Ancient Mayan Doomsday, Poles Shift and Exploding Cigars...Dec 21, 2012
According to their calendar, the Maya believed that their world would end on Dec 21, 2012. The Maya were obsessed with time. The tracked time, recorded time, "long counted" time and even erected monuments whose construction was designed around one of their many calenders.
The Earth and Sun are connected by the gravity pulling them together. It's just like the light end and heavy end of the sledge hammer. Compared to the size of the sun, Earth is about like a pea on a pig! So the center of mass between the Earth and the sun is almost--but not quite--the very center of the sun. In the case of a planet the size of Jupiter, which is 318 times as massive as Earth, the barycenter of Jupiter and the sun is a bit further from the sun's center. So, as Jupiter revolves around the sun, the sun itself is actually revolving around this slightly off-center point, located just outside its center. Thus, a planet the size of Jupiter will make the sun (or any star) appear to wobble a tiny bit. As it wobbles, it tilts the sleeves, causing them to clash with each other and eventually disrupt the surface. This disturbance, to put it simply, works its way to the surface and erupts in sun spots and solar flares.
This text is a link to a page that explains this in much better detail
Solar flares and sun spots have an average cycle of 11.120412 years. Right now, 2007, we are in a relatively quiet part of the cycle. he last solar cycle was in 2001. Each active solar cycle has a period when the flares are strongest, usually happening near the solar equator, called the "solar maximum." This is significant because the next "solar maximum" event will coincide with December 21, 2012.
The planets orbit the Sun in a narrow plane called the ecliptic. This planetary merry-go-round is located somewhere near the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. Soon we'll be moving to the bottom of the disc. This change, from top to bottom, begins on December 21, 2012. On the same day when our Sun is at it's solar maximum, something will happen that's never happened before -- the ecliptic of our solar system will intersect with the Glactic plane, called the "Galactic Equator" of the Milky Way.
There are more variables that factor into this, including the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter - the planets in our system with the most mass. Also, in the first quarter of 2001, the Sun switched magnetic poles. This occurs every eleven years. Prior to this the Sun's north magnetic pole was at the north rotational pole. Now the Sun's north magnetic pole is at its south pole. Since opposite poles attract, the magnetic poles of the Earth and Sun are now at their most stable.
Just about the time of 2012 Winter Solstice, the Sun's poles will switch back. During this switch there will be a tendency for the Sun's magnetic field to pull the Earth's field with it.
If the Earth's magnetic poles switch, this would put stress on the planet aggravating earthquakes and volcanos, not to mention destruction of the electrical power distribution grid.
In My Humble Opinion, it makes little difference if we're done in by an asteroid, Mother Nature, greenhouse gases or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I believe the thing that makes man unique survives beyond the deterioration of our bodies. The time we spend in this existence merely prepares us for the next. The vast majority of people have an intrinsic moral compass that been inbred and programmed for generations.
For those that do not believe in God; no present evidence will change their minds. For those of us that do; no evidence is needed. To some extent, I view modern religious practices as a social necessity- they help to prevent social chaos. I consider myself more of a "spiritual" person than a "religious" person. I realistically admit I am little more than a cafeteria-style Catholic. However, I agree with James Allen's view, "There is but one religion, the religion of Truth." And the truth is we should live each day as if tomorrow is Doomsday. Fill each day with love and season it with wisdom and forgiveness. IMHO, if we all lived this way, then Doomsday would take care of itself.
Over the years, archaeologists have found carved monuments that recorded the long count for known dates in Mayan history. Once a date was fixed in time, it was easy to determine the "day 1" as August 11th, 3114 BC. And it was also easy to calculate the date at which the calendar would end -- December 21st, 2012. To understand what will happen to the Sun on December 21, 2012, we need to review some scientific terms like "ecliptic," "barycenter," and "sunspots." These are important in the discussion that follows. We'll start with the most difficult one first.
Our Milky Way merry-go-round is circling at an angle to the movement of the galactic plane we are in. On December 21, 2012, our alignment will be perpendicular to the plane where galactic gravity is the strongest. By some amazing coincidence, not only will we be intersecting with the Galactic Equator, but we will be doing this precisely aligned with the center of the Galaxy where there is maximum mass! More mass means more gravity. More gravity means more influence from those barycenters in our Sun. That means exponential increases in solar disruptions -- all coinciding on the same day!
There's nothing new about end of the world pundits holding signs or wearing sandwich boards announcing the End is Near. Armageddon, Antichrist, nuclear holocaust, polar shifts. Be it a new millennium, planetary alignment or a comet, doomsday prophets have a field day with their end of the world predictions. Do the Maya really have anything on Nostradamus, the Book of Revelations or even Al Gore? Whether time ends for all of us or most of us or some of us soon; I hope it comes quick and when my back is turned.
Two guys were taking their first train trip. A vendor came down the corridor selling bananas which they'd never seen before. Each bought one. The first one eagerly peeled the banana and bit into it just as the train went into a tunnel. When the train emerged from the tunnel, he looked across to his friend and said, "I wouldn't eat that if I were you." "Why not?" "I took one bite and went blind for half a minute."
