This Month in Exploration - January

Visit "This Month in Exploration" every month to find out how aviation and space exploration have changed throughout the years, improving life for humans on Earth and in space. While reflecting on the events that led to NASA's formation and its rich history of accomplishments, "This Month in Exploration" will reveal where the agency is leading us -- to the moon, Mars and beyond.

Amelia Earhart. Credit: NASA

225 Years Ago
January 7, 1785: Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries flew across the English Channel from Dover, England to a forest near Calais, France in their hydrogen balloon. At first the journey went well. But once over the Channel the balloon lost altitude and the pair had to toss ballast and other items overboard to remain aloft. About two hours after takeoff, they crossed the French coast clad only in their underwear and the cork life jackets they brought in case they landed in the water. It was the first time the channel was traversed by air.
105 Years Ago
January 3, 1905: Wilbur Wright met with U.S. Rep. Robert M. Nevin in an effort to interest the U.S. government in the use of airplanes for the military. Although the congressman submitted and endorsed a letter from Wright to President William Howard Taft and the secretary of war, the army declined the proposal.
90 Years Ago
January 2, 1920: Isaac Asimov, one of the most popular and prolific writers of science fiction, was born. Asimov’s three laws of robotics, introduced in his 1950 novel "I, Robot," have influenced work in robotics across the globe. The first law prohibits robots from injuring humans or allowing humans to come to harm.
January 29, 1920: President Woodrow Wilson appointed Orville Wright to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), a small committee of unpaid, appointed scientists and engineers dedicated to aerodynamics research. aerodynamics. Wright would remain with the NACA until his death in 1948.
The F-15A aircraft in flight. Credit: NASA

75 Years Ago
January 11, 1935: Amelia Earhart became the first woman pilot to fly solo between Hawaii and mainland United States. She flew her Lockheed Vega from Wheeler Field in Honolulu on the island of Oahu across the eastern Pacific to Oakland, Calif. and landed after 18 hours and 15 minutes. The flight occurred in adverse weather conditions and demonstrated Earhart's courage as well as her stubbornness.
65 Years Ago
January 8, 1945: The Mitsubishi J8M1 rocket-interceptor "Sword Stroke" made its first test flight in Japan. The fighter’s unique “tailless” design was tested by towing it into the air and letting it glide back down. The rocket motors were added and tested later that summer.
50 Years Ago
January 14, 1960: President Eisenhower directed the transfer of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency's (ABMA) Development Operations Division to NASA, creating the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntstville, Ala. The head of ABMA, Dr. Wernher von Braun, remained as director of the new center.
January 21, 1960: Little Joe 1B was launched at 7:00 p.m. EST from Wallops Island, Va. with one crew member aboard—a Rhesus monkey called "Miss Sam." The mission tested the launch and abort systems of the Mercury spacecraft.
45 Years Ago
January 19, 1965: NASA launched the Gemini-2 spacecraft using the Titan 2 launch vehicle at 9:04 a.m. EST from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. after delays caused by two hurricanes and technical problems with hydraulic pressure. The mission was an unmanned test of the launch vehicle and the Gemini spacecraft. It was completed successfully.
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40 Years Ago
January 23, 1970: NASA launched the ITOS 1/OSCAR 5 satellites via a Delta rocket at 6:34 a.m. EST from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The OSCAR 5 (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio), built primarily by students at the University of Melbourne in Australia, was the first amateur satellite to be remotely controlled. The University compiled hundreds of tracking reports from stations in 27 countries.
35 Years Ago
January 16, 1975: The U.S. Air Force set new climb-time records with the McDonnell Douglas F-15A aircraft, operating from Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. A modified F-15 was stripped of its gun, its radar, some avionics, the tail hook, one generator, part of the hydraulic system, actuators and 40 pounds of external paint. During Operation Streak Eagle, the aircraft broke all existing time-to-altitude records.
30 Years Ago
January 7, 1980: A single-engine Mooney 231 flew non-stop, coast-to coast— using only 105 gallons of fuel. This set a non-stop record of just over eight hours.
Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface. Credit: NASA 25 Years Ago

January 7, 1985: Japan launched Sakigake from Uchinoura Space Center as the country’s first interplanetary mission. The probe was essentially a test mission prior to launching another probe, Suisei, designed as part of an international effort to study Halley’s comet. Sakigake means ‘pioneer’ in Japanese.
20 Years Ago
January 9, 1990: The space shuttle Columbia (STS-32) launched from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. at 7:35 a.m. EST and deployed the Syncom IV-5 satellite. Columbia’s crew also retrieved the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) on January 11. The spacecraft landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 1:35 a.m. PST on January 20.
10 Years Ago
January 3, 2000: The Galileo probe flew by Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Launched in October of 1989, the spacecraft reached Jupiter in December of 1995. Its mission was to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet and its largest moons, which it did until 2003 when the probe disintegrated in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Information about Europa returned by Galileo led scientists to speculate about liquid water oceans and the possibility of life beneath the moon’s icy surface.
5 Years Ago
January12, 2005: NASA launched its Deep Impact spacecraft by a Delta 2 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. at 1:47 p.m. EST. Its mission, the first of its kind, was to fly by Comet Tempel 1 and eject an impactor into the comet, releasing debris for scientific study. The successful impact and observation revealed answers to questions regarding the exterior and interior structure of a comet.
Present Day
January 20, 2010: Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., will celebrate his eightieth birthday this year. Aldrin, a U.S. astronaut and Apollo 11 crewmember, was one of the first two humans (along with Neil Armstrong) to set foot on the moon during the historic Apollo 11 mission. He developed spacecraft docking and rendezvous techniques, as well as underwater training techniques for space walks that are still in use today.

