Is our solar system about to pass through the plane of our galaxy?

1. 0

   The Quiz Masterposted 13 years ago

   I read it's going to happen late 2012.
   
   This is what I read, I quote,
   
   "Unfortunately, the people who study these things say that there is very much intensified radiation along the plane of the galaxy and a concentrated gravitational field with so many astronomical bodies all lined up, and that when we cross that plane, then things will be different. Recently, astronomers were able to watch another solar system crossing the plane of the galaxy and see what happened to it, and in that case, there were massive solar flares.
   Observations of another solar system which did that recently, showed that their sun flared up and created major radiation. If that happens to our Sun, which seems distinctly possible, then the effect may well be devastating for us."
   
   Can anyone put my mind at ease?

   replyreport
   1. 60

      Shahid Bukhariposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The Created Universe cannot be held, by the Hubble, or any Radio  Telescopes ... Nor the cameras of Hollywood ...
      
      Nor can we Shift the Reality of existence ... by Astronomical, or Astrological, Theories and Predictions.
      
      Every once in an century ... these pranksters come up with these end of times predictions ... it has been going on for eons.
      
      Regarding your quote, I have only this much to say ...
      "If Its The Lord's Will, the world will come to end today ... if Not ...
      do not waste your night's sleep over these matter, take these in humor."

      replyreport
   2. 60

      qwarkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Quiz:
      For as long as the sun, earth and our solar system has existed, many things have "lined up" in the galaxy. Old Mother earth is still here.
      Now if you are worried about the possible extinction of man, "why worry? Be happy!" There's not a damn thing ya can do about it.
      Here today gone tomorrow.
      Our friend "Hawking" says we've more to worry about from we infantile humans than we do from threats from the galaxy.
      Relax! Nuthin' lasts forever!  :
      Qwark

      replyreport
      1. 60

         paradigmsearchposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         We are all doomed!

         replyreport
   3. 0

      zampanoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Relax, have a drink and find some good company.

      replyreport
   4. 58

      Beelzedadposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Sure, the "Galactic Plane" is often confused with the "Galactic Equator" - we passed through the galactic plane about 3 million years ago and will not pass through it again for another 30 million years.
      
      Hope that helps.

      replyreport
      1. 72

         lone77starposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Good point, Beelze!
         
         Not only is the passage a long way off, but scientists no longer think such oscillations in our galactic orbit are related to mass extinctions of the past, which is likely where this fear originated.
         
         And why are "galactic plane" and "galactic equator" often confused? Because they both pertain to the split between the northern and southern halves of the galaxy, but the "equator" is a visual location in our sky, with the sun passing through this twice each year. The "plane" is a physical location about 8 parsecs (~26 light years) "below" the Solar system. Even at light speed, our sun couldn't make that distance by 2012, and the sun's motion within the galaxy is far slower than light speed.

         replyreport
   5. 56

      DrPeterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      We are NOT about to pass through the plane.  We will be hung up in Galactic Security Agency screening for at least 20,000 more years.  We'll have to take off our ice caps, and GSA will require a thorough planetary pat down before we can pass through.

      replyreport
2. 60

   RDSPhDposted 13 years ago

   2012 will be a freaking great year but not because something bad happens, it's a great year to observe the sky with an optical telescope, our planet will be in a good position regarding the astronomical bodies all lined up. I don't think anything bad is going to happen, 99942 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942) in 2029 frightens me a bit more but still not really that of a danger

   replyreport
3. 72

   thisisoliposted 13 years ago

   Do you have the source, this kind of interests me (I really wish I had been an astronomer sometimes, but I don't have the patience).
   
   Judging by astronomical scales though it seems fairly possible that while we may enter the plane in 2012,it could take thousands of years to actually get far enough in to it for noticable effects. (This is just a guess, I really don't know enough about it to make an educated comment.)

   replyreport
4. 91

   melporposted 13 years ago

   The plane of the our galaxy does not affect us in any way. Our solar system is like a speck of sand in the galaxy. I do not think you have anything to worry about. Also the plane of our solar system sit at an angle of about 45 degree with respect to the plane of the galaxy.

   replyreport
5. 0

   The Quiz Masterposted 13 years ago

   I got this quote from a guy called Patrick J Kelly who writes about free energy devices and this was just a small chapter in a very large 2200 page book I downloaded a year ago. I can't seem to find that chapter on the internet any more. Sorry.
   
   I've noticed a lot of information like this being systematicaly removed from the internet and I can't help but wonder if there is some kind of conspiracy going on.
   
   You really do not know who beleive any more.
   
   You get information overload when trying to research a subject like this.
   
   Those that say nothing bad will happen when our solar system passes through the plane of our Galaxy don't have any proof to back it up. The same goes the other way round too.
   
   The problem is that this only happens once every 25,800 years so modern man has nothing to go by.
   
   I recon it will be like spinning a roulette wheel, you never know where it could land, it could go in your favour or it could not.
   
   Historians though have a lot of clues left by past civilisations who mention this event in their scripts and drawings and tell of oceans being pulled up from the sea bed and being deposited on land(The Great Flood) of volcanos erupting and blocking out the sun and so forth.
   Then you have people who say the historians are simply translating the scripts into what THEY want them to mean.
   
   Never the less it has been fun reading all the stories and I'm not going to let it bother me and I don't think you should worry about it either.
   
   Just carry on your life and live each day the best you can.

   replyreport
6. 95

   wildernessposted 13 years ago

   The period of rotation of the solar system about the galaxy center is about 226 million years.  If our orbit is tipped slightly from the plane of the galaxy, we would cross that plane about every 113 million years (visualize the geometry here).  If we are indeed about the cross that plane once more it would mean that we crossed it last 113 million years ago; I rather doubt that there are any records, written OR verbal, from that time. 
   
   The difference between the plane of our orbit and the "equator" or plane of the galaxy is very small.  That the milky way is a relatively thin line of stars bears this out.  This in turn means that the gravitational changes due to more or less stars "in line" with us as we cross the mathematical plane will change very little.
   
   If you are finding your information from books about perpetual motion machines and the like (free energy perhaps, although I am not familiar with the actual meaning of that term) perhaps you need to find a better source of information.

   replyreport
7. 72

   lone77starposted 13 years ago

   No! Currently, the Earth and its parent, Sol (our sun), reside about 8 parsecs (26 light years) above the galactic plane. It takes many millions of years for our system to move that distance.
   
   It takes about 240 million years for the Solar system to orbit the galactic hub. During that time our system oscillates up and down, crossing the plane nearly three times each orbit (approximately 80 million years between each crossing).
   
   As Beelzedad said, the galactic plane is often confused with the galactic equator. The sun visually crosses the galactic equator, from our perspective, twice each year, just as it passes through each of the zodiacal signs (Taurus, Cancer, Leo, etc).
   
   Scientists once thought the orbital oscillations might coincide with mass extinctions, but the data do not support this. So, we're off the hook.

   replyreport