6].

Compared to the list of the Almagest three more nebulae have been added:

 

and four less: the hand of Perseus, the knee of Cygnus, the neck of Orion and the eye of Sagittarius. The missing nebulae, with the exception of the eye of Sagittarius[8], are all very distant from the ecliptic, and this is due to the fact that in his astrological treatise Ptolemy pays especially attention to the zodiacal belt, while in the Almagest he describes the whole sky[9].

 

The stars of azemena degrees

Ptolemaic nebulae of the zodiacal belt constitute almost all the azemena degrees catalog of degrees, from the Arabic zamānat, chronic infirmity or incurable illness . These zodiacal degrees are considered harmful to the body, especially for eyes, since their longitude corresponds to nebulae or small asterisms[10]. These degrees can be found in the texts of Antiochus[11], Rhetorius[12]and the Anonymous of 379 AD[13]. Compared to the Ptolemaic zodiacal nebulae there are only two additions, the forehead of the Scorpio and the spine of Capricorn, and again they correspond to asterisms or star clusters[14]:

 

The nebulae of al-Sufi

In the tenth century the Persian astronomer 'Abd-al-Rahman al-Sufi, in his Book of Stars (964 AD), lists eight nebulae, five of which are already present in the Almagest: the hand of Perseus, Praesepe, the sting of the Scorpio, the eye of Sagittarius, the neck of Orion. Compared to Ptolemy al-Sufi skips Coma Berenices and the knee of Cygnus, but introduces three very important new nebulae:

13) Andromeda nebula [15]	galaxy M31 Andromedae
14) Al-Sufi's nebula	open cluster Collinder 399 Vulpeculae
15) Omicron Velorum cluster	open cluster IC2391 Velorum

 

In addition, al-Sufi observed a great nebula cluster which he called al-Bakr, the White Ox of Southern Arabs, It is one of the most important objects in the Southern hemisphere: the Large Magellan Cloud, a large irregular galaxy appearing almost like a separate part of the Milky Way.

SUMMARY OF ANCIENT NEBULAE

 

Nebulae grow : Giovanni Battista Hodierna

With the invention of the telescope, the sky gradually turns fuller and fuller of nebulous objects, many of whom escaped to the observations of ancient astronomers although visible to the naked eye as dim spots.

The most important observer of the "deep sky" in the seventeenth century was Giovanni Battista Hodierna, a Sicilian priest, physician, naturalist, astronomer and architect. Student of the Galilean school, Hodierna observed the sky with one of the first telescopes, perhaps given to him by Galileo himself, and collected his observations in De Admirandis Characteribus Coeli (1654), the first systematic catalog of nebulae in the old meaning of the term, thus including some small asterisms. We can say that Hodierna occupies a privileged place in the history of astronomical observations involving astrology, because he has a new tool that slightly enhances eyesight maintaining the same attention to the sky appearance.

His nebulae classification is of great interest: he divides them into three categories according to their appearance to the naked eye and the telescope:

• Luminosæ as Pleiades , the eye distinguishes already some stars and the telescope can show many more;

• Nebulosæ, such as Præsepe[16]: the eye can only see an haze without distinguishing the star, which appears only with the telescope

• Occultæ, such as the Andromeda Nebula: the eye sees only a dim spot and not even the telescope can resolve it into stars.

Among the many new nebulae of Hodierna, we mention here only the most important ones.

 

 

A method for extending the catalog

All nebulae which have been observed from Hipparchus to Hodierna's age, must be considered by astrologers, both near or far from the ecliptic, provided that they can rise and set at the observer's latitude[18]. Are there others to add? Certainly, if for no other reason than the Southern hemisphere was not observed and cataloged by Hodierna. We can browse modern astronomical catalogs in search of other star clusters, nebulae or galaxies bright enough to have an hint to the naked eye and even in this way, the catalog would greatly increase. But we will never find a catalog of small asterisms as the eye of Sagittarius, because they are no longer of any interest to astronomers of our time. Therefore it is required a method of analyzing the sky in order to find something fitting with the ancient idea of nebula, including small asterisms.

