an image of a meteor flashing through the sky

Image of a revolving globe showing current sea levels since the end of the last ice age, before which many ancient societies like Atlantis flourished all over planet Earth on the continental shelves that were inundated by the rising sea levels caused by the melting ice sheets.

text translation service for many worldwide languages

[Polly and I are devastated to announce that on Saturday January 30th 2021, John was walking to the shops along a sidestreet in Southport he has used for more than 10 years and was attacked from behind by an unknown assailant. The man slapped the back of his head, did the same to the right side of his head while shouting something John couldn’t hear or make out. He then either hit him in the sternum with a fist or elbow. John lost his balance and fell over. Realising he would fall, John put his Right hand and arm over his head to prevent it impacting the ground and this saved him any head traumas.

The male attacker then calmly walked away aware that no-one had witnessed the assault which took place behind a high-sided vehicle. It was approx 17:15 and was just getting dark. John could only see the back of the man – dark or black clothes with a black hoody up over his head, and he glanced back quickly twice but by them he was about 150 yards away and John could not make out any features. One local private CCTV camera showed John walking slowly up to this vehicle and a young male walking quickly behind him. Only the attacker appared from behind the larger vehicle walking more slowly down the street. John was on the floor behind the larger vehicle where the assault took place. Police said there were no other CCTV cameras in the area, so the assault itself was not captured on video.

It was almost 1 hour and 30 minutes before the ambulance arrived, though the police arrived after around an hour. John has some medical training with St. John’s Ambulance – the last time in 1999 – and did a quick self-assessment, diagnosing a possible broken left femur and/or hip. By then the temperature had dropped to minus 3/4 degrees centigrade, and John was lucky not to have slipped into serious hypothermia.

When the ambulance arrived he told the paramedics what he suspected and after they examined John on the ground they concurred. It took them 10 minutes to get him on a stretcher and into the ambulance. John was fully awake throughout and in incredible pain but remained alert and coherent throughout, engaging with the police and paramedics.They took him to Southport A & E holding area where he was immediately tested for the SARS CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19. All tests were thankfully negative so they put him in the non-covid A&E bay. X-rays showed several fractures in the neck of his left femur, and after some welcome morphine he had a less painful but rough night and an emergency operation first thing next morning.

After almost 2 weeks in hospital, and much physiotherapy, he was discharged to home with a ‘stroller’ – like a small zimmer frame with 2 wheels on the front – where he remains in recovery. Due to lockdowns Polly and I have not been able to leave the Frankfurt area of Germany to be with him, but a Polish friend, Dawid, has been helping John with his shopping needs, and clearing a pathway for him to get to the bathroom/bedroom/kitchen and lounge on his own using his stroller.

As of February 28 2021, John can now get himself up out of bed, wash and dress himself, and make his own food and hot drinks, but understands he will not be able to continue updating The Morien Institute website he has edited for the past 25 years. He also understands he will not be able to walk again unaided for the rest of his life, though knowing John we can confidently say he will undoubtedly try his best to do so. He is not a quitter, and we hope to be able get to him soon and find a new home for him more suitable to his new level of physical abilities, and hopefully help him regain as much mobility as possible – Helen

UPDATE APRIL 01 2021 – John is progressing slowly in his efforts to regain his mobility following the attack of January 30th 2021 which left him with a fractured Neck of his Left Femur. The emergency operation he had the following day went well, but since he has been discharged from hospital it has been a struggle for him to live independently despite daily help from his friend, Dawid, who does shopping for him. We are all very grateful to Dawid.

