*sigh* The dark rift is a portion of the milky way galaxy. It is an area with so much density that light does not reach us (I believe it's dark
matter?), and is also known as the "Great Rift". Let me dig links:
Nice pic of Milky Way. You can see the dark rift.
Aha! Here ya go!
The Columbia Encyclopedia
Visual Characteristics of the Milky Way
Among the constellations the Milky Way passes through are Carina, Crux (the Southern Cross), Sagittarius (where it is brightest), Scorpius, Aquila,
Cygnus, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Auriga, and Gemini. In the direction of Cygnus is the Great Rift, a band of dark matter that lies along the Milky Way,
dividing it into two forks. Another dark region is the Coalsack, in Crux. Once believed to be vast empty regions in space, these dark areas are now
known to be clouds of dark matter blotting out the light behind them. Such nonluminous clouds of dust and gas, called dark nebulae, obscure many parts
of the sky from sight; in the direction of the galactic center, the view is almost entirely obscured.
Ok, not dense (although I do remember reading somewhere about some density characteristics that were recently observed through the use of, I think,
x-ray telescope).
Basically, on the same date that the Mayan calander ends, there are a bunch of other things going on. Our solar system will align with the milky way,
several planets will align as well, I think Venus makes it's way across the face of the sun on that day, too, not to mention that it's the first day
of Winter Solstice.
Another thing is that Novelty Theory zero point is reached at that day.
www.sculptors.com...
www.bartleby.com...
As far as things that are occuring now, they are measuring less and less radiation from the sun reaching earth, the sun is darkening, most of the
planets (known) in our solar system are undergoing changes, our earth's rotation is slowing down, the earths resonance has changed, and world
government is getting out of control. People are more and more stressed (look at Novelty theory, it explains social behavior patterns based on the
exponential rate of knowledge and technology, etc). New awareness has formed, albeit in the form of the Internet, but it has formed. Technology is
becoming spirituality (check my avatar title... explains a bit about that if you can iterpret the meaning).
Think of the mayan calader this way (and all events that are said to happen): We are in an hourglass, in a vortex of energy and matter. We are
swirling down to that point where the velocity of the (sand) is intense. We are reaching that 'zero-point' where only single grains can fit through.
Once we reach that singularity, there will be a recession... basically we will be exiting through into the next chamber of the hourglass where the
velocity decreases.
IMHO, when we past the sigular point, we will begin to evolve past the need for technology like computers and such, and may begin to form a new
awareness of a neural intranet. We will be able to gain control over the energy our bodies release and basically technology will just continue, but we
will be building in our minds rather than on silicone. Just my opinion, though.
Here's some reading for ya:
www.barbelith.com...
survive2012.com...
(bonus: contains the Pirireis map!
)
Man, there is so much more to all this, but you'll have to dig for yourselves. Hopefully I've provided enough info for you to get started. Obviously
I've looked into this subject a great deal. Wish I had my old bookmarks, I had a site marked that had an overlay of the Novelty Theory Timeline on
the Mayan clander. Pretty spectacular, I must say! I'll see if I can't find it again... if so I'll post here for y'all.