If we look at the sky with a small pair of binoculars, just enough to see magnitude 8 stars, the appearance of the nebula changes dramatically. Let's see what happens to one of the most famous, Præsepe:

 

Praesepe is composed by hundreds of stars, but these 20 are the ones emitting the brighter light and contribute more than others to create the nebulosity the eye perceives even if unable to distinguish the single stars. The first three are theoretically visible to the naked eye[19]. Let us now numerically evaluate data taking the magnitude 8 as limit . We are basically looking for a "light concentration index" applicable to any set of stars[20].

First we calculate in sq.deg the surface we are considering, by measuring the distance between the extreme stars: 0°.75 in width and 0°.733 in height = 0.55 square deg. Now take note of the magnitudes of the 20 stars, and calculate the total (TM):

	sigla della stella	m.
	TYC1395-2711-1	7,28
	TYC1395-1993-1	7,43
	TYC1395-1928-1	7,43
	TYC1395-1677-1	7,43
	TYC1395-2006-1	7,56
	TYC1395-2198-1	7,62
	TYC1395-2321-1	7,75
	TYC1398-128-1	7,75
	TYC1395-1721-1	7,90
	TYC1395-2003-1	7,93
	TYC1395-2733-1	6,28	ε Cnc, visible
	TYC1398-27-1	6,37	visible
	TYC1395-2963-1	6,40	visible
	TYC1395-2737-1	6,56
	TYC1395-806-1	6,59
	TYC1395-2544-1	6,62
	TYC1395-2024-1	6,75
	TYC1395-2552-1	6,75
	TYC1395-2605-1	6,81
	TYC1395-1804-1	6,87
	TM	142,08