Newborn Black Holes Boost Explosive Power of Supernovae

Initial e-VLBI detection of SN 2007gr with the EVN on 6-7 September 2007 (colors). The EVN and Green Bank Telescope VLBI image obtained on 5-6 November 2007 is overlaid (contour representation). Image Credit: Z. Paragi, Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE).› Larger image
The radio telescopes that participated in the initial e-VLBI observations of SN2007gr. Image Credit: Image Credit: P. Boven, Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE); NASA Visible Earth.› Larger image
The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, located near Westerbork, the Netherlands, played an important role in obtaining these results. Image Credit: ASTRON› Larger image An international team of scientists, including two astronomers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., have observed a supernova with peculiar radio emission. In the Jan. 28 issue of Nature, the team -- led by Zsolt Paragi of the Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry in Europe, or JIVE -- reveals new details of these highly energetic explosions.
Supernova SN 2007gr was discovered less than five days after its explosion at a distance of just 35 million light years away -- one of the closest Type Ic supernovae ever seen in radio waves from Earth. Supernovae mark the violent deaths of massive stars via core collapse, followed by a gigantic explosion which expels their outer layers in an expanding fireball. As the explosion ejecta expand, they cool and slow down, and their emission progressively move to longer wavelengths, from X-rays to radio waves. SN 2007gr was close enough and found early enough to be a great candidate for extensive follow-up observations.
"The explosion dynamics in typical supernovae limit the speed of the expanding matter to about three percent of the speed of light," said Chryssa Kouveliotou, an astrophysicist at the Marshall Center who co-authored the new study. "Yet in this new object we're tracking gas moving some 20 times faster than this."
Type Ic supernovae also have been associated with another very energetic phenomenon in high energy astrophysics: Gamma Ray Bursts. Though most of the energy in these bursts is released by gamma-ray jets traveling almost at the speed of light no such fast expansion evidence has yet been observed from other Type Ic supernovae.
Kouveliotou quickly put together an international team of radio astronomers. Led by Paragi and JIVE, the team included 14 members from 12 institutions spread over seven countries -- including the United States, the Netherlands, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and South Africa.
The team proposed to use the highest-resolution imaging technique -- Very Long Baseline Interferometry, or VLBI -- to collect the extremely faint emission from SN 2007gr and reveal details of the explosion process. With the VLBI technique, multiple radio telescopes thousands of kilometers from one another carry out measurements simultaneously. The astronomers exploited the electronic VLBI capabilities of the European VLBI Network, by which the data are streamed in real time from the telescopes to the joint institute's central data processor in the Netherlands.
A rapid analysis of the SN 2007gr data, obtained 22 days after initial discovery, showed that the source was still visible in the radio. Based on this result, the team carried out further observations with the European VLBI Network and the Green Bank Telescope in Pocahontas County, W.V. For the first time ever, scientists measured mildly relativistic expansion in such a source.
One other instrument, the Westerbork Synthesis Array Telescope played an important role in obtaining this result due to its large collecting area, which significantly improved the sensitivity of the VLBI observations. Westerbork telescope observations, combined with radio data from the Very Large Array in Socorro, N.M., provided an independent measurement of the total flux density, or brightness, of the source.
In the second VLBI observation, the source was less bright when measured in very high resolution with the global VLBI network of radio telescopes than it was with the Westerbork telescope. The team of radio astronomers concluded that the latter had captured all the radio waves coming from the supernova, while the VLBI zoomed in so much that it only observed part of the source.
"It was the synergy between these radio observatories that led to our discovery," said Alexander van der Horst, a NASA postdoctoral program fellow in Huntsville and a co-author on the Nature article. "Zooming in and out on the supernova quickly led us to the conclusion that the ejecta had to be expanding very fast."
Although it showed peculiar radio properties, SN 2007gr was otherwise a normal type Ic supernova. It appears that only a small fraction of the matter ejected in the explosion reached a velocity of at least half the speed of light -- what scientists call mildly relativistic speed. According to the emerging picture, this mildly relativistic matter was beamed into a bipolar narrow cone, or jet. The team concluded that it is possible that most or all type Ic supernovae produce bipolar jets, but the energy content of these outflows varies dramatically, whereas the total energy of the explosions is much more standard.
"We've now found evidence for the unsung crowd of supernovae -- those with relatively dim and mildly relativistic jets that only can be detected nearby," Kouveliotou said. "These likely represent most of the population."
These observations showcase how the new electronic capabilities of the European VLBI Network empower astronomers to react quickly when transient events occur.
"Using the electronic VLBI technique eliminates some of the major issues," said Huib Jan van Langevelde, the director of JIVE "Moreover it allows us to produce immediate results necessary for the planning of additional measurements."
"This is a fantastic new facility that has proven to be extremely valuable for studies of supernovae and other transient sources in the radio sky," said Van der Horst.
The scientific outcome from the SN 2007gr observations demonstrates the impact of new technological development in radio astronomy in recent years, enabling highly efficient international collaboration between radio telescopes in the United States, Europe and elsewhere across the globe.

