Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Understanding the weight of the situation

This week's Spin Cycle topic is "Wait". I could have done something about the radio show Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!— but once I read the line about weighting, I realized I already had this one "waiting" in the queue.

Author's Note: This is a pretty "heavy" subject, so if you feel a bit lost don't hesitate to ask me in the comments. I'm always willing to clarify.


We've all heard about the so called "End of the World" in 2012.

Since the Maya Long Count Calendar is based upon astronomical observations it is quite amazing how they have predicted a unique phenomenon that will occur on December 12, 2012.

The earth when it rotates is not perpendicular to the orbit around the sun. This is why we have seasons because the sun does not hit the same spot on the earth as it rotates and orbits. The times in which the sun is furthest away from the equator is during the summer and winter solstice.

The orbital plane of the solar system is also not perpendicular to the orbit of the solar system around the galaxy. This is why we seem to see different zodiac constellations in the sky throughout the year.

Every year, on the winter solstice, the Sun and the Milky Way, from the surface of the Earth, appear to come into alignment. This alignment never points at the same place each time (it changes by one degree every 72 years), but it has been calculated that the orbital plane of the solar system will align with the orbital plane of the galaxy on Dec 21, 2012.

Whenever there is a full moon people are said to be loony. This is based upon the lunar phase and is contributed to the moon's gravitational pull and it's effect upon our brains.

Let's take this logic a bit further. Imagine if you will that any gravitational force can influence the brain (even so much as to effect the decisions that we make). Since on December 21, 2012 the earth's orbital plain will be aligned with the orbital plain of the galaxy, we can expect there to be a lot more gravitational pull— especially if we believe a massive black hole is at the center of our galaxy. Since this alignment has been happening very slowly over many years, the influence has been increasing very gradually (probably to the point of being imperceptible). I have noticed that Alzheimer's disease has been on the rise— how do we know that it is not due to the effects of the black hole?

For more information, please see 2012 phenomenon on Wikipedia.


small cycle

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoa, heavy stuff indeed.
I would like to believe that the Myan prediction of the world ending is just a farce, mostly because they had more urgent matters to contend with, like being invaded or something. But this does "weigh" on my mind from time to time.
I love the Spin you took on it!
You're linked!

CaJoh said...

@Sprite's Keeper: I'm with you on that it probably is a farce. I think that the extra gavity is effecting us amd making us crazy enough to think that the end of the world is near.

Jan said...

This all really annoys me because I turn 50 on December 22, 2012. Way to go, Mayans...

Anonymous said...

Very weighty issue indeed! Thanks for explaining all that. It's been weighing on my mind!

Great spin!

Anonymous said...

"Whenever there is a full moon people are said to be loony. This is based upon the lunar phase and is contributed to the moon's gravitational pull and it's effect upon our brains."

Egggggsactly!

Yours Truly,
QuirkyLOON

*grin*

Michele said...

Does this extra gravity mean we will all weigh more on that day? Because if it does I'll be seriously pissed.

Great take on the Spin this week.

Mrsbear said...

Interesting stuff. Growing up my mother's chosen religion relied quite a bit on end of the world scare tactics. I learned over time that it's best to wait for Armageddon sitting down.

Also, all that gravity pressing down on my brain make me a little light headed.

Ellie Belen Ambrose said...

I think the extra gravitational pull means we will be lighter in mind and body. I think December date indicates the end of a cycle, not the end of the world. Hopefully when this cycle ends, the new cycle will be infinitely better.

Krystal said...

All I know is that all this waiting to se whether its real or not is driving me nuts...

good spin on it!

Amber said...

Verrrrry interesting.

And that bit about people acting loony when there is a full moon...you don't have to convince me on that one - my 4 kiddos have me believing just fine!

Happy Spin Cycling! :D

Kate said...

I put it on my calendar! ;)

Pseudo said...

This is really interesting. And Jan is really funny. Think I am going to go and follow your link.

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