Expert: Ed - 11/1/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi Ed,

I've heard the talk of winter stolsice sun aligning with our galactic center.  It's often mentioned by people with weak astronomical background, in the context of apocalyptic theories.  But now I'm curious - could there be perceivable gravitational effects on our solar system?  I understand physicists believe there exists a super black hole at the center of our galaxy.  Any thoughts on this alignment phenomena?

Thanks,
Joe

ANSWER: Joe,
I personally think it is good that you are being skeptical about this stuff, while maintaining an open mind as to whether there could be some kernel of truth to it.

OK, yes, there is a huge black hole at the center of our galaxy.  Here is a very good link to start from, if you are interested in learning more about it.  Especially look at the links in the Related Stories section of the page, in the middle column, about halfway down the page.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050111114024.htm

This black hole, and the other black holes at the center of our galaxy, probably do help to hold our galaxy together.  But what you need to remember is that its gravity is a constant.  It has been tugging at us for billions of years.  The sun has passed between the Earth and this area many, many, many times before, and it will do so many, many, many times in the future.  This "alignment" is nothing new.  

I notice on some of the crazy websites that you're referring to that people seem to use the word "alignment" in a very mystical way.  Be careful about letting this kind of thing get into your brain!!  There's nothing mystical about objects in the sky getting near each other.

I hope this is helpful.  Keep Looking Up!
--Ed

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Ed,
Thanks so much for the reply.  Please let me follow up by putting my
question in perhaps a bit wider context than it might have seemed on first
impression.  I am well aware of the alarmists' talk of an era change,
sometimes based on the supposed astronomical prescience of the Mayan
calendar, or other highly speculative sources.  It also seems that even within
the astronomy community, it is not agreed that the timeline of crossings in
the galactic equatorial plane could be predicted with full precision.

However, I believe that discussions regarding our solar system traversing our
galaxy's equatorial plane have been had among serious thinkers as well.  As
you commended me (thanks), I am not usually prone to wholeheartedly
accepting, or summarily dismissing, a curious hypothesis until I've
investigated in some depth.  

It seems there is quite a long period of activity accounting for the movement
of the entire solar system directly through the equatorial plane.  If I'm not
mistaken, astronomers tend to think this is a rare event.  There also seems to
be a school of thought among reputable thinkers, that such movement could
raise the likelihood of the solar system being affected gravitationally by the
dense collection of matter in the equatorial plane, or the planets could be
impacted by comets from the postulated 'Oort Cloud.'

I would be grateful if you were able to have a quick look at the Shiva
Hypothesis, which seems to have a scientific basis in geology, biology and
serious astronomical conjecture, at:

http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc020298.html

if you find the time.

Thanks Again Ed!
Joseph

Answer
Joseph,
Hi again.  Sorry if I was a little dismissive last time.  I guess my answer was reasonable enough, as far as it went.

I've been thinking about how to answer this all day (off and on).  I'm just going to send you what I have so far, and if you'd like to get back to me again, I'll be checking in at my computer on Sunday.  That way, you could spend some time mulling over whatever looks interesting (if you have free time, of course).

First of all, okay, I see what you're getting at.  I think calling it the "Shiva Hypothesis" probably hurt the theory's chances of being taken seriously, but it could still hold some truth.

There may be SOMETHING out there causing surges in cometary activity, every 30 to 35 million years, as Rampino suggests.  Whether it has anything to do with the sun passing through the galactic plane is another matter.

If you ask other online services about this, let me advise you to not even mention the whole Mayan 2012 business.  Professional astronomers probably go into a state similar to clinical depression when the topic is even mentioned.  All the websites I've seen about 2012 are constructed by people who probably didn't even pass "Physics for Poets" in college.

Having said that, the Shiva idea could be true, albeit totally unrelated to the year 2012.

Look at this helpful website:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=576560

If the link doesn't work, google shiva rampino comets, and just sort through the first few hits until you recognize that website.  I hope you spend some time on that website, it is fantastic, and provides several helpful URLs for further research.

Also try:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070915213434AAslo3d

If you are curious about this kind of thing, I would like to recommend the book "Exodus to Arthur" by Mike Baillie.  It is speculative, but not irresponsibly so.  Look at the customer comments on its Amazon.com page.

Also, try googling clube napier comets (NOT in quotes) and see what comes up.  You may be pleasantly surprised.

I am trying to provide you with food for thought, here.  I hope this is helpful...  I came across the "google answers" posting while I was searching for various terms, and realized that I could never top it, so I'm including a link to it.

If you are new to this general topic, let me warn you to be wary of any website treating Velikovsky with respect.  Seriously, the guy's a total nutjob.

I hope this is helpful.  Keep Looking Up!
--Ed