Obviously John cannot sit at the computer for very long at all without experiencing severe pain, so there will be no further updates of The Morien Institute website until Polly and I can arrange regular access to the servers to help him. This cannot be done at the moment as we are still in lockdown outside of Frankfurt and Germany is experiencing another lockdown due to a surge in new variant Covid-19 cases. PLEASE bear with us during these tragic times for John, and many thanks to all those who have sent good wishes to John. They are really appreciated – Helen

UPDATE MAY 01 2021 – In discussion with John it has been decided that The Morien Institute website wil no longer be updated. It is is simply too much work to do, especially when numerous authors, researchers and other websites are using the daily News pages to cherry-pick items to put in their books, documentaries and on their websites without ever a thought of crediting John’s hard work researching them. It’s as if for these parasites The Morien Institute doesn’t exist.

As we get advised from our various research associates about these issues we are all inceasingly disgusted, and everyone agrees that after almost 25 years John has succeeded in changing the world’s appreciation of the dynamic events in our solar system that give a clearer picture of prehistory than mainstream historians and archaeologists have presented to us before John undertook this momentous research task. Well done John! You deserve a good rest. – Helen

This year The Morien Institute Skywatching Calendar will be much reduced compared to previous years

Skywatching Calendars for:

April – June 2021 |
July – September 2021 |
October – December 2021

For Your Safety When Daytime Skywatching Please Visit These Websites:

Safe SunWatching |
Observing Eclipses Safely |
Safely Viewing Sunspots

Safety In Sight |
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

Useful Websites for Skywatchers:

Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series

Space Weather Radio

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive 1996 to present

António Cidadão’s Practical Advice for Astrophotography & CCD Imaging

Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy Website debunks astro-nonsense

How do I translate Universal Time (UT) into my time?

As of January 01 2021

according to Near-Earth Asteroid (NEO) monitoring groups there were

2037

KNOWN Potentially Hazardous Asteroids

in Earth-crossing orbits

Why Does This Number Go Up, Then Sometimes Go Down?

Book an Educational Visit to the UK SpaceGuard Centre

The National Near Earth Objects Information Centre

is located in Knighton, Powys, LD7 1LW, Wales, United Kingdom

It is open for Public Tours (suitable for ages 9+), and also for

School Tours (suitable for primary & secondary schools)

They are are easily accessible – See Map and directions

Impact Craters on Earth, our Moon
and the other planets in our Solar System

NASA JPL Asteroid Watch

The 3,600 year-old Nebra Sky Disc

Made of bronze, with gold decorations of the Sun, Moon and Pleiades

click the image to find out more

Free Open Source Planetarium

For Your Computer

– Enjoy –

Today is

Thursday, February 23, 2023

SpaceWeather Information & Resources

Getting Ready for the Next Big Solar Storm

NASA Living With a Star

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center |

The Australian Space Weather Agency

Space Weather Radio |

ESA Space Environment Information System

Space weather influences on atmospheric electricity

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

Realtime Comet Photo Galleries

Panspermia – Cosmic Ancestry

Heliophysics is a fast-developing scientific discipline that integrates studies of the Sun’s variability,

the surrounding heliosphere, and the environment and climate of planets

Over the past few centuries, our understanding of how the Sun drives space weather and climate

the Earth and other planets has advanced at an ever increasing rate

January 2021 Celestial Events & Space Research News

January 2021 SkyMaps & Sky Guides will not be available until January 1st

The Astronomy Picture of the Day feature will not be available until that date

It is updated daily using Universal Time (UT) which is the same as GMT

January 2021 –
SkyMaps & Celestial Guides
…..

BBC The Sky at Night – January 2021

Meteorite Times Magazine – January 2021 – usually available middle of the month

Radio Jove – Solar & Planetary Radio Astronomy for Schools

At the start of January 2021 the Sunspot Number is 25

January 01 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Asteroid 2021 AA encounter – miss distance 0.6 LD, size = 15 metres

Apollo Asteroid 2021 AA Near-Earth Flyby (0.002 AU)

“Some of Hayabusa2’s Samples are as Big as a Centimeter”

“January: The Hyades & Pleiades”

January 02 2021 – 13:51 UT

Earth at Perihelion

(closest to the Sun = 0.983 AU)

January 02 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Apollo Asteroid 2019 YH2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.019 AU)