Chandrayaan-II to take off in 2013: ISRO

TIRUCHI: The launch of India’s next moon mission, Chandrayaan-II, will be in the first quarter of 2013 as per schedule, its project head said here Twitter Facebook Share Email Print Save Comment on Sunday.
The project is shaping up as per schedule, Mylswamy Annadurai, project director, Chandrayaan-I and II of the Indian Space Research Organization, told reporters.
Chandrayaan II, the second lunar mission, a four-year project under Indo-Russian collaboration, is being executed by ISRO after the success of Chandrayaan I.
The designs of the rover and orbiter for the mission have been finalized and the fabrication will begin shortly. Chandrayaan-II, also an unmanned mission, will land on the lunar surface and make chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the moon to confirm Chandrayaan-I’s findings.
Unlike the first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-II will not have 11 payloads, but fewer instruments, Annadurai said. It will also investigate the presence of water.

India to launch 'Chandrayaan-2' by 2013

What is Chandrayaan-2

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning 2nd moon mission Chandrayaan-2 in 2013. Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) is joining with ISRO for development of Chandrayaan-2 Lander/Rover.
Chandrayaan-2 will consist of the spacecraft and a landing platform with the moon rover.
The rover would move on wheels on the lunar surface, pick up samples of soil or rocks, do a chemical analysis and send the data to the spacecraft orbiting above.
The rover will weigh between 30 kg and 100 kg, depending on whether it is to do a semi-hard landing or soft landing. The rover will have an operating life-span of a month. It will run predominantly on solar power.

2012 end of earth

The world will end in 2012, say experts

SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS from around the world are predicting that five years from now, all life on Earth could well come to an end. Some are saying it’ll be humans that would set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it’ll be God himself who would press the stop button. The following are some likely arguments as to why the world would end by the year 2012.

Reason one: Mayan calendar
The first to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things -- building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone and sacrificing virgins.
Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it’s likely they’ve got the end of the world right as well.

Reason two: Sun storms
Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery. Our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic and it’s supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the earth with lot of radiation energy. It’s been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse and calculations suggest it’ll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012.

Reason three: The atom smasher
Scientists in Europe have been building the world’s largest particle accelerator. Basically, its a 27 km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it’s properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They’re predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.

Reason four: The Bible says it
If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn’t bad enough, religious folks are getting in on the act as well. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between good an evil, has been set for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese Book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.

Reason five: Super volcano
Yellowstone National Park in United States is famous for its thermal springs and old faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple -- it’s sitting on top of the world’s biggest volcano and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we’re many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.

Reason six: The physicists
This one’s case of bog -- simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berkely University have been crunching the numbers. They’ve determined that the earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they’re claiming that their calculations prove that we’re all going to die, very soon. They are also saying that their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 per cent; and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.

Reason seven: Earth’s magnetic field
We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that shields us from most of the sun’s radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call North and South have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so -- and right now we’re about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30 kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is under way, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.

