Within another year or so, the world’s population will start paying more attention to the approaching 2012 galactic alignment theory. Religious zealots will stand on mountaintops, every ill-balanced human on the face of the earth will creep out of their cocoons and induce a state of panic with doomsday rhetoric, Republicans and Democrats will start blaming each other for any predicted disasters, and scientists will be thrilled just to be part of it all. The thought of an astronomical phenomenon taking place during one’s lifetime is a bit intimidating, reminding man of his inability to control everything; however, does the scientific community support all the negative speculation?

Many web sites are posting 2012 doomsday information; although some of the scientific data is accurate, the predicted results that some sites post is primarily speculation, causing unnecessary fear and terror. Knowing the facts and the possible, not probable, results can ease the anxiety that is always present when facing the unknown.

Being familiar with the scientific terminology when reading about or listening to astronomical explanations is the first step in understanding, which is also the first step in reducing the fear associated with such events. The following is a short list of these terms:

• Alignment – the positioning of objects to form a straight line.
• Equinox – event happening twice a year when the sun crosses the equator of the earth.
• Precession of the equinoxes – the earth’s wobbling on its axis, shifting its position by one degree every 71.5 years, slightly changing its relationship to the other body masses in the galaxy.
• Summer Solstice – June 21 when the sun is at its most northern point causing it to be the longest day of the year.
• Winter Solstice – December 21, when the sun it at its most southern point causing it to the shortest day of the year.
• Solar System – a star or sun with planets rotating around it in uniform cycles.
• Milky Way Galaxy – stars, planets, and other heavenly masses contained within one system.
• Equator – an imaginary line denoting the center between north and south of a body mass. The earth’s equator runs around the center of earth separating the northern section of the planet from the southern section of the planet. The equator of the Milky Way galaxy is also an imaginary line separating the northern and southern sections of the galaxy.
• Solar Flare – Similar to a volcano on the earth, a solar flare is an eruption on the sun’s surface releasing a large amount of heat and particles. This occurrence is also known as solar weather and solar storms.
• Sunspots – regions on the sun where magnetic activity is extreme.

According to most scientists, the Milky Way galaxy is depicted as a somewhat disc-shaped mass containing stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies. The stars, planets and other heavenly masses move above and below the galactic center. According to NASA scientists, our solar system rotates around the center of the galaxy in a nearly circular orbit, approximately 30,000 light years from the center, taking approximately 226,000 years to complete an orbit, and that no galactic alignment with the “center” of the galaxy is imminent.

The theory of December 21, 2012, simply stated, is that the winter solstice sun is predicted to align with the “equator” of the Milky Way galaxy as a result of the precession of the equinoxes, or the wobbling of the earth on its axis. According to many scientists, the sun aligns with the galactic equator annually. However, what makes this event different is that the “winter solstice” sun will be aligning with the galactic equator. This event occurs only every 26,000 years, but is thought to be fairly uneventful. The total process takes approximately 36 years to complete; this cycle began in 1980 and will complete the cycle in 2016. Some scientists report that the direct alignment took place in 1999.

Many astrobiologists and scientists state that web sites and books promoting dire results are simply trying to earn a buck from all the doom and gloom these discussions precipitate. Still, others say the alignment has not yet taken place in this cycle, and with the increased solar activity occurring simultaneously, many catastrophic events could result. So, as usual, many opinions abound and the general public doesn’t know who to believe; although, it would more logical to heed the words of well-known and respected astrobiologists and astrophysicists.

Solar activity, however, is confirmed by all. It is also important to understand the role the sun may play in earthly events. According to NASA scientists, a new solar cycle is beginning evidenced by the appearance of a reversed polarity sunspot.  This means that the polarity of the most recently discovered sunspot has an opposite polarity from the sunspots that preceded it, concluding a new cycle has begun. The beginning of Solar Cycle 24 is not an unusual event. Changes in solar cycles occur approximately every 11 years or so causing a rise in the sun’s solar activity, also known as solar flares. Sunspots are a signal to scientists that solar activity is on the rise; since 2008, this has been the case. It is interesting to note that the most intense solar activity, or peak in the current cycle, is predicted to occur between 2011 and 2012.

Documented predictions made by past civilizations, astronomers, and psychics of a major, planet changing event taking place in December of 2012 can also a bit unsettling to the public. The ancient Mayan civilization lived in Central America between 300 and 1200 AD and practiced exceptional astronomy and mathematics. Their recorded calendar does end on December 21, 2012. Even considering their adept studies of the heavens, many scientists agree that it would have been virtually impossible for the Mayans to predict the end of the world, and they actually don’t predict the end of the world; their calendar simply ends on that day. If the Mayan culture plotted the position of the stars and constellations, which many cultures have done in the past, it is obvious they would have noticed changes in the location of stars and constellations due to the one degree wobbling of the earth every 71.5 years, which, as noted previously, does change the earth’s physical relationship to other heavenly bodies. The ending of their calendar on a particular day could have merely signaled the end of a particular age.

The I Ching, known as the Book of Change, has been said to be the oldest book in the world hailing from the ancient Chinese culture in approximately 2800 BC. This book apparently maps time coincidently ending on December 21, 2012; however, the mathematical equations used to come to this conclusion are scientifically unfounded to date.

Of course, Nostradamus cannot be left out of this scenario. He too also predicted cataclysmic events to occur in 2012. He predicted many events; some happened, others did not.

The public should take note that the interpretation of ancient artifacts and documents can vary from one expert to the next. It is not that difficult to see what one wants to see and read between the lines making ancient documents relevant to the world today. 

Possible Consequences

Will the earth be destroyed or will life as we know it be altered? Will technology merely need to repair damage to satellites and power grids? Will the earth be swallowed up into the black hole? Will anything happen at all?

The impending, intense solar cycle could interfere with satellite signals causing cell phone and cable use to be hindered or completed disabled until repairs can be made. This has been confirmed by NASA. As well, power grids providing electricity could be inoperative leaving large parts of the world without power for a short time. Solar flares have crippled power grids before, as recently as the late nineteen eighties, also confirmed by NASA.

The magnetic shifts of the North and South poles does happen but takes several thousands of years to complete the process, with relatively unnoticeably effects. Geological pole shifts, the North and South poles actually changing places in the span of a few days, would take a massive amount of energy. The earthly effects would be staggering, but no scientific data exists to preclude that is likely to happen.

In Conclusion:

It is safe to say that the winter solstice galactic alignment will continue to occur as it has every 26,000 years. It is safe to say that Solar Cycle 24 is beginning and will most likely peak around 2011-2012. It is safe to say that satellite communication could fail, weather patterns may be affected, but to assume the Earth will be pulled into a black hole or that the poles will geographically flip is a bit of a stretch. There is actually no point at all in worrying about it, spending all your money, digging a cave, or stockpiling ten years of supplies. The most that will probably happen will be that you wake on December 22 and not have a cell phone signal; God forbid.