“The Personnel of Space Force Will be Called Guardians”

January 03 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Asteroid 2021 AH encounter – miss distance 0.1 LD, size = 7 metres

Aten Asteroid 2020 YA1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.010 AU)

Aten Asteroid 2020 YP4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.015 AU)

Quadrantids (QUA) Meteor Shower Peak – IMO Details – watch after midnight hours

Quadrantids Meteor Shower

“Bill to Protect Lunar Artifacts Signed into Law”

January 04 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Asteroid 2021 AB encounter – miss distance 2.2 LD, size = 33 metres

Apollo Asteroid 2021 AB Near-Earth Flyby (0.006 AU)

2021 Quadrantid meteor shower – watch in pre-dawn hours

Quadrantids meteor shower peak – watch in pre-dawn hours

“Sky This Month: January 2021”

January 05 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

“Venus was once more Earth-like, but climate change made it uninhabitable”

“Meet Kochab, a Guardian of the Pole”

“Here’s the Asteroid Hayabusa2 is Going to be Visiting Next”

“Carrington Event” – audio and transcript

“The Interior of Enceladus Looks Really Great for Supporting Life”

January 06 2021 – 09:37 UT

Third Lunar Quarter

January 06 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Apollo Asteroid 2018 KP1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.021 AU)

Apollo Asteroid 2021 AC Near-Earth Flyby (0.023 AU)

Apollo Asteroid 332446 (2008 AF4) Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU)

“Arecibo is dead. Should we build its replacement on the Moon?”

January 07 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

“New Observations Agree That the Universe is 13.77 Billion Years old”

“How to Warn of Imminent Neutron Star Collisions”

“The Sky This Week centred on Australasia January 07 – January 14”

January 08 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

“The Sky This Week: Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury jockey for position”

“Stellar Flares May Not Condemn a Planet’s Habitability”

January 09 2021 – 15:39 UT

Moon at Perigee

(closest to the Earth = 367,390 km)

January 09 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Mercury
Passes 1.7° From
Saturn – as seen from Earth

“Winning Urban Farming Ideas for Mars!”

January 10 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
……

Astronomy Picture of the Day

“Amateur Astronomer Finds ‘Lost’ Moons of Jupiter”

January 11 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Mercury
Passes 1.5° From
Jupiter – as seen from Earth

Amor Asteroid 2013 YS2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.047 AU

Apollo Asteroid 2020 RO6 Near-Earth Flyby (0.050 AU)

“Perseverance rover: The search for life on Mars begins in February”

January 12 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Asteroid 2021 AX1 encounter – miss distance 1.5 LD, size = 11 metres

“The history of cosmic rays is buried beneath our feet”

“With its New Extension, Juno is Going to be Visiting Jupiter’s Moons”

January 13 2021 – 05:00 UT

New Moon

January 13 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Asteroid 2021 AT5 encounter – miss distance 2 LD, size = 11 metres

“Rocky Planet Found Around 10 Billion-Year-Old Star”

“Will Solar Cycle 25 Dazzle or Fizzle in 2021?”

January 14 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Asteroid 2021 AZ5 encounter – miss distance 1.6 LD, size = 9 metres

“The Sky This Week centred on Australasia January 14 – January 21”

“Mars is Still an Active World. Here’s a Landslide in Nili Fossae”

January 15 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Astronomy Picture of the Day

“Astronomers edge closer to detecting background ‘sea’ of gravitational waves”

“The UK is Considering Nuclear Propulsion in Space”

January 16 2021 –
Today’s Celestial Events & Space Exploration News
…..

Skywatching Calendars for: April – June 2021 | July – September 2021 | October – December 2021

Skywatching Calendars for: April – June 2021 | July – September 2021 | October – December 2021

Skywatching Calendars for:

April – June 2021 |
July – September 2021 |
October – December 2021

Skywatching Calendars for:

April – June 2021 |
July – September 2021 |
October – December 2021