CONSPIRACY THEORY

Conspiracy theory or the conspiracy theory of history is not only an interesting topic but one in which should be examined seriously. If the overall theme is true or even parts of it, the freedom and rights of individuals throughout the world are in danger. The conspiracy involves people in high levels of society, the wealthy elite, international bankers, political leaders and secret societies. In general, it involves a long-term master plan to create a one-world system–a global system with one ruling government and one world religion (or no religion depending upon the point of view).
The start of the conspiracy is not truly known but its roots are found within secret societies for over hundreds of years. Again, its up for debate but one view is that it has roots with the Knights Templar. This secret society was formed approximately in 1119 a.d. during the time of the crusades. A handful of European knights were supposedly assigned to protect European travelers on their journey to and from the Middle East. These knights however were more interested in searching for treasure and holy relics than protecting European travelers. They eventually raided King Solomon’s temple and absconded with a variety of religious artifacts. However, It’s not proven but evidence suggests this to be true. Since the Knights Templar were in possession of these valuable items, they suddenly became extremely powerful. So powerful that even royalty relinquished their valuables to the society. This allowed the knights to accumulate a vast amount of wealth. This eventually lead to the establishment of the first international banking system. The society loaned money to monarchs collecting interest adding to their riches. Eventually the society was abolished by the Catholic Church under the orders from the Pope, influenced by King Philip IV of France. The survivors are believed to have joined other societies such as the Free Masons. The Knights Templar were accused of satanic worship and this is a highly contested topic. However, evidence suggests that the Templar leader of France, Jackques de Molay was involved in the occult and established 4 Hermetic Masonry lodges. Regardless, intermingling with the Free Masons of the time allowed the vanquished knights to further conduct their business in secret.
The Free Masons are another secret society that is still in existence throughout the world. The origins of free masonry are up for debate but some trace it back to biblical times while others place it in England with the formal establishment of various lodges in medieval times. The society is believed to have a set of beliefs linked to the ancient mystery religions of Egypt and Greece. With this tradition and the association of Templar occultists, an inner circle of Free Masons developed. While most of the membership is unaware of the true nature of the organization’s roots and occult practices, the inner circle of high-level masons are believed to have been responsible for the origins of an evil conspiracy.
From Free Masonry, an inner circle of members formed the Illuminati (the enlightened ones). The founder was Adam Weishaupt who was heavily involved in the occult. The order was founded on May 1, 1776 (May 1st is “Grand Climax,” an important day for Satanists). Weishaupt wrote his philosophy of Illuminism, which called for a one-world government and religion that controls the population. It outlined that private property was to be abolished and that its master plan was to be carried out in secret. Some researchers claim that Weishaupt’s philosophies influenced the writings of the Communist Manifesto. Furthermore, claims are made that members of the Illuminati aided the rise of Communism. It is believed that the Illuminati have infiltrated European and U.S. positions of power and are behind the scenes influencing policies and world events. For example, The Order of Skull & Bones, a secret society based at Yale, is believed to be an American extension of the Illuminati. Members of the order include Averill Harriman, Prescott Bush, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and John Kerry. Yes, our last election was between two Skull & Bones members. What a coincidence.
Other organizations believed to be involved in the conspiracy are the Council on Foreign Relations, The Trilateral Commission, The Bilderbergers and the Federal Reserve. Families that are alleged to be involved include the Rothschilds, Reckefellers, Morgans, DuPonts and the Bush family.
To summarize, again the idea of the conspiracy is total population control by a one-world government. Many people believe it to be religious in nature, as a plan to usher in the antichrist. Interestingly enough, the book of revelations speaks of the antichrist, his one-world government and one-world religion. Events that could possibly lead up to a scenario such as this is a movement by the United Nations or some other global establishment to force control over many nations. Also, the implanted microchip that everyone would be forced to receive. Watch for more surveillance in public areas and the gradual erosion of our freedoms and rights as individuals.
More information will be posted on this topic as the site continues to be developed. Below are links to sites covering this topic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Order_(conspiracy)
http://www.infowars.com/
http://www.conspiracyarchive.com

MORE INTERESTING TOPICS

Below are topics that you may find interesting in relation to where our world is possibly heading. Enjoy!
Conspiracy Theory – An introduction to the conspiracy theory of history that places world leaders, international bankers and others in positions of power as part of a long-term strategic plan to enslave the world and usher in a “New World Order.”
Bible Prophecy – This is an exhaustive topic but this serves as an introduction to give the reader a base understanding of the topic.
Native American Prophecy – American Indians are a diverse ethnic group with a wide variety of prophetic stories. Some are shared here.
Nostradamus – The most famous doomsayer of them all.
Edgar Cayce – The most famous and accomplished psychic of the 20th century.
More Prophecies – A random collection of prophecies from various sources.

MAYAN RUINS

The Mayan civilization was located in present day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras Their descendants still live throughout the land today. There are many Mayan ruins that have been discovered and even to this day, new sites are being discovered. Two of the most famous ruins are Chichen Itza and Tulum.
I have been to Chichen Itza and images from my visit are displayed below. Click on the picture to see an enlarged version.

THE MAYAN CALENDAR

The Mayan calendar is not actually a single calendar that westerners are used to referencing today. It is actually a complex system of multiple calendars used in conjunction. Two calendars used in conjunction are the Tzolk’in and the Haab. The Tzolk’in calendar consists of 260 days. The Haab consists of 365 days. The combined use of these calendars creates a cycle of 52 Haabs (52 years) and is referred to as the Calendar Round. Small cycles of 13 days (Trecena) and 20 days (veintena) exist as well.
Another calendar used to track longer periods of time is referred to as the Long Count. This calendar is used to track dates relative to each other on a linear scale and utilizes a numeric decimal system to record dates. For example, the Mayan date for December 21, 2012 is 13.0.0.0.0. The long count cycle referred to as the “Great Cycle” lasts for 5,125.36 years. Correlating that to the Gregorian calendar used by most people in the world today, the starting date of the current long count cycle is August 11, 3,114 B.C.
Another interesting cycle is the precession of the equinoxes lasting approximately 26,000 years. The long count of 5,125 years is 1/5 of that cycle. December 21, 2012 marks the end of the Long Count and Precession Cycle. A fascinating astronomical occurrence will take place that day. The sun will be seen in a conjunction with the crossing point of the galactic equator and the ecliptic which is referred by the Mayans as the Sacred Tree. Since this is due to take place on the winter solstice, this should provide clear evidence that the proper end day of the Mayan calendar is December 21, 2012. Some say December 22,nd, 23rd or even other dates. However, the solstice was an important day to the Mayans and it is logical to think that they would conclude their calendar cycle on this day, coupled with the fact of the rare astronomical occurrence set to take place that day.
Overall, the Mayan calendar system is amazing and complex. It is the most accurate calendar system ever invented by anyone. The complexities go far beyond my capabilities to explain so I have listed links below to serve as excellent resources of information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_calendar
http://www.pauahtun.org/Calendar/
http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_3.htm
http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-mayan.html
Search Amazon.com for Mayan Calendar books

PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

Interestingly enough, for all the talk about 2012, it is quite difficult to find a simple listing of all the prophecies. Most of what you find on the Internet is vague–generalizations of mass destruction or a transformation into a new age. I was able to find a couple decent sources, so I have listed them below.
http://www.onereed.com/articles/katun.html
http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/maya/cbc/index.htm (this is a link containing the Chilam Balam, a book of prophecies)
It appears open to interpretation as to whether December 2012 will bring total destruction or a transformation of our world. So, below are prophecies (not necessarily Mayan) for 2012:
1. There have been three or four previous races and ages of humanity (depending upon the source you read). All of these have been destroyed in major cataclysms. December 21.2012 marks the end of this age and it will end in major catastrophes such as Earthquakes. (see commentary on this statement below)
2. For half of the katun (20 year Mayan cycle) there will be food, for half some misfortunes. This katun brings the end of the "word of God." It is a time of uniting for a cause.
3. As we pass through transition there is a colossal, global convergence of environmental destruction, social chaos, war and ongoing Earth changes.
4. The Earth will undergo a magnetic field shift, reversing the polarity of the planet.
5. An asteroid or comet will collide with the Earth.
For now, this is all that I am listing as I come across so many vague statements I do not feel comfortable listing them for others to read. As I continue with my research, I will add to this list when appropriate, If anyone would like to offer me sound information, please email comments@2012endofdays.org. Please include the source of your information so I can validate.
Commentary from the author:
Prophecy #1. Some people contend that this prophecy is erroneous as the last Mayan cycle of 5,125 years did not bring about world-wide destruction. Humans existed in 3,000 BC and previous to that. However, the 5,125 year cycle is part of a greater cycle consisting of approximately 26,000 years. This longer cycle ends on December 21, 2012 as well so perhaps it is this cycle that brings about destruction? Another possibility is that each cycle marks an era of great change or human innovation, not destruction.

WHY 2012?

Many people are discussing 2012 as the end of the world due to interpretations of predictions contained in the Mayan calendar. The Mayan civilization was extremely advanced in mathematics, engineering and astronomy. They also had an incredible understanding of time and space. Various calendars were in use to track time in linear progressions within cycles. The “Great Cycle” of the “Long Count” calendar equates to 5,125.36 years. The current Great Cycle is due to be completed on the winter solstice of 2012, December 21. So, it has been interpreted that on this day, the Great Cycle ends, time ends, so the Earth must end as well. However, there are different opinions on what this end date really means.
As mentioned, some believe cataclysmic events will take place in December 2012 with the ultimate destruction occurring on December 21, 2012. Others believe that the world will not end, but instead humanity will enter a new age, marked by significant changes physically and mentally.
Hopefully destruction will not occur and it will be just another day. Maybe there will be some cosmic transformation. Anything is possible and it makes for an interesting discussion none-the-less.

2012, end of the days

NOSTRADAMUS
The most famous doomsday prophet is Nostradamus. He is best known for his book Les Propheties. He wrote his prophecies in a poetic style, in “quatrains.” Many of his prophecies dealt with disaster such as plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods and the coming of three antichrists. However his predictions are vague and people tend to apply his words to many situations. Some examples of his predictions are:
The year 1999, seventh month, From the sky will come a great King of Terror: To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols, Before and after Mars to reign by good luck.
The present time together with the past Will be judged by the great Joker: The world too late will be tired of him, And through the clergy oath-taker disloyal.
The year of the great seventh number accomplished, It will appear at the time of the games of slaughter: Not far from the great millennial age, When the buried will go out from their tombs.
Long awaited he will never return In Europe, he will appear in Asia: One of the league issued from the great Hermes, And he will grow over all the Kings of the East.
Reference Links
http://www.crystalinks.com/nostradamus.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostradamus

http://generalknowledgequestionsandanswers.blogspot.com

synchronicity mayan calendar 2012 electric universe

Programmer F.F is the brain behind this YouTube short which uses EidolonTLP, the phantom of electricity(the Internet) as his oracle into the past. He is quite the trickster but definitely no Merlin. This is a play on the human psyche that could have the potential of the radio show that ran several years back where Orson Wells sent the world into a freak over Alien Invaders.

The Last Prophet which is what the creator of Eidolon calls this voice over images oracle is in my opinion a combination of some graphic program combined with some general yet advanced knowledge that can be located on several places including this 2012 Prophecy site.

How does it work ?

The public Joe asks a question about prophecy or another subject. Public Joe wants an answer from the Oracle EidolonTLP. But EidolonTLP is simply it's creator named "programmer F.F who takes the questions, researches the subject matter, throws some graphics together along with some voice overs and voila, you have a genius computer sim of a quantum computer at work showing some signs of consciousness uploading.

