I’ve been getting very confused. There are really 2 opposing time periods between each that I’ve read on the internet. Some say it’s 25,625 years long and some say it’s 25,920 years. Please provide proof with your answer… I’d try to find it myself, but the internet shows a good amount of false information. Thanks for the help.
I’m not really sure what you’re asking…
I am assuming it pertains to 2012 and the Mayan Calendar? I assume this because of “galactic alignment” and the number 25,000-26,000ish number you ask about… my mind only makes sense of both in light of the Mayan Long count.
I recall reading a theory a few years back about the meaning of the Mayan’s “calender end” date of 2012, December… 21ish (?) involving a 25,000ish number. 2012 as the predicted time where the sun’s solstice point aligns with a “galactic equator”… which is like an equator to the Milky Way galaxy as earth’s equator is to it–separating it into north and south poles. Is that what you are talking about? 25,000 thingish years as the cycle between the sun’s “galactic alignments”?
Are you trying to obtain a more confident estimation of the December 2012 date?
Well, whatever you may think, I don’t know much about that Galactic alignment idea, only that it assumes I only know of it resting on the assumption the Mayan Calendar “ends” at the December 2012 date, which people who have thoroughly studied the culture, language and glyphs think isn’t an accurate way of seeing it. Long count dates are usually written using 5 numbers, each (from left to right) referring to a cycle (of a number of days) that includes a number of cycles in the next number (cycle), each number goes back to zero when it “completes”–adding one (showing the start of a new cycle) to the cycle to the left. 13.0.0.0.0 has been interpreted as the Dec 21 2012 date, and there have not been any 5 digit long count dates that exceed it.
That, as well as records of things “ending” (interpreted as gods coming down, the word ending, whatever) have led many to claim it refers to an “end of the world”, but most with extensive knowledge and research of the calendar (and the ability to decipher the glyphs) see it as an end of the 13th baktun cycle–the first baktun, as well as the first date/day of the 5 digit long count, beginning 1.0.0.0.0, which correlates to August 11 3114 BC. The thing is, 1.0.0.0.0 doesn’t necessarily ONLY refer to a single date in the Roman calendar–there are rarely used cycles that are sometimes used to refer to project events in the distant past or future. For example, one glyph referred to some distant celebratory anniversary of a king that was written in some long count date less than 13.0.0.0.0, but the date is put into perspective by another specified cycle/start point, that results in a date thousands of years from now.
…Having said all that, if I were to give an answer to your question, based on the Mayan Calendar (though I can’t claim it as accurately referring to a “galactic alignment”), I’d say 25,626.28.
I got this number by taking the number of days between 1.0.0.0.0 and 13.0.0.0.0 (13 x 144,000)–which comes to 5125.256 years, when dividing the total days by 365.25, and then multiplying by 5.
I don’t know of any Mayan cycle that refers to this span of 25,625 years, though. But I don’t know all that much about the calendar.
The long count cycle is about 5,000 years, as you say. But (according to my neighbour, who’s a professor of mesoamerican archaeology, and the only reason I know anything about it) the apocalyptic connotations are a modern Western invention. The Mayans would be gearing up for a big party in a couple of years, and that’s it.
“But”? I thought I made it clear I didn’t give credence to the apocalyptic interpretations. I agree with your neighbor that the only projected event is some sorta celebratory “We made it through another cycle, three cheers” kinda thing.
Yes, sorry; a lazy post by me. The “but” was addressed to the assumed point of the OP, not you.
Ah gotcha okay. It’s all good.
Still, looking two and a half years ahead, it looks to get pretty apocalyptic even without the calendar.
I’m just curious if you happen to know – by whom? And for what purpose?
Also, where these misinterpretations supposedly intentional (deceitful), or the work of some ‘scholar’ or scientist that figured some apocalyptic conclusion seemed more rational?
I don’t, I can ask.
Wiki gives the following
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_pheno … t_calendar
suggesting it comes from a reasonably respected archaeological source who has since been assessed to have been talking somewhat beyond the evidence supported. Less charitably, it’s the sort of thing to get lots of media and popular interest, which is generally welcome in academic circles when funding comes around.
I wasn’t implying any significant event of any kind would occur either. I would just like to know what modern astronomy has to say about the exact length of time between each galactic alignment (the winter solstice sun aligning with the galactic equator (as seen from Earth of course)). So far there are 2 conflicting lengths of time… One which states that it takes 25,625 years to align… The other states that it’s 25,920… A 295 year difference (which is relatively large). Now, I would like to know what modern astronomy has to say on this question.
25,625 - The Mayan culture established the 5 long count periods (ages/suns) which were roughly 5,125 years long. 5,125 x 5 = 25,625. I’ve done some research on it and I’m not finding any specifics and I don’t have the time to find out… So I’m hoping somebody on here might.
