what is the significance of winter solstice of 2012 ? Is it true that on that date the ecliptic, galctic?

Question

equator of the Milky way & the galactic center will be in conjunction with the sun at about 11:11 GMT ?

i mean the plane of the galactic equator of the milky way

Instead of posting personal opinions can any astronomer / scientist prove or disprove the Mayan theory about this being a rare event that happens once in about 25,800 years ? Also were the Mayans accurate in their calculations ?

Answer 1

In a word, no. And "equator of the Milky way & the galactic center will be in conjunction with the sun" does not make sense.

Answer 2

Tom is correct.

The answer to your question involves Earth's precession. While it is true that the Sun will rise with the Milky Way on that date, it is not a rare event. It happens very often on other days of our calendar in history and recent times. It represents nothing significant whatsoever. The only reason the Mayans chose the December solstice is because that is the shortest day of the year and the Sun will be 'returning' to the northern skies.

I would strongly recommend that you do not get caught up in the artificial hype regarding this. It contains fiction and falsehoods. This is something to look at only. This is not a PHYSICAL allignment. It is a VISUAL allignment only as viewed from Earth. It is no different than saying that it LOOKS like the Sun goes around the Earth.

--"Instead of posting personal opinions can any astronomer / scientist prove or disprove the Mayan theory about this being a rare event that happens once in about 25,800 years ? Also were the Mayans accurate in their calculations ?"


The Mayans were skilled in astronomy and mathematics. Yes, they made very accurate calculations. They understood zenith. They understood solstices. They based calendrical cycles on the movements of Venus and the Sun. They understood precession along with the Chinese and perhaps Egyptians. The long-count calendar is based upon precession as you asked.

It is not a theory. Does the Sun rise when the Milky Way is low on the horizon on many different days of the Gregorian calendar? Yes.

If one were to pick out just one day - say perhaps December 21 - then how often would the Sun rise when the Milky Way appeared to be low on the horizon? Once every 25,800 years. Why is this true? Precession of the Earth's axial rotation.

I will include a url from John Major Jenkins as he is the only respectable person who has devoted the last 20 years to studying the Mayan calendars and culture. He presents information without hyping any end-of-the-world scenarios. If you surf other sites and they preach the end of the world or other catastrophies, denounce the site as a fraud.

Answer 3

Far more important than the expiry of the Mayan Calendar in December 2012 is the total solar eclipse in early November. It is a biggie and will last for about 4.5 minutes. It will be seen from Darwin to Cairns in Australia. I travelled 6000km there and back to see the Ceduna eclipse five years ago which lasted 31 seconds - and was worth it. Forget the Mayans, come to Australia in 2012 to see one of the great eclipses.