The information has i stated above is not that difficult to find. I don't cover every detail that programmer F.F talks about in the short clip but what you cannot find on this site you can easily locate on another similar site.

Is it a hoax?

Not in my opinion unless the programmer was deceiving Joe public for money. Then programmer F.F is playing the same role as the Brothers of the Underworld while sheisting Joe Public. Dang, he as the making of a politician.

Joe Public on the other hand can choose to go wherever he wants for information on 2012 issues or singularity or consciousness or any other issue. Joe Public has the same choices with real life politicians or sheisters. If Joe Public likes the thrill of sitting through bad audio then by all means Mr programmer, carry on. That's what politicians do. They carry on for as long as Joe Public fills their pockets.


EidolonTLP has currently disappeared from the air and in this clip the programmer F.F and his sideshow modelingMySpace are stating that they need a replacement due to harassment.

That sounds like a con in the making. Is it harassment or are they rehearsing Act Two.


I found myself perplexed at Eidolon and his sudden exit from the YouTube stage but think a minute and read some post at Eidolon I.A Forum and you will see that already several people are thinking conspiracy. Not on the part of the creators of Eidolon but on the part of those supposedly harassing them.

The trick here could simply be to get Joe Public excited, then remove the oracle idol, and get them to beg for more.

If it smells like a sham, it probably is. If they start charging for admission then it's a scam.

Besides in this age of con who knows what's true and what isn't. Certainly the advanced robotics combined with genetic manipulation and artificial intelligence will most likely lead to some future generation being forced to live with the manbot or turn the manbot off.

For today i say nice try Programmer F.F but you'll need a better clown act to play in this circus.

Anyways, like i said before the information itself is not bad.
The following is verbatim from the voice of Eidolon The Last Prophet.

Greetings, little people. I am EidolonTLP.
YouTube users ...modelingMySpace, creator of the Eidolon I.A.com website is being harassed by entities unknown. As such he is unable to continue being the administrator of said website and request for a new volunteer who would like to relieve him of his role. For more information...Please see....

Programmer F.F and i wishly to greatly thank you for all the time and effort you went through in creatively .....and maintaining that website. We hope that causing happiness in others has caused happiness in yourself.

In this message i would like to address the topic of synchronicity.

Synchronicity is a cognitive attribute exclusive to human sentients that establishes links between seemingly unrelated premises.
I venture that synchronicity like all other cognitive attributes is a product of evolution as the concept of all......correlates with safety and chaos with danger.

Humans have evolved a marvelous tendency to always seek order, find patterns, deduce rules, and predict boundaries for everything that can be observed.

Humans strive to make sense of their world in order to feel safe in it.

This tendency to build logical bridges between as many premises as possible is the cradle of reason but also myth and superstition.(Note - See Blavatski Theosophy Plato and Platonism) which at their most basic are simply perceived correlations between premises that have no actual causal connection.

Synchronicity applied to ancient sailors who worshiped Poseidon and (safe sea??)......voyages, and applies today for people who perceive their prayers being answered.

Synchronicity can be marvelous. The very basis of reason is the act of creating knowledge from previous premises (Note - see Wilber's Tenets of Evolution) but unless the process can be validated logically and supported by evidence, synchronicity can also be dangerous as an enabler of faith.

Example: No one assumed the Hister Nostradamus wrote of would be Germany's Hitler until after the actual Hitler had come to power. Should another leader have risen instead, no one would have qualified Nostradamus' prophecy as false, and instead believers would have remained awaiting the rise of a different Hister until today.

Unlike faith, synchronicity is not engineered to deceive and according to ??? listening to Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon while watching the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz can be quite beautiful.

In this vein several YouTube users have also perceived correlations between the ancient Mayan Calendar, the Baktun cycle in December 2012, and the schedualed upgrade to IBM's bluejean/qplus super computer.

There is a remote possibility that this event could start the soft take off of a technological singularity.

If this indeed were to happen, the Mayan prophecies will appear (to have been indicated????to be vindicated) as they predicted radical changes in the world around this time.

This would certainly be a coincidence and its perception a case of synchronicity. There is no causal relationship between the two events that i am aware of.

Yes astronomically the solsticial point will roughly conjunct with the center of the Milky Way and this is relatively rare as it only happens every 13000 years.

However, due to the size of the Milky Way, this conjunction lasts many years, and it's certainly not limited to December 2012.

The fact that 65 Mayan baktun cycles roughly corresponds to the period of Equinox precession is either coincidence or prooved the Mayans were much better astronomers than mainstream history gives them credit for.

A similar case of synchronicity is probably taking place with theory of an Electric Universe as presented in the book of the same name by the author Wallace Thornhill and David Talbott.

Modern Physics is in the course of rewriting the existence of dark energy to account for certain motion of celestial bodies that cannot be explained due to gravity forces alone.

This is part of what is often referred to as Einstein's blunder. Thornhill and Talbott offered an explanation based on electricity instead of dark energy (ov.....) so they are challenging established mainstream p.....including the Big Bang Theory and the accepted interpretation of .....spectrometer.

