I was wondering if a pro out there could answer just a few questions I have regarding the above themes. Is it true that within the next few years (leading up to 2012)...that the earth will change it's axis while it spins? Also, will we be enterring the center of this particular galaxy around 2012? And finally, will there be a planetary alignment around this time too? What are the earth effects of these 3 events happening around the same time? Spirtuality says one thing....I'd like to hear the council of Science and Astronomy for a change. Thanks to everyone who participates in answering these inquiries.
Happy Holiday Season to all.
2007-12-23 13:57:04 · 13 answers · asked by davemg21 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
none of you will be able to fathom what is coming.
2007-12-26 12:28:48 · answer #1 · answered by BibiBalls 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From a pro.
no. The Earth has too much rotational inertia to change its axis that rapidly. There are wobbles, the main ones being the precession caused by the Sun's pull on our equatorial bulge, resulting in a wobble that takes 25,800 years to go around. The "radius" of the wobble is 23.4 degrees (to flip would require a radius of 90 degrees -- wobble diameter of 180). There is also another wobble, caused by the Moon; same idea, except that it has a period of 19 years and it is called nutation. It is much smaller than precession.
no. The distance between us and the centre of the Galaxy is always (approximately) the same at 25,000 light-years, which is 1,580,500,000 times the average distance between the Sun and us. The year on which the direction towards the sun at the time of solstice is closest to the direction of the centre of the Galaxy is soon, but NOT in 2012. Even at that, the "alignment" is off by over 5.5 degrees (11 times the apparent diameter of the Sun).
Just because you point your finger towards the Moon does not mean that you touch the Moon.
No special planetary alignments in 2012. Every year you can get two or three planets in line, that is not rare.
There is such a thing as a reversal of the Earth's magnetic field. Calling it a flip is a very strong word because it takes between 300 and almost 1,000 years to flip. Actually, the magnetic poles roam on the surface, with the field becoming more disorganised for a few centuries. The roaming seems to have begun a few years ago.
I studied this when I was teaching magnetism a long time ago.
2007-12-23 15:04:03 · answer #2 · answered by Raymond 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the earth will change it's axis while it spins?
You probably mean, pole shift. It has happen before and current data suggest that another magnetic pole shift might be in progress. You see, there is no historical data to tell how long this take. For all we know it can take hundreds or thousands of years to complete.
will we be entering the center of this particular galaxy around 2012? Not the center of the galaxy but our Sun and the solar system with it will be moving across the galactic equator, if you will. There is no reason to expect any astronomical events out of this. All stars move about in the galaxy, we are no exception.
will there be a planetary alignment around this time too?
No.
There has been many question on this subject recently.
Some of the answer poster are working on a site to clarify all these 2012 myths. Stay tuned for updates.
2007-12-23 14:10:37 · answer #3 · answered by autoglide 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was out with a bunch of fellow musicians a few weeks ago and they brought up this idea of the earth's axis somehow "shifting," too.
I could not convince them that the rotation axis simply doesn't move around dramatically for no reason. There are gradual motions of the direction the axis is pointing in space (mentioned in above answers) and really tiny shifts that can be caused by changes of the distribution of mass on the earth, for instance when an earthquake occurs.
One of my colleagues was adamant that a shift had recently occurred. I asked how big a change it was. He wasn't sure but thought it was a degree or so. I am certain this is not true and I can prove it -- all I have to do is look at the north star. Has it shifted in position a degree or so recently? Nope. It's where it has been all my life.
The way convince yourself that all the arguments about "alignments" and "shifts" are groundless is just to look at them in detail. There is no deep or hidden meaning.
2007-12-24 00:40:42 · answer #4 · answered by Steve H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The truth is that a small number of people have realised that they can make a lot of money selling books and videos to a large number of people who don't understand.
I don't know what spirituality could say about it. The complex Mayan calendar has a part which ends and begins again on the day which is 21 December 2012 in our calendar.
The Earth's axis goes through very minute and very slow changes constantly.
There is no planetary alignment. Even if there were, there is no law of physics that would mean it would have any effect.
Whatever you've heard about 2012 is crap.
2007-12-23 19:36:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"...the earth will change it's axis while it spins?..."
Earth's axis of rotation has always varied over time due to a natural mechanism known as precession. That's the same thing that causes a spinning top to wobble as it slows. It takes about 26,000 years for one complete cycle of Earth's wobble on its axis.
"...enterring the center of this particular galaxy around 2012? ..."
No, we remain pretty much the same distance from the center of our galaxy. However, in 2012 our sun will become temporarily aligned with the Milky Way's equatorial plane. Nothing special about that :: it's happened countless times in the past.
"...will there be a planetary alignment around this time too?..."
No, no significant or noteworthy planetary alignment, like all the planets aligned in or near a straight line.
How about magnetic pole reversal? Nope, that's not going to happen in 2012 either. Although reversals of Earth's magnetic poles has happened over and over again in the past, and will happen again in the future, each reversal takes at least 1,000 years to complete. It's not an instantaneous thing by any means.
As of this time there's absolutely nothing scientifically special about the year 2012. Hope you have a great holiday season too..!
2007-12-23 14:13:46 · answer #6 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
None of that stuff is going to happen. First of all, it's logically impossible for the Earth to turn on it's axis, because none of the other planets do this. Also, if there was to be an alignment with our planets, nothing is going to happen. It would be as if they were in no line at all. I believe people got the idea of something happening because of that from horror movies. The most idiotic one is that we will travel to the middle of the galaxy in 5 years! That is astrolologicaly impossible, because we'd have to move much faster than the speed of light, and that the fastest speed there is. All of this is junk. Don't believe ANY of it.
2007-12-23 14:17:51 · answer #7 · answered by . 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Earth's axis does wobble slightly, but it happens gradually over thousands of years. The centre of our galaxy is about 30,000 light years away -- for Earth to move there by 2012, we would have to travel at many times the speed of light which is absolutely impossible. Planetary alignments have happened many times in the past and each time there's always someone saying it will cause earthquakes, destruction, etc... but it never happens.
2007-12-23 14:04:49 · answer #8 · answered by Nature Boy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Saying Earth aligns with the Milky Way is nonsense. Our solar system is always part of the Milky Way far from the center and in orbit around the edge of it. It never aligns more at one time than another. Have you forgotten the nonsense about Y2K? How soon we forget! Why do some people love silly Doomsday nonsense? You can find much nonsense of many types on the internet or elsewhere.
2016-05-26 02:03:46 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK. Here's the true story of what will happen on December 22, 2012, the day after the great event is supposed to take place.
People will wake up to find that they’ve been snookered by yet another nonsensical end-of-the-world prediction. (With luck, only a few of them will have discarded all their earthly possessions in anticipation of the great event.) Some will gain a bit of wisdom and will be less gullible in the future; most will not.
2007-12-23 14:04:00 · answer #10 · answered by Dr Bob 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hi!
The answers are:
No
No
and NO!
This is all stuff that has been posted to make the relatively uneducated (to the scientific community) ask the same question you just did...
Personally, I can't WAIT 'til the morning of December 22, 2012, just to be able to kick back and say (with a slight chuckle), "I told you so!!!".
I (for the life of me) can't understand why the world's youth seems to be SO uneducated today, while we're 'supposed' to be in an age of enlightenment...
This is a drag...
Merry Christmas, Anyway!
Bob
2007-12-23 14:10:40 · answer #11 · answered by Bobby 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