Ω 0.8	Nebula			Name	Const.	Stars	Area	Φ
27,79			Pleiades	Mel 22, M45	Tau	21	0,800	44,46
27,54			Orion Nebula	M42	Ori	20	0,491	35,55
20,55			The sting of the Scorpio	M7	Sco	18	0,215	20,86
18,69			The Diamond cluster	NGC 2516	Car	17	0,515	24,58
18,22			The Hyades	Mel 25	Tau	11	0,600	25,51
16,30			The neck of Orion	λ, φ1, φ2	Ori	8	0,396	19,50
15,42			Auriga's asterism	16, 17, 18, 19	Aur	7	0,183	15,16
14,72			Southern Pleiades	IC 2602, θ Car	Car	28	1,936	40,28
14,51			Jewel Box	NGC 4755	Cru	7	0,007	11,71
14,37			Leo Minor Asterism	27, 28, 30	LMi	7	0,255	15,16
13,91			ο Velorum cluster	IC 2391	Vel	20	1,024	25,36
13,58			The tail of the Scorpio	NGG 6231, ζ	Sco	10	0,020	11,14
13,38			π Puppis association	Cr 135, π	Pup	7	0,333	15,16
13,27			Praesepe	M44	Cnc	20	0,550	17,92
12,42			Puppis cluster	NGC 2451	Pup	14	0,850	20,49
12,16			α Persei cluster	Mel 20	Per	14	1,333	25,94
11,87			σ Persei cluster	σ	Per	6	0,161	11,40
11,31			The Water of Aquarius	ψ1 ψ2 ψ3	Aqr	3	0,400	13,57
11,27			Velorum Asterism	HIP 48374	Vel	5	0,300	12,40
10,58			Asterism under the head of Hydra	HIP 41307	Hya	3	0,043	8,92
10,49			Asterism in the Triangle	γ, δ, 7	Tri	3	0,147	9,94
10,35			Carina cluster	NGC 3293	Car	7	0,002	8,30
9,66			The knee of the Swan	ω1, ω2	Cyg	6	0,204	9,69
9,56			η Carinae cluster	NGC 3372	Car	26	2,053	27,29
9,39			τ Canis Majoris cluster	NGC 2362, τ	CMa	3	0,076	8,23
9,35			The arrow of Sagittarius	M8 - NGC 6530	Sgr	7	0,126	8,66
9,33			Trifid Nebula	M20, NGC 6514	Sgr	8	0,340	10,64
9,28			Canis Minor asterism	β, γ, ε	CMi	5	0,611	13,09
9,02			Vulpecula asterism	18, 19, 20	Vul	5	0,116	8,26
8,91			Centauri asterism	HIP 56573	Cen	3	0,064	7,70
8,90			Eridanus asterism	ρ1, ρ2, ρ3	Eri	3	0,064	7,69
8,58			The Wishing Well cluster	NGC 3532 - C 91	Car	19	0,475	10,94
8,43			al-Sufi's nebula	Collinder 399	Vul	11	1,204	16,89
8,43			Andromeda asterism	63, 64, 65, 66	And	4	0,434	10,40
8,40			In the stern of the Ship	M47 - NGC 2422	Pup	11	0,165	8,11
7,78			Pegasus asterism	34, 35, 37	Peg	5	0,333	8,82
7,76			The eye of Sagittarius	ν1 ν2	Sgr	3	0,043	6,54
7,70			Velorum Cluster	NGC 2547	Vel	5	0,043	6,49
7,61			ι Geminorum cluster	ι , 59, 64, 65	Gem	9	1,305	16,02
7,60			The right hand of Perseus	NGC 869-884	Per	10	0,565	10,38
7,48			Hercules asterism	90	Her	3	0,045	6,32
7,24			Aquila asterism	51 Aql	Aql	6	0,296	7,93
7,20			Piscis Austrinus asterism	υ, μ, τ	PsA	9	1,562	17,01
6,72			Carina cluster	NGC 3114	Car	10	0,275	7,23
6,61			φ Aurigae asterism	φ + *M38	Aur	11	1,647	16,17
6,60			North America Nebula	NGC 7000	Cyg	23	3,870	30,80
6,44			Above the sting of the Scorpio	M6	Sco	6	0,097	5,78
6,44			Cygnus cluster	NGC 6871	Cyg	6	0,080	5,67
6,42			Asterism under the tail of Hydra	54, 55, 56	Hya	7	1,560	15,16
6,32			Canes Venatici Asterism	20, 23	CVn	4	0,944	11,02
6,29			Centaurus cluster	NGC 3766	Cen	4	0,006	5,07
6,22			"Delle caustiche" cluster	M24 - NGC 6603	Sgr	18	1,110	11,88
5,62			Delphinus quadrilateral	α, β, γ, δ	Del	16	5,338	34,50
5,58			The Little Beehive	M41 - NGC 2287	CMa	9	0,179	5,46
5,55			Cygnus cluster	M39	Cyg	7	0,122	5,12
5,24			The Forehead of the Scorpio (π)	Sh2-1	Sco	13	3,423	22,11
4,99			Omega Centauri	ω	Cen	1	0,063	4,30
4,95			ω Sagittarii asterism	ω, 59, 60, 62	Sgr	6	2,020	13,97
4,42			Coma Berenices	Mel 111	Com	25	8,358	40,48
4,14			Ophiuchus cluster	IC 4665	Oph	8	0,190	4,10
3,99			The Andromeda galaxy	M31	And	4	0,653	5,79
3,92			Cluster in Castor's foot	M35	Gem	3	0,111	3,57
3,88			The spine of Capricorn (a)	ζ, 36	Cap	11	3,998	18,61
3,81			47 Tucanae	47	Tuc	1	0,250	4,00
3,29			The spine of Capricorn (b)	ε, κ	Cap	14	4,469	17,35
3,07			Above the head of Medusa	M34	Per	3	0,090	2,73
2,65			Triangle Galaxy	M33	Tri	1	0,067	2,30
2,18			Large Magellanic Cloud	LMC	Dor	6	5,001	12,66
1,66			Small Magellanic Cloud	SMC - NGC 292	Tuc	9	6,000	11,30

 

It is interesting to note that, if we calculate the index in a large area of ​​sky away from the Milky Way, such as the one between Arcturus and the head of the Scorpio, we find 2160 stars within the magnitude 8 in an area of ​​2652 square degrees, and an index of light concentration equal to 0.77:

A rather dark sky area : index 0.77

If on the contrary in the same area we include Milky Way brighter area, the stars rise to 5253 and the index rises to 1.78. In fact, the Milky Way can be considered as a whole large nebula and all the items we listed, with the exception of the Small Magellanic Cloud, are over its average index.

The same area, crossed by the Milky Way: index 1.78

Some of the new clusters and asterisms in this list have very Southern declinations and this may explain their absence in the ancient catalogs. Bright nebulae such as the Diamond Cluster or the Southern Pleiadescertainly would have not escaped to Ptolemy or al-Sufi if they were high enough on their horizons. However some absences are difficult to explain: for example, in the Charioteer's legs there is a very prominent small asterism (16, 17, 18, 19)absent in ancient catalogs, as well as ι Geminorum, even if it is in the middle of a Zodiacal constellation.

