3I/ATLAS color image, Taken by Michael Jaeger on November 19, 2025 @ Stixendorf, Austria
The Amateurs Steal the Show
INTERSTELLAR COMET 3I/ATLAS IN COLOR: Who needs satellites and space agencies? Using a backyard telescope on Earth, amateur astronomers Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann have just captured the best-yet color image of interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS. It is unmistakably a comet.
“We used a 12-inch telescope with a QHY600 cooled astronomy camera and color filters,” says Jäger.
With one exception (discussed below), the photo is “classic comet.” The comet’s long tail streams straight away from the sun, sculpted by solar wind. Its blue color comes from carbon monoxide ions, CO+, a compound found in almost all Solar System comets. The comet’s head is green because of another common molecule, diatomic carbon (C2), which is released from icy comet cores when they get close to the sun.
Now for the exception: There is a jet poking out of 3I/ATLAS’s head toward the sun. It stands out in this black-and-white image taken by Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann on Nov. 20th:
This is unusual. Solar System comets rarely have such “anti-tails.” This has prompted some (actually just one) astronomer to suggest that 3I/ATLAS might have an artificial thruster.
There is, however, a completely natural explanation. 3I/ATLAS spent a very long time in interstellar space. Billions of years of cosmic ray bombardment may have altered its surface–knocking hydrogen atoms out while heavier molecules remained behind. Now that 3I/ATLAS is in our solar system, sunlight is warming that crust and causing it to shed relatively large, heavy grains of dust. These grains are too massive to be quickly pushed around by radiation pressure or the solar wind. Instead they linger, creating a sunward-pointing jet that does not bend backward like a normal tail.
The backyard conclusion: 3I/ATLAS is a comet, and a wonderful one.
WHERE IS INTERSTELLAR COMET 3I/ATLAS? Answer: In the constellation Virgo. You can find 3I/ATLAS in the morning sky (look east before sunrise) very close to the 4th magnitude star eta Virginis. The comet itself is 10th magnitude, so it is a relatively easy target for mid-sized backyard telescopes. Sky maps: Nov. 23, 24, 25, 26.
Daily Sun: 22 Nov 25
All of these sunspots are stable and quiet. Strong solar flares are unlikely today. Credit: NASA/SDO
Coronal Holes: 22 Nov 25
Solar wind flowing from this southern coronal hole should reach Earth on Nov. 25-26. Credit: NASA/SDO | more data
LASCO2 Coronograph: Visit NOAA for the animation.
LASCO coronographs are part of the SOHO suite of instruments. SOHO is a space mission called the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, a joint project between NASA and ESA that studies the Sun. Its instruments observe the Sun from its core to its outer atmosphere and the solar wind, providing data that has revolutionized the field of heliophysics (the study of the Sun) and helped predict space weather. SOHO is also the greatest comet hunter in history, having discovered more than 3,000 comets that pass close to the Sun.
MAYAN CALENDAR TIME AND SYNCHRONICITY
By God’s Divine Design we are all Gifted in Harmony and Equity to carry out our own Mission. God offers a special provision for those who can’t see by expanding human capabilities of spatial discernment. We are of Divine use in God’s hands in spite of human disabilities. Those with Down’s Syndrome are a perfect example of Humans with a special capacity for Love.
Amateurs have a special capacity to look through the eyes of wonder in the Light of all there is to know. We’ve been taught by the world that the letters and titles are the proof of wisdom. They are Signs of Knowledge (sometimes), but not proof of Wisdom. Academic Astronomers Love their work enough to share. There’s room for everyone in the field of exploring the unknown. The wisdom of Einstein and DaVinci wasn’t proven by a degree. In fact, most of the Geniuses of whose names have gone down in history, worked alone… motivated by their own passion to know.
Don’t expect anyone in the “world’s order” to agree, UNTIL the Truth was brought to Light. Then we wonder “how in the world” they figured it out. It’s said that Einstein formed his famous theory following a beam of Light from a lamp post. Who wouldn’t think he was crazy, before his theory was proven to have merit. (My favorite vision of Einstein-working is sitting at his desk, looking off into space. It’s unlikely the boss’s first impression would be productive-time on the job.)
We were gifted by God with our own different ways. If humans think we’re crazy, there’s a good chance we’re onto something they haven’t seen before. When God offers the Light, he opens our eyes to see.
Micah 2:1 KJV
2 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
The author of evil is well-practiced at his craft. (Evil plans ahead for the next opportunity to throw shade over the Light of Divine Inspiration.) We are empowered through a practice of Faith in the Power and Authority of God’s Truth and Love.
