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Thread: Any Mayan Calendar experts here?

  1. #11
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    Hello.

    I have gone over the material and, yes, the Mayan timeline comes up with a 26000 year cycle.
    It also comes up with a point when the planets are in alignment but I am not sure of a connection.
    The trouble is that the Mayan record keeping is not one simple system but several calendars.
    In short, there is no easy answer.
    One can say that based on this one calendar this happens and based on another that happens.
    But if given enough options (chances) sooner or later one is going to be right.
    Remember even a broken clock is right 2 times a day.

  2. #12
    Pope Carlo l NQ6U's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KA5PIU View Post
    Remember even a broken clock is right 2 times a day.
    I got a broken 24 hour clock. It's only right once a day.
    All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.

  3. #13
    SK Member (10/28/2012) - Island Prude
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    Astronomers refer to the 26,000 year cycle as the precession of the equinoxes. Much like the axis of a top wobbles, so the Earth's axis of rotation wobbles, so that the sky visible from a point on earth is ever so slightly different from the view in the previous year.

    It's well accepted that the Greeks knew about the precession before the time of Christ, so it's not inconceivable that the Mayans made a similar discovery. But in the Wikipedia article on precession of the equinoxes, there's a statement that scholars of the Mayans have not yet been convinced that this was the case. It would have required close observation and good bookkeeping, which is likely in a culture with religious events tied to astronomical relationships. And yet the history of science is riddled with opportunities missed, and the Mayans just might not have noticed, since the effect is very small.

    And if you're wondering what "the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius" really is, it's when a reference location on the Earth at the vernal equinox crosses from the sector of the sky called Pisces to the sector called Aquarius due to this precession, which will occur in about 600 years, more or less. Unfortunately, astrologers have not incorporated the precession of the equinoxes into their sky charts, which means your actual sign is one over from the one you think you have. (Good for a chuckle among astronomy undergraduates).
    Last edited by ab1ga; 01-07-2011 at 06:51 PM. Reason: missed a phrase

  4. #14
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ab1ga View Post
    Astronomers refer to the 26,000 year cycle as the precession of the equinoxes. Much like the axis of a top wobbles, so the Earth's axis of rotation wobbles, so that the sky visible from a point on earth is ever so slightly different from the view in the previous year.

    It's well accepted that the Greeks knew about the precession before the time of Christ, so it's not inconceivable that the Mayans made a similar discovery. But in the Wikipedia article on precession of the equinoxes, there's a statement that scholars of the Mayans have not yet been convinced that this was the case. It would have required close observation and good bookkeeping, which is likely in a culture with religious events tied to astronomical relationships. And yet the history of science is riddled with opportunities missed, and the Mayans just might not have noticed, since the effect is very small.

    And if you're wondering what "the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius" really is, it's when a reference location on the Earth at the vernal equinox crosses from the sector of the sky called Pisces to the sector called Aquarius due to this precession, which will occur in about 600 years, more or less. Unfortunately, astrologers have not incorporated the precession of the equinoxes into their sky charts, which means your actual sign is one over from the one you think you have. (Good for a chuckle among astronomy undergraduates).
    To the latter, it's called the 13th House.
    I'm not even sure this describes it. It is more ethereal in nature. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news..._heliumstream/

    http://2012-predictions-review.blogs...rift-nasa.html Yeah. That one is bloggy.

  5. #15
    Pope Carlo l NQ6U's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KG4CGC View Post
    To the latter, it's called the 13th House.
    I'm not even sure this describes it. It is more ethereal in nature. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news..._heliumstream/
    A helium wind...that sounds a lot like a description of one of Rudy's posts.
    All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.

  6. #16
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    I can't imagine absorbing enough helium to get yourself raptured.

  7. #17
    SK Member (10/28/2012) - Island Prude
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    In reality, the end of the world isn't going to occur for another few thousand years.

    You see, those Mayans did almost all of their important writing in stone, not on paper. And writing out a calendar in stone is not just boring, but tedious, especially for a young Mayan bureaucrat on Friday afternoon.

    I figure he looked out at the warm summer sun and thought of taking in the afternoon ballgame with the kids, so he snuck out early. He probably thought he had plenty of time to finish the job, and even if he didn't 2012 (Mayan equivalent) was a long way off, and the rest of the calendar could wait.

    Then Cortez showed up.

  8. #18
    Orca Whisperer kf0rt's Avatar
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    For what little it's worth....

    In 2009, the wifey and I took a tour of Chichen Itza, complete with a Mayan descendant tour guide. He spent a lot of time debunking the 2012 myth and the bottom line was that the Mayan calendar is like most other calendars. It resets in 2012, but this isn't a predictor of doom -- it's just the start of the next calendar.

    Here's to another 25,000 years!

  9. #19
    Anti-Winlink Warlord ki4itv's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ab1ga View Post
    In reality, the end of the world isn't going to occur for another few thousand years.

    You see, those Mayans did almost all of their important writing in stone, not on paper. And writing out a calendar in stone is not just boring, but tedious, especially for a young Mayan bureaucrat on Friday afternoon.

    I figure he looked out at the warm summer sun and thought of taking in the afternoon ballgame with the kids, so he snuck out early. He probably thought he had plenty of time to finish the job, and even if he didn't 2012 (Mayan equivalent) was a long way off, and the rest of the calendar could wait.

    Then Cortez showed up.

    I'll have to go with this one.

    "Bacon, Beans and Limousines"
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  10. #20
    Silent Key Member 5-25-2015 W1GUH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KG4CGC View Post
    I can't imagine absorbing enough helium to get yourself raptured.
    What's the point of your Avatar?
    If it's a war on drugs, then free the POW's.

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