 

 

 

Nebulae and blindness

Although nebulae's harmful influence is not limited to the body, the easiest way to test them is to observe those nativities showing a damage to the eyesight. Since blindness is always associated to the intervention of one or more nebulae, if those we have found are really nebulae, we will have to find them highlighted in some way in the nativities of blind persons.

The 18 examples below are only limited to the presence of celestial objects in the most fitting places to receive their influence, without performing a full astrological judgment which would be necessary. Without a doubt among these places the Moon occupies the first place, and Ptolemy limited himself to it. But at the Moon should be certainly added other significators, such as the Sun, the two Lots, the lord of the Horoscope, the two malefic stars, and the two "noble" angles, Horoscope and Midheaven[23].

1) Aleandro Baldi Blind from birth. Greve in Chianti (FI), 43N35, 11E19, April 11, 1959, 16h30m UT, Horoscope: 6°08' Librae. The Pleiades with the Moon; M34, in the head of Medusa, between the Moon and Venus, the lord of the horoscope; Scorpio forehead (π) with Jupiter, in opposition to the Moon; M35, in Castor's foot, with Mars, the Sun ruler.
2) José Feliciano Blind from birth. Lares (Puerto Rico), 18N18, 66W53, September 10, 1946, 12h50m UT (-10m) Horoscope: 23°31 'Librae the Southern Pleiades (θ Car) at the horoscope; IC 2391, ο Velorum cluster, with Venus, lord of the horoscope; NGC 2451, Puppis cluster, at the Midheaven; M47, Puppis cluster, with Saturn at the MC, predominant to the Moon; M31, the Andromeda galaxy at the West M35, cluster in Castor's foot of with Mars, Moon ruler.
3) Stevie Wonder Blind from birth because of suffering in labor Saginaw (MI-USA), 43N25, 83W57, May 13, 1950, 21h25m UT (+10) Horoscope: 14°10' Librae NGC 7000, the North America Nebula, between the West and the Moon; Coma Berenices with Mars, Moon ruler; Asterism in Hydra's tail with Daimon; ι Geminorum Asterism at the Midheaven; τ Canis Majoris cluster at the Midheaven; π Puppis association at the Midheaven.
4) Harvey Yorke Born blind and autistic. Brighton (England), 50N50, 0W08, May 27, 2002, 0h15m UT Horoscope: 14°04' Aquarii M33, the Triangle Galaxy, at the horoscope; ω Sagittarii asterism at the horoscope; ι Geminorum asterism with Daimon Asterism under the Hydra's head with Jupiter, Moon ruler.
5) Jean Langlais Blind since the age of 2: glaucoma. The Fontenelle (France), 48N28, 1W30, February 15, 1907, 15h54m40s UT Horoscope: 10°18' Leonis Orion's neck (λ, φ1, φ2) with Jupiter, the Moon is separating; The eye of Sagittarius (ν1, ν2), with Venus, the Moon is applying; The Dolphin quadrilateral with the Sun; M33, the Triangle Galaxy, at the Midheaven; M35, cluster in the foot of Castor with Jupiter, the Moon is separating; Asterism in Hercules with the Sun.
6) Louis Braille Blind since the age of 3: infection by accident. Coupvray (France), 48N54, 2E48, January 4, 1809, 3h48m48s UT Horoscope: 23°06' Scorpii Asterism in Hydra's tail at the horoscope; Praesepe with the Moon; Dolphin quadrilateral with the Sun; The neck of Orion (λ, φ1, φ2) with Tyche; Cluster in Ophiuchus at the horoscope with Saturn, the Sun ruler.
7) Ray Charles Blind since the age of 7: glaucoma. Albany (NY-USA), 31N35, 84W10, September 23, 1930, 5h51m30s UT Horoscope: 18°06' Cancri Asterism of ι Geminorum at the horoscope with Mars; M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, at the MC, opposed to the Moon, parallel to the Sun Coma Berenices at the Imum Coeli, between the Moon and the Sun; M24 "delle Caustiche" cluster with Saturn square to the Lights. In the 8th year, the Moon comes to the directed square of Mars, which is with the nebula, and the Sun to the square of Saturn.