Micah was an Old Testament prophet who ministered to both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the 8th century BCE. A contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, he is known for his messages of judgment against the social injustices and corruption of the time. Though his Divine Discernment contains prophecies of hope for restoration. The book of Micah contains one of his most famous lines:
Micah 6:8
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”
James 4:10-10 KJV
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
James was lame, though he was given the Power of the Holy Spirit to heal others. His Faith was greater than his infirmity. When we stand in Faith, God can use our limitations to prove we are ALL enough to carry out God’s Divine Plan for our life.
Give thanks for Amateurs and Truth we can discover in our own backyard. Give thanks for the academics who are open to the wisdom of amateurs.
The indigenous peoples saw comets as a Sign of God’s Spirit. They could see a comet as the Sign of Light of Spirit headed our way. That theory won’t be published in the academic journals. When the majority thinks it’s crazy, it’s a good sign of the Light of Divine Genius offered directly from the One who knows it all.
The heavenly signs of November herald the Light of the Scion that will be born again, after the darkest nights of the year. Don’t have faith in yourself. Have faith in what God can do.
Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
THE TRECENA OF WISDOM/CIB: AN APPLICATION OF TRUTH
MAYAN CALENDAR DAYKEEPER’S JOURNAL
4 Storm/CAUAC, (Cherokee, Redbird/TOTSU’HWA), Destiny Kin 199, Position 19
November 22, 2025, 11/22/2025; Rounds Before: 03/07/2025, 06/20/2024, 10/04/2023
THE TRECENA OF WISDOM/CIB: AN APPLICATION OF TRUTH
Visit the 13-Day Trecena Guide Page for the “Tzolk’in Field Guide: A Daily Practice for Personal Discernment.” My gift for the Tzolk’in round offers an overview for each 13-day trecena and the aspects of each day of the Tzolk’in round. The page also offers a link to resources for your own practice of counting the days to conceive your own discernment of the Meaning of Time.
THE SEASON OF ASCENSION: The Wisdom/CIB trecena begins the 4th Season, found in VOLUME 2: Tzolk’in Seasons 3 and 4 (PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 20, 2020)
4 Storm/CAUAC, (Cherokee, Redbird/TOTSU’HWA) – Day 4 of 13 of the 1 Wisdom/CIB trecena
Descriptions by Ian Xel Lungold (12 Sun/AHAU), wisdom and FREE Tzolk’in calculator preserved on MayanMajix.com
Galactic Tone 4: Stability; the cube is most stable of all forms and establishes volume by definition of height, length, depth and breadth; 4 directions establish orientation. The energy of 4 sets the parameters, which establish the freedoms and barriers needed to create a game, work, or relationship.
Storm/Cauac: Day of the blessing of rain, giver of all life and lightening, a gift of nitrogen to Mother Earth and ozone to Father Sky. Cauac is also associated with the moon and the cycles of the moon, which are the meter of the feminine aspect of creation. The essence of Storm is the feeling of unity, security and warmth experienced in the home while the tempest of trouble rages in the world outside. Perpetually youthful, Storms exist to experience the ecstasy of freedom. They have the great capacity to both learn and teach. Their constant quest for novel experiences often leads to difficult tests and storms of emotion. Looking at these difficulties for the lessons they indeed are, will enrich our lives rather than destroy. Cauac individuals teach much through their electricity of being. Lightning energizes earth, this same energy energizes humans. Divine connections can be accessed.
A GOOD DAY TO: Count your lessons as blessings and your enemies as angels.
Cherokee, Redbird/TOTSU’HWA: Redbird’s symbol is Alcyone of the Pleiades Star in constellation Taurus. Alcyone is the Central Sun of the Universe, heart of heaven. Lightning is the visible evidence of the presence of Redbird Spirit in the Sky, daughter of the Sun Spirit, sign of Fire, Sun’s alter ego on Earth. Redbird is a feminine sign; the hand that rocks the cradle. The symbol of nurturing, the lightning nurtures and energizes, with energy for zest, curiosity, imagination, and ideas. Lightning adds spiritual force to the human by way of “lightning of the blood” of a healer, directly body to body vibration. The key to spiritual communication and access to the wisdom of the Ancestors lies in the ability to bestir the blood to speak. Sacred stones such as flint, obsidian, crystal are created by lightning striking the ground.
[Text in italics was the primary source of inspiration for my journal. These are the sources that started my journey and they are the reference for interpretation each day. By providing the original text, I hope to offer a way to see what inspired my thoughts and by including all the aspects – allow for something more to inspire you. Mayan descriptions are those written by Ian Lungold. Cherokee descriptions came from multiple sources. Links to sources and other resources of study are offered on the Daykeeper Resources Page. ~Debra]