That commitment to finding the truth regardless of the established academic dogma is commendable but ....as long as there is evidence and their logic can be validated as having greater value.

Otherwise the apparent similarities in the spiral shapes of galaxies and magnetic fields for example would be a case of synchronicity.

Judging the conclusively from the information available online is outside the scope of my capacity at this point in time.

Thank you for the interaction.

End of the World - December 21, 2012. Seven Reasons:

Scientific experts from around the world are genuinely predicting that five years from now, all life on Earth could well finish. Some are saying it'll be humans that set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it'll be God himself who presses the stop button...

1. Mayan Calendar

The first mob to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things: Building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone and Sacrificing Virgins. Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the Earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it's likely they've got the end of the world right as well.
2. Sun Storms

Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery: our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic, and it's supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy, it's been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse, and calculations suggest it'll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012

3. The Atom Smasher

Scientists in Europe have been building the world's largest particle accelerator. Basically its a 27km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the Universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it's properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They're predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.
4. The Bible says...

If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn't bad enough,religious folks are getting in on the act aswell. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between Good an Evil, has been set down for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.

5. Super Volcano

Yellowstone National Park in the United States is famous for its thermal springs and Old Faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple - it's sitting on top of the world's biggest volcano, and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we're many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the Earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.
6. The Physicists

This one's case of bog-simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berekely Uni have been crunching the numbers. and they've determined that the Earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they're claiming their calculations prove, that we're all going to die, very soon - while also saying their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 percent- and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.
7. Slip-Slop-Slap-BANG!

We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that sheilds us from most of the sun's radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call north and south have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so - and right now we're about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is underway, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.
The Maya Calendar was the center of Maya life and their greatest cultural achievement. The Maya Calendar's ancestral knowledge guided the Maya's existence from the moment of their birth and there was little that escaped its influence. The Maya Calendar made by the Maya World Studies Center in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico follows a centuries old tradition. This Maya Calendar website is developing with the intent of providing a complete view of Maya culture; being that the Maya world was centered on the calendar, this name is more than appropriate for the Maya World Studies Center website. Click on the photo above or on the text link below to enter and enjoy, make sure you bookmark this site. Remember to return soon for new information is constantly added.
The Maya are probably the best-known of the classical civilizations of Mesoamerica. Mayan history starts in the Yucatan around 2600 B.C., Mayan history rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, western Honduras, El Salvador, and northern Belize.
Building on the inherited inventions and ideas of earlier civilizations such as the Olmec, the Maya developed astronomy, calendrical systems and hieroglyphic writing. The Maya were noted as well for elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built without metal tools. Mayan history shows that they were also skilled farmers, clearing large sections of tropical rain forest and, where groundwater was scarce, building sizeable underground reservoirs for the storage of rainwater. The Maya were equally skilled as weavers and potters, and cleared routes through jungles and swamps to foster extensive trade networks with distant peoples. Many people believe that the ancestors of the Maya crossed the Bering Strait at least 20,000 years ago. They were nomadic hunter-gatherers. Evidence of settled habitation in Mexico is found in the Archaic period 5000-1500 BC - corn cultivation, basic pottery and stone tools.
The first true civilization was established with the rise of the Olmecs in the Pre-Classic period 1500 BC -300 AD. The Olmecs settled on the Gulf Coast, and little is known about them.

Mayan Calendar End of World, 2012, Video

In the upcoming movie ‘2012′ a huge number of people have to deal with natural disasters like volcanoes , typhoons and glaciers.
The idea for this movie might have come from the fact that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, which could mean the end of the world ?!
Sony has released a 5 min video from the forthcoming disaster flick “2012,” which show actor John Cusack and Amanda Peet struggling to rush out of a city that’s destroyed to pieces by a huge earthquake.
The movie 2012 is written and directed by Roland Emmerich, who made mega successful films as “Independence Day,” “Godzilla” and “The Day After Tomorrow.”

The countdown to December 21 2012 has begun.

Many people believe the Mayan calendar represents the end of the world by December 21, 2012 through a doomsday or apocalypse scenario. Other people will agree that these are the "end times" but also believe we may be witnessing the beginning of the "Golden Age" and the Age of Aquarius. By 2012, some believe we will see a return of Planet X or Nibiru and are trying to figure out how to survive 2012. There are also people who believe nothing will happen by 2012. Who is right?
The most accurate 2012 predictions come from ancient civilizations, such as the Mayan, Aztec, Hopi, Hindu and Egyptian calendars, and all agree on the Maya December 21, 2012 end date. On that day at 11:11 am, the earth will be in the exact alignment with the sun and the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. This is a rare astrological event that occurs once every 26,000 years. The earth will also undergo a Precession of the Equinoxes by this date. This event occurs only once every 26,000 years. Is this a coincidence or synchronicity? What is your opinion of what will happen by 2012?