8) Veronica Blind since the age of 13 years: surgery for a brain tumor. Sesto San Giovanni (MI), 45N32, 9E14, October 17, 1954, 6h50m UT Horoscope: 5°52' Scorpii ι Geminorum asterism with the Moon; The eye of Sagittarius (ν1, ν2) with Mars, lord of the horoscope; M7, the sting of Scorpio, with Jupiter, in conjunction with Mars; Praesepe with Tyche; The spine of Capricorn (ζ, 36) with Daimon. Brain tumor and blindness when Saturn arrives to the horoscope (June 97) while the Moon is opposing Mars (Feb. 95) and Jupiter (March 98) which are with the nebula.
9) Andrea Bocelli Blind since the age of 12: head injury. Lajatico (PI), 43N28, 10E43, September 22, 1958, 4h10m UT, Horoscope: 17°27' Virginis Coma Berenices (Mel 111) at the horoscope, with Venus and its ruler Mercury; Puppis cluster (NGC 2451) at the horoscope, with Venus and its ruler Mercury; ω Sagittarii asterism with the Moon; Pleiades with Mars; Asterism in Hercules with the Moon. In the 13th year the degree 7°45' Aquarii, which has Mars' opposite declination (-18.33) arrives to the direction of the Moon.
10) Blind 11919 source: AstroDatabank. Blind since birth and mentally retarded. Los Angeles (CA-USA), 34N04, 115W15, July 14, 1951, 4h18m UT Horoscope 17°03' Aquarii. Praesepe with Mercury, the Moon is separating; Asterism under the head of the Hydra with the Sun, the Moon is applying; The water of Aquarius with Daimon; Puppis cluster (M47, NGC 2422) with Mars, ruler of the Moon; The forehead of the Scorpio (π) with Daimon, at the Midheaven; The Hyades (Mel 25) with Tyche, at the Imum Coeli. Hydra Cluster (M48) with the Sun, the Moon is applying; Asterism in the tail of the Hydra with the Moon.
11) Annalisa Minetti She gradually loses sight from the age of 6 and at 20 is almost completely blind because of a retinitis pigmentosa with macular degeneration. Rho (MI), 45N32, 9E02, December 27, 1976, 16h55m UT, Horoscope: 21°20' Cancri The Orion Nebula (M42) at the horoscope; Pleiades with Jupiter, ruler of the Moon and Daimon; Water of Aquarius with Daimon; Dolphin quadrilateral with Venus, Tyche ruler; Coma Berenices (Mel 111) with Tyche; M8, the Lagoon nebula between the Sun and Mars, which is under the beams; Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in the tenth house; Asterism under the Hydra's head with Saturn, ruler of the Sun; M24, "delle Caustiche" cluster with the Sun;
During the period of progressive vision loss, Andromeda nebula transits by direction on the Moon, reaching Daimon in the 20th year, when the Moon came to the square in mundo of Mars and Saturn and the parallel with the Sun.
12) Blind 36228 source: AstroDatabank. Blind and mentally retarded. Johannesburg (South Africa), 26S15, 28E00, August 5, 1954, 5h20m UT, Horoscope 21°38' Aquarii Coma Berenices (Mel 111) with the Moon[24]; Asterism in the Centaur (HIP 56573) with the Sun; Canes Venatici asterism (20, 23) with Saturn, lord of the horoscope and the Sun; On the sting of the Scorpio (M6) with Mars, ruler of the Moon; The Diamond cluster (NGC 2516) with Daimon; The Little Beehive (M41, NGC 2287) with Daimon; The Wishing Well (NCG 3532) with Mercury; Asterism in Vela (HIP 48374) with Mercury; The Hyades (Mel 25) at the Midheaven; Centaurus cluster (NGC 3766) with Mercury.
