What is this 2012 thing?

Because it DOES have something to do with real astronomy, despite what you may think. The question could be asked and has been just as easily in and appropriately in the earth sciences and geology section, or the history and/or archaeology sections. Is there an archaeology section.on Yahoo Answer? The sun and the center of the Milky Way galaxy align 4.9 degrees apart on the winter solstice in Earth's north hemisphere EVERY YEAR. That is REAL astronomy. There is NOTHING parapsychological about this question.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

•No, the world really will NOT end in 2012.

The Mayan - Aztec sun-stone calendar is real. It does not end, because it is circular

http://images.google.com/images?q=aztec+...

http://www.azteccalendar.com/azteccalend...

The Aztecs conquered the Mayans and absorbed the Mayan culture. There are many people with Mayan ancestry alive today, so the Mayans have not died technically. The Catholic Church did its best to wipe out their culture, but some of it still remains today.

All that is going to happen on Dec. 21, 2012 is that the sun will align within 5 degrees of the center of Milky Way galaxy on the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. The dying of plants, the dying of the year, and, in the Mayan long count calendar, the end of the 13th cycle of 13,000 year cycles has a lot of symbolism attached. The Mayan calendar does not end. All that will happen is that the fourth Mayan "world" will die and the fifth Mayan world will be born with the beginning of new cycle of cycles. The Greco-Roman civilization equivalent is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, which happened 41 years ago (??). 13,000 years from 2012, the sun will align with the center of the Milky Way galaxy on the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, as long as the Earth's orbital parameters remain approximately the same. The only other thing that is predicted to happen in 2012/2013 is that solar activity for solar activity cycle 24 will be at a maximum.

The Mayan - Aztec sun-stone calendar is round. A round calendar cannot end.

Ok. I'll try to explain a little more. Remember, this is important because it happens at a WINTER SOLSTICE in the northern hemisphere. The Sun will align within 5 degrees of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy on a winter solstice as predicted by the Mayans. There is a radio source called Sagittarius A*, usually abbreviated Sgr A*. Sgr A* is not AT the center of the Milky Way galaxy. There is a 30 million solar mass black hole, a dimensional singularity, AT the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Anything else AT the center goes down the black hole, which is NOT made of the densest material known.

If you want to look toward the center of the Milky Way galaxy, go outside in mid August about half an hour after sunset. Look to the south. The constellation Sagittarius has a famous asterism known as "The Teapot". Wait until it is almost completely dark and you might be able to see the Milky Way running from Sagittarius through the Summer Triangle of the bright stars Altair in Aquila, Vega in Lyra, and Deneb in Cygnus. Cygnus is also known as the Northern Cross.

-4 days left to answer.

Jim R What about the alignment across the milkway?

there is stories going around that the sun and some planets will align in the center of the milkyway galaxy in 2012? is this true? could the mayans actually know this and how? were they better astronomers than todays? what EXACTLY is this alignment in the galaxy and what is the REAL story? I'm not going answer this question yet. I'm going to watch other people make fools out of themselves first.

NO ONE is claiming that all the planets will align OR that the solar system will be IN the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Anything AT the center of the Milky Way galaxy will go down the dimensional singularity black hole of 4.2 million (Science News) to 30 million (March, 2009 Astronomy magazine) solar masses.

I'll try to explain the alignment later in an Edit.

Edit: An alignment happens when you can draw a straight line through two or more points. I've been trying to find a web site that states the center of Milky Way Galaxy is at declination -28.4 degrees, but I have not been successful so far in finding the site I referred to over a week ago. On EACH WINTER SOLSTICE (in the northern hemisphere) on December 21, the sun's declination is -23.5 degrees. 28.4 degrees minus 23.5 degrees equals 4.9 degrees, so the sun and the center of the Milky Way will be within 5 degrees of an alignment on December 21 of any year, including 2012. The person stating that this happens TWICE a year is wrong. On the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, the sun on June 21 is at declination +23.5 degrees. There is a separation of the position of the sun and the position of the center of the Milky Way galaxy of 51.9 degrees on June 21 every year.

"...The Solar Declination a zero during an equinox, and 23.5° during a solstice. By convention, the angle is considered positive when the North Pole points toward the Sun, negative when the South Pole points toward the Sun. The Declination angle is 23.5° during the Northern Summer Solstice, and –23.5° during the Southern Summer Solstice. It is between –23.5° and 23.5° the rest of the year. ..."

http://www.visualsunchart.com/VisualSunC...

