Doom in 2012?

[Granfalloon]

From the article: (see the link at the bottom)

"For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla. To render Dec. 21, 2012, as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in."
Part of the 2012 mystique stems from the stars. On the winter solstice in 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. This means that "whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11 p.m. Universal Time," Joseph writes.
But scholars doubt the ancient Maya extrapolated great meaning from anticipating the alignment — if they were even aware of what the configuration would be.
Astronomers generally agree that "it would be impossible the Maya themselves would have known that," says Susan Milbrath, a Maya archaeoastronomer and a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History. What's more, she says, "we have no record or knowledge that they would think the world would come to an end at that point."
University of Florida anthropologist Susan Gillespie says the 2012 phenomenon comes "from media and from other people making use of the Maya past to fulfill agendas that are really their own."

Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse? - USATODAY.com

[mosaix]

the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way

What does that mean?

[Nik]

D'you think this 'Weird Alignment' may briefly interrupt the hypothetical 'S-Rays' that cause so much of human population to cling to unverifiable fantasies ??

[chrispenycate]

Originally Posted by Mosaic

the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way

What does that mean?

Syzygy (I've been dying to use that word correctly for ages)

Anything coming out of the centre of the galaxy which can be effected by gravity, like cosmic rays, will be focussed by the sun's gravitational field to a point somewhere. I have no idea where, but if the Earth happens to be in it, there might be repercussions. Or not, but it's fun trying to think up some kind of damage they might do, like increasing free neutrons in an atomic reactor, causing it to overheat.

[ktabic]

Pah, I wish. They will just move onto to 2016, 2020, 2040 or some other date.

[mosaix]

Originally Posted by chrispenycate

Syzygy (I've been dying to use that word correctly for ages)

Anything coming out of the centre of the galaxy which can be effected by gravity, like cosmic rays, will be focussed by the sun's gravitational field to a point somewhere. I have no idea where, but if the Earth happens to be in it, there might be repercussions. Or not, but it's fun trying to think up some kind of damage they might do, like increasing free neutrons in an atomic reactor, causing it to overheat.

But Chris, if you draw a line from the centre of the galaxy through the Sun then the Sun is always aligned with the centre on the galaxy along that line. And as the Earth travels around the Sun then it must cross that line twice a year. So what's new?

Or am I missing something here?

[chrispenycate]

Originally Posted by mosaix

But Chris, if you draw a line from the centre of the galaxy through the Sun then the Sun is always aligned with the centre on the galaxy along that line. And as the Earth travels around the Sun then it must cross that line twice a year. So what's new?

Or am I missing something here?

Ecliptic. The solar system is not perfectly aligned with the galactic plane, so the moment when the earth goes though the axis it is generally above or below the actual line. Only ever so often (well, quite rarely, according to the article) does everything fall just right.

I still can't think what could be focussed in to make a decent catastrophe.

[Interference]

Originally Posted by Nik

... 'S-Rays' that cause so much of human population to cling to unverifiable fantasies ??

Any reference for this, Nik?

[ktabic]

Originally Posted by chrispenycate

I still can't think what could be focussed in to make a decent catastrophe.

I seem to remember reading about a rough correlation between extinction events and our position comapred to the galatic plane. But it's not as we pass through it, they happen on one side of the plane, not the other. But it was only roughly.

[Nik]

'Hypothetical', Interference, 'Hypothetical'...
;-))

[Ursa major]

Originally Posted by Nik

D'you think this 'Weird Alignment' may briefly interrupt the hypothetical 'S-Rays' that cause so much of human population to cling to unverifiable fantasies ??

Are they like the B-rays that make people sound as stupid as donkeys?

[Interference]

I think the worst are the F-Rays, that make your cuffs wear out.

Though, didn't Polonius fall foul of some A-Rays?

[Ursa major]

Originally Posted by ktabic

I seem to remember reading about a rough correlation between extinction events and our position comapred to the galatic plane. But it's not as we pass through it, they happen on one side of the plane, not the other. But it was only roughly.

So are we heading for 26000 years of doom?



(Re rays: Wasn't there a lot of problems in the East End with the K-rays? And A-rays also made an appearance in The Matrix, didn't they?)

[ktabic]

Originally Posted by Ursa major

So are we heading for 26000 years of doom?

No, this was more 64 million years. Well, the whole cycle anyway.

There seems to be problems with the sky tonight, looks like there are lots of g-rays up there.

[Cayal]

Another one? I've lived through so many ends of earth.