13) Blind 'G' source: Ufficiale[25] Blind since the age of 6 months. Rome, 41N54, 12E29, March 27, 1952, 7h00m UT Horoscope 21°42' Taurus Pleiades at the horoscope; Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with Venus, lord of the horoscope; Triangle asterism (γ, δ, 7) with the Sun; Coma Berenices (Mel 111) at the West, with Mars; The Scorpio forehead (π) at the West, with Mars; Asterism of ω Sagittarii at the Midheaven; Asterism in Vulpecula (18, 19, 20) at the Midheaven; Cluster in Cygnus (NGC 6871) at the Midheaven.
14) Alex source: Ufficiale. Congenital glaucoma. Milan, 45N28, 9E11 - December 17, 1977, 9h52m UT (- 10m) Horoscope 12°27' Aquarii Water of Aquarius with the Moon; Triangle Galaxy (M33) with the Moon; The tail of Scorpio (ζ) with the Sun; North America Nebula (NGC 7000) with the Sun; Pleiades with Tyche; Puppis cluster (M47, NGC 2422) with Jupiter, ruler of the Moon; Praesepe at the West, with Mars[26]; Pegasus asterism (34, 35, 37), at the horoscope; Cluster in Castor's foot (M35) with Jupiter, ruler of the Moon.
15) Hellen Keller source: AstroDatabank. Blind and deaf from the age of 19 months, for "brain fever." Tuscumbia (AL-USA), 34N43, 87W42, June 27, 1880, 21h37m10s UT (-15m38s) Horoscope 22°07' Scorpii Water of Aquarius with the Moon; Vela asterism (HIP 48374) with Mars, lord of the horoscope; Andromeda Galaxy (M31) on the cusp of the 6th house with Saturn; Puppa cluster (M47, NGC 2422) with the Sun; Leo Minor asterism (27, 28, 30) at Midheaven; Cluster in the foot of Castor (M35) with Venus, under the Sun beams.
In the nineteenth month the Moon perfects its parallel in mundo with Mars, being with both nebulae in the nativity. In the revolution of the second year, the Moon is with ι Geminorum and receives the predominant square by both malefics in Taurus, being Saturn with α Persei cluster (Mel 20).
16) Kirk R. Roland source: AstroDatabank. Blind since the age of two because an error in medical treatment[27]. Columbus (OH, USA), 39N57, 82W59 - August 7, 1935, 21h38m UT (-7m) Horoscope 26°06' Sagittarii Asterism in the tail of Hydra between the conjunction of Moon and Jupiter; Trifid Nebula (M20) at the horoscope; Canes Venatici asterism (20, 23) at the Midheaven; Piscis Austrinus asterism (υ, μ, τ) with Saturn; M24, "delle Caustiche" cluster at the horoscope. In 1937, the Moon and Saturn perfect by direction their mundane parallel.
17) Giuseppe Borgatti source: AstroDatabank. Became blind at age 43 for glaucoma. Cento (FE), 44N43, 11E17 - March 17, 1871, 14h10m UT Horoscope 20° 58' Sagittarii. The spine of Capricorn (ζ, 36) with the Moon; The eye of Sagittarius (ν1, ν2) with Saturn, ruler of the Moon; M34, the head of Medusa, at Midheaven; The asterism under the head of the Hydra at the horoscope; Coma Berenices (Mel 111) with the preceding syzygy (PL 16 ° Virginis); Water of Aquarius with Mercury, opposed to syzygy; Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with Venus; Cluster in Ophiuchus (IC 4665) with Saturn, ruler of the Moon.
In 1914, the Moon perfects the in mundo direction with Saturn, Mars to the parallel with the Moon, Venus and Mercury. The tenor becomes suddenly blind during a performance.
18) Claudio Source: author's archive. He lost his right eye at age 40 because of a badly treated infection. Milan, 45N28, 9E11, November 3, 1946, 22h13m UT Horoscope 11°09' Leonis. Dolphin Quadrilateral with the Moon; Vulpecula asterism (18, 19, 20) with the Moon; Praesepe with Saturn; Leo Minor Asterism (27, 28, 30) with Saturn; Asterism under Hydra's head with the Sun; The Scorpio forehead (π) with Mars and Venus; Triangle Galaxy (M33) at the Midheaven. In the spring of 1987, the sun arrives at parallel of Mars, which is with Scorpio forehead.

