Astronomers, what is the science between the 2012 galactic alignment theory?
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Question:
I have taken two astronomy classes in the University and it intrigues me. I know the Sun orbits the Milky Way and many other basic Astronomy concepts. Anyway according to the 2012 galactic alignment theory havoc will come to the Earth in terms of adverse weather effects. So I want to know, how much of it is true? Can you explain this to me? I’m asking you guys because obviously you guys have more knowledge on the science behind this theory than I do. I should have asked my professor last semester, but I forgot to.
Thanks
Dude chill out it was a gen ed. Not intended to be hard, just provide basic information. We didn’t get into the physics.
I guess when the earth is blocked from the center of the galaxy we’ll be cut-off from it’s life giving force. or something like that. It’s a galactic eclipse.
Maybe the sun shoots out a lot of stuff on the side away from the center of the galaxy. We should send a probe to find out. Stephen Haw King said so.
This is just a wild theory with virtually no real science behind it. I do not believe it for a minute, and I think that you will find that nothing happens. Real astronomers and scientists are not worried at all.
Physics and Chem teacher.
Hamburger University?
Hey, look… if you really did take University level astronomy, you would have known that the only force acting over that distance, from the black hole at the center of the Milky Way to the Earth, is gravity. Now do the math.
Wait.. wait! Don’t bother with the quantity of force, just do the ratio of the distance of the Sun when out of “alignment” to the force when in “alignment”.
None of it is true.
The Earth passed through the central galactic plane as far as is know a few million years ago, it will not pass through again for at least 23 and possibly 30 million years, estimates vary becuse the precise location of the supposed galactic central plane is not exactly known.
There is an approximate line-up twice every year, this happens to be around the solstice. But it is between 5.5 and 6 degrees off, which is a lot in astronomic terms.
A third one was closest to true in 1998 and we are moving away from it.
More details at http://www.2012hoax.org
There is no science behind the galactic alignment thing. In fact, the Earth and Sun align every year on the same date, and have for centuries. It’s also a really poor alignment, off by 7 degrees, and the central plane of the galaxy is not accurately defined.
Galactic alignment is an invention by a bunch of crackpots in order to conjure up some sort of ‘event’ for 2012. Since they seem unable to provide a concise definition, we’ll have to try and guess what they mean.
Could it be the Sun aligning with the centre of the Milky Way galaxy? Well, no because the centre of the Milky Way is not in the plane of the Earth’s orbit, so the Sun can never line up with it.
Could they mean the Sun crossing the equator of the Milky Way? The Sun does a complete circuit of the sky every year and therefore appears in line with the Milky Way in June and December every year. So that can’t be right.
What about the once in 26,000 year alignment of the solstice point with the galactic equator? Nope, that took place in 1998. No-one noticed.
All the preceding are merely line-of-sight effects as seen from the Earth’s perspective. An observer on Mars would see something completely different. Some of the cranks have become confused and decided that galactic alignment must be something to do with the revolution of the whole solar system around the galaxy, taking 225 million years. During this orbit, the solar system bobs up and down a few times and measurements taken from the Hipparcos satellite reveal that the solar system is currently moving away from the central plane of the galaxy and won’t pass through it for another 30 million years or so. That can’t be what they mean then.
So we have: 1) Can’t ever happen 2) Happens every year 3) Happened in 1998 or 4) Won’t happen for 30 million years.
Take your pick.
None of it is true. The Earth and the sun line-up on the center of the Milky Way Galaxy TWICE every year. It’s just our perception from Earth. Actually the entire solar system is about 6 degrees away from the center going traveling FURTHER away.
Just more junk science about the 2012 hoax.
Watch Neil Tyson the famous astronomer talk about this here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJjQMwEjC1I
How can any “alignment” of the sun with the galactic centre 26,000 light years away, that can’t even be seen through all the dust in between, possibly have any effect on the weather on Earth?
That’s almost as ridiculous as the idea that the constellation the sun was in when you were born somehow controls your fate.
The science is that an exact alignment isn’t possible, because the center of the Galaxy is not in the plane of Earth’s orbit – its off by about 5 degrees.
The disk of the sun is about half a degree across, so this means that the sun will be 11 times its own diameter away from a line through the center of the galaxy on December 21, 2012.
Even the most die-hard hoaxers wouldn’t call that an alignment.