"...The Ecliptic

Over one year, the motion of the Earth around the Sun causes the Sun's motion from west to east against the background stars. The line of this path is the ecliptic which is also the name given to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun.

Diagram showing the weaving ecliptic line against the right ascension and declination grid of the sky, by Greg Smye-Rumbsy. A – March equinox (First point of Aires), B – June solstice, C – September equinox (First point of Libra), D – December solstice If the ecliptic is plotted on a star chart based on right ascension and declination it appears as a curved line. This is a consequence of the tilt of the Earth's axis with respect to the plane of its orbit around the Sun.

Four points define the seasons and positions of the Sun over the year.

Firstly, the Equinox on or around 21 March is when the Sun moves northwards across the celestial equator. At this time the Sun has a declination of 0° and a right ascension of 0h.

At the Solstice on or around 21 June the Sun is at its northernmost position in the sky at declination +23.5°, right ascension 6h.

3 months later at the September Equinox the Sun moves southwards across the celestial equator. It has a declination of 0° and a right ascension of 12h.

The Sun reaches its southernmost point at the December Solstice when it has a declination of -23.5° and a right ascension of 18h.

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/gcse-astronomy/plan...

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news...

Someone claimed (in an e-mail) that I had said the sun is going to line up with galactic equator on December on December 21, 2012. I never made such a claim. The Milky Way Galaxy does have an equator. The plane of the ecliptic and the solar system is tilted at 62 or 63 degree angle to the equatorial plane of the Milky Way galaxy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ignroance about "real" astronomy abounds in the general public. Your question just confrims that. There is nothing parapsychological about 2012, unless you think all Nostradamus or Edgar Cayce questions should be posted only in the parapsychological section.

The reason it does not go away is that the scammers are still making money from it and they will until right up to December 2012. The web sites and YouTube clips will stay up until 23 December when they will then all be taken down, and the authors will then deny all knowledge of them.

Every day of the year hundreds of kids with internet access turn 13, which is supposed to be the minimum age for YA. Between 11 and 16 kids remain very suggestible and are heavily influenced by others the same age. If some apparent authority suggests that something will happen and their friends are talking about it then they will not dismiss it as nonsense however silly or self-contradictory it may seem to an experienced and intelligent adult.

I know the 2012 bilge is "old". But 9 out of 10 askers are half-scared, confused kids who have little idea of the amount of fraud and lying on the net. Genuine astronomical and historical web sites are far too technical, and to a 13 year old might look much the same as a fraud site anyway. They ask here because they think they might get a real answer they can understand. If they use the word "planet", Yahoo software will dump the Q into Astronomy & Space.

It pops up occasionally in the mythology and folklore section. I think that is certainly a better fit than A&S. Although a lot of the "doomsday" claims try to use astronomical events and/or celestial bodies (no mater how fictitious they may be) to solidify their claims. Who better to ask than those who understand astronomy about these things?

Still, it'd be nice if there was, say, a limit of 10 questions on this subject per day (or even much less would be acceptable as well) per category.

*Sigh*

This forum gets bogged down with 2012 and Moon Landing Hoax questions all the time. I suspect LHC questions will become the next annoying FAQ again sometime later this year, as last autumn it seemed relentless prior to the helium leak.

The suggestion is from each the Aztec and Mayan Calendars which operated on a fifty two 12 months cycle. According to Aztec legend, at finish of the fifty two 12 months cycle the sector would possibly finish or the cycle will repeat. The Mayans had an overly an identical ideology however each had the carrying on with cycle of fifty two years. Cortez honestly landed in what's now Mexico at the 52nd 12 months of any such cycles. He used to be Mistaken as Quezecoatal, A white aztec serpent like god stated to return for the duration of the finishing of occasions. Long tale quick, the Aztecs had been conquered. I don't consider it to be precise, however I wager another apocalypse conception does not harm any individual in the longer term.

This is related to the end of the Mayan calender which finishes in 2012 AND IS INDEED related to astronomy. Check previous answer.

I don't know, but I agree with you 100%

Suppose in 2013 we will get questions asking, why did the world not end in 2012 ?

Lets hope we are all still here to answer !

2012 is based on a Mayan myth. Look it up

I know. I was making fun of it earlier but no one noticed and ever since then its been an onslaught.

when will it ever end?

Besides, this section has been dead for hours after hours now.

Remember, the "cream" rises to the top.

cream = impurities

Because people are being taken in by the hoax. I agree with you, it belongs elsewhere, but this is where it gets asked.

You answered your own question.