Will there actually be a galactic alignment in 2012?

Question

Both the Mayans and Nostradamus predicted that the world will come to any end in the year 2012, when they forsaw a rare alignment of the sun and planets with the center of our galaxy. It is said that this galactic alignment occurs every 13,000 years and seems to have devastating effects on mankind. Some say that some type of energy is emitted and waves of this energy roll on for hundreds of years. Do astronomers have any kind of proof of this kind of event actually happening?

Also, the Mayans predicted that Venus, a very important symbol in their mythology, will cross the face of the sun and be visable to us. It was to be a warning of the event to come on 12/21/2012. Can this happen along with the supposed galactic alignment?

Answer 1

I have doubts about any galactic issue effecting us on a regular time scale. If it did whack us every 13, 000 years we would never have evolved to our present state. Or maybe this is what did bring us about by surges in radiation and mutations. Still It would take a lot of time for live to evolve to it's higher states I would guess and if the world had a life killing experience every 13K years there wouldn't be really much life in more than a very primitive nature. Only guessing.

Also. if we get centered with the black hole and it causes any different energy output we would see a lot of evidence of this at other stars that are going through this so called alignment all the time around us.

You know I don't get into this 2012 stuff much and take a wait and see stance.

But I am starting to wonder if we do have something coming after all.

With the rising instability in the middle east this will effect the whole world and how bad this gets can have a ripple effect around the world and I hope it's not the snowball at the top of the mountain getting larger as it rolls downhill if you follow me.

They are not going to see stability in the countries that are revolting for many years and are lucky if they each don't have to face civil wars before the dust clears and they form new stable governments.

The way I see it I'm very worried. Even if 2012 is just a ending date on a old calendar and nothing comes of that something is going to come of what is going on over there currently. If oil production is pulled down to a trickle it may really start one heck of a snowball effect.

So keep your eyes open I guess.

Answer 2

The only alignment that will occur in 2012 is the approximate alignment that occurs every year on the solstices. There will never be an alignment of all the planets with the Sun and the galactic plane. Astronomers have proof that such and alignment can't happen. The planets don't all orbit on the same plane. So there is something like 1 chance in 13 trillion years of its ever happening. That's just for the Solar System to completely align all the planets from the Sun outward, it doesn't include aligning with the galactic plane. Since the Earth has existed for about 4.5 billion years and has about that long to go before the Sun becomes a red giant, it isn't going to be around for even 13 billion years, let alone 13 trillion. If such an alignment of the Solar System could and did occur, the effect would be absolutely nothing except for sea levels to be less than the thickness of a human hair higher. Pretty scary, huh?



Neither the Maya nor Nostradamus predicted that the world would end in 2012. That was all invented by the 2012 brigade as a money making hoax. The Maya did leave an inscription regarding a celebration they intended to have in 3797. Nostradamus made predictions as far out as 4777. That doesn't sound much like either expected the world to end in 2012.



There will be a transit of Venus across the face of the Sun from our view here on Earth. It will be the last one this century. The last one before this was in June 2004. This one will be June 6, 2012. They come in pairs 8 years apart and then have a gap of over 100 years before the next pair. In this case, the next pair will be December 2117 and December 2125. So, if you get a chance to see this one, you should take it. I'm hoping to see it. It isn't a spectacular sight, just a small black dot moving across the face of the Sun. Still, since I missed the one in 2004, I'm hoping to see this one.



In the Dresden Codex, the Maya charted Venus' full cycle, but despite their precise knowledge of its course, there is no mention of the transit.

Answer 3

The Earth, the Sun and the centre of the galaxy will be in an approximate line in 2012. But it is only approximate, was closest to true in 1998 and happens twice every year about 6 months apart.



Will there actually be a galactic alignment in 2012?



No.



Both the Mayans and Nostradamus predicted that the world will come to any end in the year 2012,



No they did not. The Mayans certainly did not and anyone who cites Nostradamus is trying to sell you something worthless.



It is said that this galactic alignment occurs every 13,000 years and seems to have devastating effects on mankind.



It may be said by some - some frauds, that is.



Some say that some type of energy is emitted and waves of this energy roll on for hundreds of years. Do astronomers have any kind of proof of this kind of event actually happening?



Astronomers have no evidence of this at all and regard the idea as nonsense.



Also, the Mayans predicted that Venus, a very important symbol in their mythology, will cross the face of the sun and be visable to us. It was to be a warning of the event to come on 12/21/2012.



Transits of Venus were used by astronomers to calculate the distance of the Earth from the Sun, which was important for correct ship navigation and land surveying. The first concerted attempts to measure them were in 1769 when several expeditions were made to observe a transit. One of these expeditions was commanded by James Cook who sailed to Tahiti from England, then mapped the entire coast of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia on the way back.



Can this happen along with the supposed galactic alignment?



The 2012 transit will be on 6 June 2012 and will take a few hours but the supposed doom is scheduled for 21 December, more than 6 months later.

Answer 4

No, not at all. Please don't worry about what you might have heard on TV, the radio or in the movies. Their reasons are all bunk.



The sad part about all the 2012 uproar is that so many of its components are recycled. Just about any of the astronomical "catastrophes" have been the subjects of warnings before this. The likelihood of any of those occurring is 0. The same is true about weather "catastrophes". There are always floods, fires, etc. and there is always someone who'll point to them and say "Doom is at hand!".



The only thing new that is brought to the table is the Mayan long-count calendar. The turnover of the longest component of that calendar is about as important as New Year's Eve. All it says is the current cycle ends and a new cycle begins, period, end of story.



The "predictions" of the Mayas are simply made up. With Nostradamus, you can make anything he wrote mean anything you want it to mean and people hve for cenutries.



