No Problem, Laura.
First, the solstice: The solstices and equinoxes are technically single moments in time, worldwide. The earth's spin defines an axis. The axis of the earth's spin is angled a bit from the plane of the orbit around the sun.
If you think of the earth as a top that is spinning on a tabletop, it is moving around a tennis ball that is sitting on the table where the 'sun' is. The top is not standing up straight, it is tilted over by 23 1/2 degrees.
So the earth moves around the sun at a bit less than 1 degree per day. The axis stays pointed in the same direction (more or less) throughout the year. This is what gives us our seasons. Summer is when the tilt of the axis is pointed toward the sun, and winter is when it is pointed away.
With me so far?
So, as the earth swings around the sun, there will be a moment in time when the axis of the earth shoots directly over the top of the sun, and on the other side there will be a moment in time when the axis shoots directly away from the sun (and the southern half of the axis shoots directly under the sun).
These are the solstices.
So, regardless of where you are on the earth, that moment in time occurs simultaneously. So on one side it will be close to noon, and on the other side it will be close to midnight, and everything in between, depending on where you are.
Second: The timing of the "2012 doomsday".
It is the assertion of various authors who take the Mayan Calendar, say that it 'ends' in 2012 (which it doesn't) and assert that this is because the Maya designed their calendar to end on a date that corresponds to the day that the solstice sun (the position of the sun on the solstice) is the same as the 'dark rift' of the galaxy. So, the 'solstice sun rises in the dark rift'. The reason why that would change over time is that the axis of our top is veeeerrrrrryyyyy sssssllllllooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy changing over time. It 'wobbles' once, going around in a full circle, every 26,000 years or so.
This (and some other stuff which we will ignore for now) causes an effect called 'precession' where the positions of the background of stars changes slightly… about 1 day every 76 years, if I recall correctly.
So, these authors (Jenkins, Pinchbeck, Arguelles, and others) incorrectly assert that this alignment happens (it doesn't) every 26,000 years, and that it will happen again on December 21st, 2012 (when it was actually closest to this alignment about 12 years ago).
This was taken to a new level of error by other authors, who asserted (again incorrectly) that the solstice occurs precisely on 11:11 AM UT (or GMT if you prefer), which, because of the repeated digits, is somehow magical or special.
So, a series of errors has led to this mistaken belief that the Mayan calendar ends at the moment of the solstice, and that death and destruction will rain down on us,.
Sam (guest) 17 Jul 2010 19:27
