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In the Solar System, the planets and the Sun share roughly the same plane of orbit, known as the plane of the ecliptic. From our perspective on Earth, the Zodiacal constellations move along or near the ecliptic, and over time, appear to recede counterclockwise by one degree every 72 years. This movement is attributed to a slight wobble in the Earth's axis as it spins. As a result, approximately every 2160 years, the constellation visible on the early morning of the spring equinox changes. In Western astrological traditions, this signals the end of one astrological age (currently the Age of Pisces) and the beginning of another (Age of Aquarius). Over the course of 26,000 years, the precession of the equinoxes makes one full circuit around the ecliptic.
Just as the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere is currently in the constellation of Pisces, so the winter solstice is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius, which happens to be the constellation intersected by the galactic equator. Every year for the last 2000 years or so, on the winter solstice, the Earth, Sun and the galactic equator come into alignment, and every year, precession pushes the Sun's position a little way further through the Milky Way's band.
Originally posted by Solomons December 2012 the same thing happens like it does every winter solstice.There is no *special* alignment basically.
some that say : our solar system(which moves in a sinosidal wave while revolving around galactic center) will cross the galactic plane around DEC 2012, some say that wont happen for 10000s of year and some say this has already happened in 1998 !! Then some say the earth and sun cross the galactic plane very often but what is unique is that the sun and earth will be directly inline with the "galactic center" , So what is true ?? I need credible links plz
Originally posted by anonymouse11
Then some say the earth and sun cross the galactic plane very often but what is unique is that the sun and earth will be directly inline with the "galactic center" ,
So what is true ?? I need credible links plz
Galactic Alignment
Written by Fraser Cain
Just like the Earth orbits the Sun, the Sun itself is part of the Milky Way galaxy. It takes about 220 million years for the Sun to complete a single journey around the Milky Way. But the Sun also bobs up and down as it travels in orbit around the center of the galaxy. The oscillation takes a total of 64 million years to complete. And there's a moment when the Sun passes directly through the galactic disk and there's a perfect galactic alignment between the Sun and the center of the galaxy.
When's that galactic alignment going to happen? It's almost impossible to know exactly. The Milky Way is 100,000 light-years across, but only 1,000 light-years thick. So during the course of that 64 million year cycle, the Sun rises above the galactic plane 500 light-years, passes down through the galactic plane, until it's 500 light-years below and then comes back up again.
There has to be a moment when everything's in perfect alignment, but the timescales are so long that astronomers couldn't calculate it. Of course, this alignment with the center of the galaxy doesn't have an effect on the Earth or the Solar System, it's just like crossing an imaginary line in space, like traveling from Canada to the United States in your car.
There's another type of galactic alignment. This is where the Earth, Sun and the center of the galaxy are in perfect alignment from our perspective. This actually happens every year during the winter solstice, on December 21st. Because of a wobble in the Earth's orbit, the positions of the constellations slowly shift from year to year. The most perfect galactic alignment between the Earth, Sun and the center of the Milky Way happened back in 1998, but now we're slowly shifting away from that alignment. In the coming decades, the perfect alignment will shift to another day.
Again, the alignment of these objects is purely a coincidence.
We have written many articles about galaxies for Universe Today. And we've written many articles about the 2012 myth.
So, the question is, are we going to cross that galactic plane in 2012? Not even close. According to the journal nature, as well as many others, there is evidence of crossing this plane 3 million years ago. This would mean that we are moving away from the galactic plane and won’t be due to cross it for another 30 million years. In addition the margin of error in these calculations in at least 2.1 parsecs or about 6.5 light years making images like these completely meaningless. To conclude: If you hear someone tell you that the earth is on a 26,000 year cycle to align with the galaxy ask them how the wobble of the earth will change its position in relation to the galaxy. Similarly, if you hear someone say that the earth is on a 250 million year cycle to align with the galaxy ask them if they know that this happened 3 million years ago and wont happen again for another 30 million.
You might be interesting to know that the Solar System bobs up and down above and below the galactic equator. It takes 64 million years to complete a full cycle going above and below the galactic equator. If you're heard that the Solar System is supposed to cross the galactic equator in 2012, don't worry, that's a myth. It takes 64 million years to complete that cycle, so there's no way to know exactly when it will actually cross the galactic equator.
Researchers at the Cardiff Centre of Astrobiology have built a computer model of the Solar System's journey around the Milky Way. Instead of making a perfectly flat orbit around the galaxy's centre, it actually bounces up and down. At times it can rise right up out of the galactic plane – getting 100 light years above – and then dip down below it. They calculated that we pass through the plane every 35 to 40 million years.
And here's the bad news. According to their calculations, the Solar System will be passing through the galactic plane in the near future
Originally posted by anonymouse11
Hi
Can someone please tell me using credible links like NASA, universities etc (not some guy's blog) as to what is exactly happening in 2012 in terms of the Galactic plane,
It seems some that say :
our solar system(which moves in a sinosidal wave while revolving around galactic center) will cross the galactic plane around DEC 2012, some say that wont happen for 10000s of year and some say this has already happened in 1998 !!
Then some say the earth and sun cross the galactic plane very often but what is unique is that the sun and earth will be directly inline with the "galactic center" ,
So what is true ?? I need credible links plz
Originally posted by A Fortiori
reply to post by anonymouse11
The galactic alignment is a chiropractic technique invented by L Ron Hubbard and perfected by Tom Cruise. It involves bending over and letting Will Smith...um, wait? What was the question again?
Originally posted by Solomons
search the bad astronomy forums...they are littered with such questions about 2012.But in December 2012 the same thing happens like it does every winter solstice.There is no *special* alignment basically.
Originally posted by Ophiuchus 13
You will know when you see the 13th constilation OPHIUCHUS IN THE SKY ON DECEMBER 2012 IF YOUR TIMING IS CORRECT........