Since there are a couple of phenomena that involve the magnetic poles (NOT the geographic poles), let's look at both. First, over time the location of the magnetic North Pole moves. This is a short term phenomena that has been known since 1831 and has been shown to move almost constantly. Geological studies have shown that the North and South Magnetic Poles have reversed many time in the past. It is a process that takes thousands of year to occur, it could be happening right now and we'd never know it. It never destroyed the world and there is no reason to think it will in the future.



Mass die-offs of animals are really nothing unusual, see below. It just happens that some die-offs got more publicity than usual, that's all.



Are you worried about "all the earthquakes we've been having"? You shouldn't be. According to the United States Geological Survey, in an average year there are 134 large (Magnitude 6.0-6.9) 15 major (Magnitude 7.0-7.9) and 1 Magnitude 8.0+ earthquakes. There have been two big quakes near the US last year, so there is more publicity then we might usually get.



So what will happen? The world will go on. A lot of worried people will feel stupid. A lot of stories will run about the big anti-climax, for about a week or so. And the main hoaxers, will quietly slip out of sight, to reappear in a few years for the "next end-of-the-world" scenario, likely 2029-2033: the 2000th anniversary of the Crucifixion (year depending which chronology you accept).



wl

Answer 5

You watch too much TV.



"the Mayans and Nostradamus predicted that the world will come to any end in the year 2012" Nope. You can't quote either's words, as neither mentioned 2012, so I won't bother challenging you to do so. I will just reiterate common sense. No One Can See The Future. Gosh. That's deep.



"It is said that this galactic alignment occurs every 13,000 years" It sure IS said. You just said it. Is it true, however? No, not a word of it. If you look at a circle, can you see the beginning? Gosh, that's deep, too. In 2012, the "alignment" of which you speculate gratuitously, will be OFF by about 6 degrees, slightly GREATER than it was in 2011. That's okay, just keep making stuff up.



Yes, the Mayans were hot about Venus. Hot about Venus. Heh heh. I slay me. Uh, you see, Venus is a very hot planet? Oh, never mind.



ANYWAY... can you provide a citation about the Mayans warning us that when Venus transits the disc of the Sun (doubtful they ever knew about that) that something, anything, bad would happen? You see, I know something. The Mayans only mention 2012 ONCE and that wasn't what they said. In fact (I know, I know, you HATE that word) this is exactly what they DID say about 2012 the ONE AND ONLY TIME they mentioned it:



“"The Thirteenth Bak'tun" will be finished (on) Four Ahaw, the Third of K'ank'in. ? will occur. (It will be) the descent(?) of the Nine Support (?) God(s) to the ?."



When the translator used question marks, he had no clue what the Mayans were talking about, as that particular pillar was damaged.



So, read any good books, lately?



How about http://www.2012hoax.org

Answer 6

Why even wait for 2012 to get "a galactic alignment"?



You can get a galactic alignment ANY TIME you want by doing the following.





Get a starchart. Look for the constellation of Sagittarius. Due to seasonal effects, it may be on the far side of the sun. If you can find Sagittarius...then take your thumb and point your thumb at it. VOILA...you now have a perfect alignment of the center of the galaxy, your thumb, and your eye.





If Sagittarius is indeed lost in the sun's glare....then look for Gemini alternatively. NOW, look downward opposite Gemini, and point your thumb downward opposite Gemini. VOILA....you now have the exact same alignment as I described that you could get if you looked for Sagittarius. You just have a giant planetary body in the way, so it isn't as obvious.











Alignments don't mean anything other than questions of curiosity. They are just interesting coincidences. They do not cause anything to happen. They do not have devastating effects.





If you are worried about the sun aligning with the galactic center on December 21, 2012...THAT HAPPENS EVERY DECEMBER in just as much "perfection" as it will happen on any December of your lifetime. Nothing is special if there is perfect alignment or not. Besides, you cannot even see the sun and the center of the galaxy on December 21st anyway...seeing that all of Sagittarius is outshined by the sun's glare.





As for Venus crossing face with the sun...yes that WILL happen in 2012, and it will occur in early June. The previous transit of Venus occurred in 2004, and you saw no hype about it at all then...did you? You can read about it at the upcoming link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Venus,_2012



It doesn't mean anything other than an opportunity for astronomers to see an interesting event. It is called a transit of Venus...and it happens quite frequently. It isn't really any different than a solar eclipse, except for the fact that the eclipsing body appears a LOT smaller. It means no threat to you unless you look at it with the naked eye. If you want to look at a transit of anything across the sun, you MUST use a proper indirect observation method, all of which you can easily find explained on a website that discusses the event.

Answer 7

I'd be interested to hear from you where you got all this info. It's rubbish, beginning to end. So much so that it's hard to know if I can explain it seriously.



There are two things I can deal with there. The first, "Do astronomers have any kind of proof of this kind of event actually happening?", is easy because it's a straight question: no.



The second is the bit about Venus. Every 110 years or so, there are two transits of Venus that occur 8 years apart. A transit occurs when an inner planet is seen to cross the face of the sun from our point of view. The second of this pair of transits is next year, the first was in 2004.

Answer 8

Actually, the Mayans said no such thing. A fellow in the US who claims to be a reincarnated Mayan mystic did. Even then, your version of things takes a few liberties with his claim. Not that it makes a difference, since the 'galactic alignment' occurs EVERY December.

Answer 9

On 12/21/2012 the circumference of every circle will align with its centre.

Answer 10

Battlestar Gallactica is awesome

Answer 11

Most probably. But this doesn't mean the end of the world, it's a start of something BIG, real BIG.

Answer 12

No...