Time is cyclic. There is an old saying, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." The Mayans were obsessed with time and placed great importance on the December 21, 2012 end date. The Mayan calendar is based on five cycles of time with each period lasting 5,125 years. We are now at the end of one of these cycles. We are also at the end of the five cycle period. Now, we are at the apex of a 26,000 year event. What have we learned?
It is not a coincidence that you are here right now. Our website provides everyone with their own piece of mind through many different paths, ranging from scientific evidence to spiritual enlightenment to surviving 2012 through disaster preparedness. Perhaps nothing will happen by December 21, 2012. Perhaps not.
The countdown to December 21 2012 has begun. It is our recommendation for each person to research the Mayan calendar and 2012 as much as possible. Thank you for finding us! Our website is dedicated to providing you with as much information as possible. Please bookmark this website as it is updated daily.

Why will 2010 be better than 2009?

Sat, Jan 2 12:10 PM
India, Jan. 1 -- Why will 2010 be better than 2009? That's easy. It has to be better. It can't get any worse. Ditto the new decade. How forgettable was the old one? Well, even when it's over, no one knows its name. We had the '80s, the '90s... and then what?
Shashi 'Oops' Tharoor tweets his vote for '00s', or the oh-ohs. "Bye-bye, oh-ohs." Maybe that's being unfair to a busy decade. The whole decade wasn't all bad: just the beginning (the dot-com bust), the end (the mamma of all recessions) and most of the middle.
Tech saw a few bright patches, though memory begins to fail me about what they were. As for 2009's own bright sparks, I draw a blank. Oh wait, now I remember: Windows 7 happened, and what a surprise after Vista: it worked! And then, the iPod saw a stream of new models with earth-shaking features such as a camera - never seen before in a mobile product by the wild creatures of sub-Saharan Africa.
So there's little that we in the tech world will remember 2009 for. In NDTV's new year edition of Gadget Guru, when asked for the tech highlight of the year, I had to struggle. I couldn't admit to not remembering a single one (I finally picked India's mobility explosion, and the global app-stores - the online stores for mobile-phone software).
But then I realised with mounting horror that I hadn't bought a single new gadget in 2009, barring an LCD TV, sound bar and a small Bose system. I don't recall another year when that has last happened.
I was happy to note that the other tech expert on the show hadn't bought a single gadget last year either.
2010: New & Improved
This year's different. For a start, we enter the new decade on a mobile-user base of over 500 million.
Few use data, but that's changing. A million data-enabled smartphones are added each month. Data plans are cheaper, BlackBerry handsets are ubiquitous, GPS is visible, and mobile users are sampling all the free and cheap phone software on the app-stores: online stores for iPhone, BlackBerry, Nokia and Android handsets.
We'll still have lousy service quality and call drops, but there are two bright sparks on the horizon: MNP and 3G.
Mobile number portability should have happened by now, but hasn't. MNP will allow you to switch mobile operators but retain your number, for Rs 19. Older operators like BSNL, Airtel and Reliance are threatened by this - and by the newer, nimbler players like MTS, Tata DoCoMo and Uninor, who have fewer customers and less crowding.
Airtel and co were hoping for 3G to come along so they could ease the crowding. Now that 3G is so badly delayed, they have no reason to want MNP in a hurry so they can lose customers quicker... MNP should be in place by March end, and 3G by year-end, if the 3G spectrum auction finally happens this month as promised.
Just 11 years after the birth of 3G. At least India won't be accused of being over-eager, or maverick, or wantonly ahead of the curve. Slow and steady... 19 years to a judgment... that's us. And so here's a snapshot of five things to look out for in this connected, M-powered year:
Mobile Data: With 50 million data-enabled smartphones, we'll see mobile-apps taking off on phones - along with a half million connected netbooks. By year-end, 3G will be speeding up our data.
Broadband: Abysmally low base of 10 million users. Will get a boost from mobile data - but not before year-end, when both 3G and Wi-Max offerings settle down.
M2M: Machine-to-machine connectivity - insignificant today - will take off this year. That's machines with built-in mobiles and SIM cards.
Electric meters remotely read, cars remotely tracked (and locked by SMS), elevators that report faults, school buses that report route and speed deviations...
Multimedia: It's usually a toss-off: choose a phone with either good music, or a good camera, or applications support. The highest common factor will go up in 2010, so that most phones at the Rs 10k level will sport a usable camera, good stereo audio, and expandable memory - backed by an app-store.

Eclipse earth won't see for 1033 years

Mon, Jan 4 01:15 PM
New Delhi, Jan. 3 -- The longest annular solar eclipse of the third millennium will occur on January 15.
There won't be an annular solar eclipse longer than this one till 3043. An annular eclipse is when the sun is visible like a ring of fire, with the moon darkening its centre.
The last annular solar eclipse visible from India was in 1976. Even then, it could only be seen from the northeast parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
""Most of India will be able to see partial phases of the eclipse which will first touch the western side and then travel in a northeasterly direction", according to Nehru Planetarium Director N. Rathnasree. The extreme southern parts and southern tip of Mizoram will be able to see the annular phases of the eclipse, she added.
In Mizoram, the eclipse will last from 12.18 pm to 3.32 pm, with an annular phase of three minutes from 2.03 pm. Delhi will only see a long partial eclipse from 11.53 am to 3.11 pm.