25,920 - [copied from: soulsofdistortion.nl/SODA_chapter10.html] - "Precession can be monitored by determining the position of a zodiac sign at pre-defined moments of the year. These pre-defined moments are the solstices and equinoxes that define the change of the seasons. If for instance the Sun is observed on the vernal equinox (March 21st) every year for a period of 72 years, we would notice that the zodiac sign that aligns with the Sun has shifted 1 degree in position in the heavens. In order for this zodiac sign to make a full circle of 360 degrees and return to the same place in the sky, 360 * 72 = 25920 years would be required for a complete precession cycle. Since precession is tracking the signs of the zodiac on solstices and equinoxes, precession is also referred to as the precession of the solstices or the precession of the equinoxes.
In our present time on the vernal equinox the Sun aligns with the sign of Pisces and it is about to make its transition into Aquarius. That’s why the New Age movement speaks of the coming Age of Aquarius. The actual transition date to Aquarius is believed by many to coincide with the end of the Maya Long Count calendar but in reality it will take at least another 360 years before the vernal equinox enters Aquarius.
But to answer our initial question, what makes the Winter Solstice of 2012 so special? Well, on December 21st 2012 a very rare alignment will occur in the Earth’s precession cycle of 25.920 years. Although the exact date is hard to determine, somewhere around the ending of the Maya calendar, the Earth, the Winter Solstice Sun and the galactic equator will align. As the alignment occurs the Sun will enter the Dark Rift of the Milky Way near the center of our galaxy. So this alignment is very rare in the precession cycle. Since it occurs at the winter solstice of 2012 (21st December 2012), it is also called the Winter Solstice Galactic Alignment."
I wish I had more time, but I know there’s people who know this better than I do. Thanks for the help.
P.S. - Once again, this thread is not predicting an apocalypse or any significant event at the exact date of the galactic alignment… This is for calender discussion only.
Apparently not:
informationisbeautiful.net/v … the-world/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_pheno … _alignment
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_pheno … _alignment
The most precise alignment with the rift happened 12 years ago, and alignment with the galactic plane won’t occur again for 30 million years.
Sorry, I can’t offer any opinion regarding modern science’s answer to how long it takes between two galactic alignments.
I don’t know all that much about this, but I’m not so sure they could even come up with an accurate prediction… maybe they could if it came down to a large window of time from one to the next (starting with the astronomical data they have at their disposal with the onset of the former), if they could predict (again, ranges of possible) distance to stars with a mass that–within certain distances–could have a gravitational effect on the sun, which would have an effect on the sun’s orbit around the galactic center (even if extremely small);
I don’t know much about astronomy, but there are a lot of stars in the Milky Way–a lot of gravitational forces--which I imagine would effect the sun in such a way that coming up with a galactic cycle that is accurate (even if only intended to predict the time between once and the next) would have to allow for a window of a couple hundred years.
Though you certainly didn’t imply any significant events (that would effect anyone ignorant to the Mayan calendar or astronomical events) would happen, I was just saying that it seemed your post was motivated to try to rationalize Dec 21, 2012 as a date the Mayan’s intentionally calculated as the galactic alignment. So, I gave my opinion on why there isn’t–at least, to my limited knowledge–any significance to approx. 25,625 years (IE 5 full spans through 5 number-long counts–or 5 cycles of 13 baktuns); I never read anything about a cycle consisting of 25,625 years, nor have I came across any use of 5 to relate one cycle to another. I would think they’re have a specific, single glyph to refer to a cycle as significant as a full cycle of the sun around the galactic circle, if they deliberately arranged the long count date of 13.0.0.0.0 to predict that event (… and set it up the long count date had to go through 5 times).
It just seems to me that someone took that date, along with the glyph, and–assuming it was intended to refer to do astronomical event–started looking for anything to correlate it with.
I appreciate everybody’s help.
(((((Only_Humean))))) Thanks for the more accurate Mayan measurements… That would make the more accurate prediction 25,626.8 years (if in fact the data on the first link was correct). I’ve heard arguments against Jenkins and where the Galactic Equator is located, but I guess this is all we have for now. Timewave Zero is another form of this measurement, but this is hard to find information on as well.
Thanks for everybody’s help… I have to fly. If anything new is found, than let me know.
Moved to NS - hope ok with you Faust?
I’d love for something interesting to happen around the 2012 mark - would make life less dull, no? 
I’m down to discuss possibilities about what might happen. 
Check out the wiki page of 1998, when the alignment actually happened (which was when I heard of it occurring in 2012, strangely)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998.
Interesting changes. February 23, for example.
I dont know how this could possibly relate to glaxies far far away.
Is there any theoretical physics that supports astrology?
Yes its 25,920 actually (well really its 25,921 if we adjust for galactic savings time). Once the galaxy aligns with the solar system we will be transported via quantum entanglement to UFOs that exist in the 8th dimension. At the Equinox humanity will renuite with the shaman alien mayans and will either rejoice in universal harmony and bliss of enlightenment universal mind with them, or we will fall into 0-dimensional space and be squeezed into an infinite vortex of mass due to our lower consciousness and bestial animal nature.
It all depends on whether or not you are groovy enough. Having long hair, smoking hash and wearing hemp clothing helps.