Well the holiday season is attracting traffic here in tiny Brooksville like hungry children to Christmas candy and we are holding up in our castle until the surge subsides, at least as much as possible. We decorated our tree and had a small party last weekend. But the really big news is happening this Friday morning precisely at sunrise.
At the moment of sunrise an astrological alignment will occur that has not occurred in 24,000 years but coincidentally on the same day as the last day of the current long count of the Mayan Calendar. At the exact moment of sunrise, not a day before nor a day later will this alignment hold true. As you gaze at the first signs of light from our massive yellow solar ball and glimpse its first shape and color, you will be gazing toward the very center of the Milky Way. Our galactic center located in the constellation Sagittarius is the heart of our pinwheel-shaped galaxy and only once every 24,000 years does this phenomenon occur. While today we are looking just slightly off from that precise point, when the first long count began 5,126 years (13 Baktuns) ago, it was indeed pointing at this exact place. But as time marches on, so does the wobble of our planet and the precise location of the galactic center has now drifted about the width of your pinky fingernail at arm's length and horizontally to your right.
This 24,000 year event is called the "earth's precession" and is the result of an impact millions of years ago from a very large meteor, possibly the one that devastated the dinosaurs. This impact knocked our spin from pointing stationary (at the same place in the heavens) to one that wobbles (draws a circle through the heavens). Although we perceive that the north star is at the same place each year, it is not. Because this precession is slight, over the 5,216 years since the very first long count it is has moved about the width of your pinky fingernail at arms length to your right (not much but undeniable). Like a spinning top as it looses speed starts to wobble before it falls, so does the earth wobble in it's precession. In 18,874 more years (that is on calendar date December 21, 20,886), this wobble will once again come full circle and point this same sunrise event precisely at the galactic center as it did on the day of the first long count.
At about 7:19AM eastern time on December 21, 2012, the sun will peek above the horizon. Put your pinky finger at the top edge of the sun and horizontally to the right will be our galactic center. Our local astronomy club and a few metaphysical friends are getting up that day to celebrate this once in a lifetime event. I invite you to do the same. Remember, do not stare at the sun too long since doing so will cause blindness. But just as it is reasonably safe to gaze at a sunset, so it is reasonably safe to briefly gaze at a sunrise.
Philip Rastocny
I do not use ads in this blog to help support my efforts. If you like what you are reading, please remember to reciprocate, My newest title is called Where, oh Where did the Star of Bethlehem Go? It’s an astronomer’s look at what this celestial object may have been, who the "Wise Men" were, and where they came from. Written in an investigative journalism style, it targets one star that has never been considered before and builds a solid case for its candidacy.
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