 

Conclusions

The nativities we showed seem to confirm that many of these objects deserve to be considered in the astrological survey as the nebulae known for centuries. In the 18 examples examined, we saw 48 of the 69 items of the catalog. Among these there are 16 appearing at least three times, for a total of 71 appearances, divided in the following way[28]:

 

 

 

Among the most common nebulae there are some with a high degree of light intensity (such as Pleiades or Praesepe) and others with a very low index (such as Andromeda Galaxy, the Triangle or Coma Berenices). This means that the index itself does not measure a nebula's harmfulness level but only its group membership. The method can be refined and the list can be further increased[29], but some of the new items we have so far identified already appear to claim their right of citizenship in a new astrological catalog of nebulae.

nebula	nativity	number
Coma Berenices	7	Wonder, Charles, Bocelli, Minetti, Blind 36228, Blind «G», Borgatti
M31, the Andromeda Galaxy	6	Feliciano, Charles, Minetti, Blind «G», Keller, Borgatti
M35, in the foot of Castor	5	Baldi, Feliciano, Langlais, Alex, Keller
Asterism under the head of Hydra	5	Yorke, Blind 11919, Minetti, Borgatti, Claudio
Water of Aquarius	5	Blind 11919, Minetti, Alex, Keller, Borgatti
Pleiades	5	Baldi, Bocelli, Minetti, Blind «G», Alex
Praesepe	5	Braille, Veronica, Blind 11919, Alex, Claudio
M47, Puppis cluster	4	Feliciano, Blind 11919, Alex, Keller
ι Geminorum asterism	4	Wonder, Yorke, Charles, Veronica
Asterism under the tail of Hydra	4	Wonder, Braille, Blind 11919, Roland
M33, the Triangle Galaxy	4	Yorke, Langlais, Alex, Claudio
The Dolphin quadrilateral	4	Langlais, Braille, Minetti, Claudio
The Scorpio forehead (π)	4	Baldi, Blind 11919, Blind «G», Claudio
M24 delle Caustiche cluster	3	Charles, Minetti, Roland
ω Sagittarii asterism	3	Yorke, Bocelli, Blind «G»
The eye of Sagittarius (ν1, ν2)	3	Langlais, Veronica, Borgatti
Cluster in Ophiuchus (IC 4665)	2	Braille, Borgatti
Puppis cluster (NGC 2451)	2	Feliciano, Bocelli
Hercules asterism	2	Langlais, Bocelli
Canes Venatici asterism (20, 23)	2	Blind 36228, Roland
Leo Minor asterism (27, 28, 30)	2	Keller, Claudio
Vela asterism (HIP 48374)	2	Blind 36228, Keller
Vulpecula asterism in (18, 19, 20)	2	Blind "G", Claudio
The Hyades (Mel 25)	2	Blind 11919, Blind 36228
North America Nebula (NGC 7000)	2	Wonder, Alex
M34, the head of Medusa	2	Baldi, Borgatti
The neck of Orion	2	Langlais, Braille
The spine of Capricorn (ζ, 36)	2	Veronica, Borgatti
o Velorum cluster (IC 2391)	1	Feliciano
τ Canis Majoris cluster	1	Wonder
Cluster in Centaurus (NGC 3766)	1	Blind 36228
Cluster in Cygnus (NGC 6871)	1	Blind «G»
M48, Hydra cluster	1	Blind 11919
π Puppis association	1	Wonder
Pegasus asterism (34, 35, 37)	1	Alex
Centaurus asterism (HIP 56573)	1	Blind 36228
Piscis Austrinus asterism (υ, μ, τ)	1	Roland
Triangle asterism (γ, δ, 7)	1	Blind «G»
M41, the Small Hive	1	Blind 36228
The Wishing Well (NCG 3532)	1	Blind 36228
The Diamond cluster (NGC 2516)	1	Blind 36228
The tail of Scorpio (ζ)	1	Alex
M42, the Orion Nebula	1	Minetti
Trifid Nebula	1	Roland
Southern Pleiades	1	Feliciano
M6, over the sting of the Scorpio	1	Blind 36228
M7, the sting of the Scorpio	1	Veronica
M8, the Lagoon nebula	1	Minetti

 

APPENDIX 2
Areas with the highest concentration of nebulae
in the 18 nativities examined

with a malefic	25
with the Moon	17
at the Midheaven	15
at the horoscope	14
with the Sun	14
with the lord of the Moon	10
with the lord of the horoscope	8
with Daimon	8

 

 

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DIGITAL RESOURCES

Starry Night Pro Plus 6.2.3, Imaginova Canada 1997-2006.

Phαsis 1.0, classical astrology software, Milano 2011.

Deep Sky Database

The Messier Catalog

History of the discovery of the deep sky objects

Historical deep sky object list, Frommert H., Kronberg C.,

Hodierna's Deep Sky Observations

Atlas Coelestis , Felice Stoppa's site dedicated to the history of celestial cartography.