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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular
Norway
1273 Posts |
 Posted - 12/03/2012 : 01:14:46
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has anyone received that email stating that due to a planetary alignment (confirmed by NASA!), there will be some kind of eclipse on 21-12-12 lasting for 3 or 4 days?
At my place of work it's been going around and I'm pretty surprised that almost everyone is taking it seriously, (most people here have at best a high school level education) even changing their plans etc. I tried explaining that only 2 planets lie in between Earth and the sun, and even if they both passed between the earth and the sun at the same time we would not notice a thing, and even the larger Venus is never going to blot out the sun. But a lot of people remain on the fence.
I wish I had an example of the email, but I never received it personally.
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2012 : 02:22:46 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by On fire for Christ
has anyone received that email stating that due to a planetary alignment (confirmed by NASA!), there will be some kind of eclipse on 21-12-12 lasting for 3 or 4 days?
At my place of work it's been going around and I'm pretty surprised that almost everyone is taking it seriously, (most people here have at best a high school level education) even changing their plans etc. I tried explaining that only 2 planets lie in between Earth and the sun, and even if they both passed between the earth and the sun at the same time we would not notice a thing, and even the larger Venus is never going to blot out the sun. But a lot of people remain on the fence.
I wish I had an example of the email, but I never received it personally. |
The fun my emails filter causes me to miss! I assume the email is saying either the earth of the moon are going to be put in shadow. You already ruled out Mercury and Venus, the only planets between the Earth-Moon system and the Sun. They are just too small and far away to cause a noticeable eclipse. The Moon is too small to blot out all the Sun's light being cast upon Earth, and only rarely casts a relatively small shadow on the earth at all.
The next solar eclipse is not this year. It is on May 10, 2013. In the thin strip Earth's surface where it will be observable, only an annular (or partial) eclipse will be seen.
Lunar eclipses are the last possibility to consider. They happen a lot. The Earth's shadow gets cast upon the face of the Moon, often darkening the whole face of Earth's companion. The last Lunar eclipse (the second and last of this year) was on November 28, 2012. It was a "penumbral" eclipse, meaning the Moon's surface was only slightly darkened.
Also: Mechanically speaking, any eclipse of the Earth or Moon that lasted 3 or 4 days would mean their mutual orbital motions had been halted, and that two bodies were about collide.
So, lacking any kind of convenient celestial object to cause a shadow to fall on either the Earth or Moon anytime later this year, it's possible to state with certainty that any kind of eclipse on December 21, 2012 is impossible. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular
Norway
1273 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2012 : 02:58:34 [Permalink]
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If a friend or colleague sent you the email, I assume it would not be filtered, right? These things are being passed around all over work.
I found this on the NASA website, maybe I should show it to people:
Q: Is NASA predicting a "total blackout" of Earth on Dec. 23 to Dec. 25?
A: Absolutely not. Neither NASA nor any other scientific organization is predicting such a blackout. The false reports on this issue claim that some sort of "alignment of the Universe" will cause a blackout. There is no such alignment (see next question). Some versions of this rumor cite an emergency preparedness message from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. This is simply a message encouraging people to be prepared for emergencies, recorded as part of a wider government preparedness campaign. It never mentions a blackout.
›Watch the Video
Q: Could planets align in a way that impacts Earth?
A: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. One major alignment occurred in 1962, for example, and two others happened during 1982 and 2000. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.
› More about alignment |
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html#blackout |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2012 : 04:47:04 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by On fire for Christ
has anyone received that email stating that due to a planetary alignment (confirmed by NASA!), there will be some kind of eclipse on 21-12-12 lasting for 3 or 4 days? |
No, not me. No one that I email with would be so gullible to believe it or waste their time forwarding it. Maybe that's why you haven't got it and Mooner too. I learned to avoid people who believe stupid things just because someone in authority says it (e.g. NASA). Except family which you don't get to choose. When they take on delusional concepts I'm not going to rock the boat by bringing it up when they are not open for discussion or changing their minds. In those cases "Say la vie".
At my place of work it's been going around and I'm pretty surprised that almost everyone is taking it seriously, (most people here have at best a high school level education) even changing their plans etc. I tried explaining that only 2 planets lie in between Earth and the sun, and even if they both passed between the earth and the sun at the same time we would not notice a thing, and even the larger Venus is never going to blot out the sun. But a lot of people remain on the fence.
I wish I had an example of the email, but I never received it personally.
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They maybe the kind of people who aren't interested in being told that they're being lied to. Tell them about www.snopes.com for what good it could do. Maybe that might help. Seems those people you are referring to are inclined to accept what others feed at face value, which even you know better not to do. One should check their information no matter how respected the source.
The problem is as I see it is they bought into the delusion about the planets will be aligning and that it would have a bad effect on earth, a double whammy. Two complete fantasies. Now by trying to give then a rational argument it's their conformation bias that prevents them from fully believing you and at best puts them on the fence. That's why it's important not buy into crap that doesn't hold water. However this presents an opportunity for you, me and anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation. Observe it, learn from it and most important don't react the same way when you might have bought into concepts that are not supported by the evidence and facts available. Good luck trying get them into see the truth. We know what your up against. It's a very common human pitfall, no human is immune. It's part of our brain functioning we're off knowing about and keeping it check. Don't do the same and if you find you have correct it. |
There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 02:23:57 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by On fire for Christ
has anyone received that email stating that due to a planetary alignment (confirmed by NASA!), there will be some kind of eclipse on 21-12-12 lasting for 3 or 4 days?
At my place of work it's been going around and I'm pretty surprised that almost everyone is taking it seriously, (most people here have at best a high school level education) even changing their plans etc. I tried explaining that only 2 planets lie in between Earth and the sun, and even if they both passed between the earth and the sun at the same time we would not notice a thing, and even the larger Venus is never going to blot out the sun. But a lot of people remain on the fence.
I wish I had an example of the email, but I never received it personally.
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This is what it looks like when Venus pass in front of the sun:
http://www.kumlaastronomi.se/
Pictures taken by the vice president of the local astronomy club I'm a member of.
By the way...
accoring to ISO standard, the date you wrote is december 12th, 2021. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 05:17:49 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
By the way...
accoring to ISO standard, the date you wrote is december 12th, 2021. |
Ha! I spent about an hour one day searching a database for something on January 7th, 2001, because someone had typed up a report about it and dated the report "1/7/1". When it occurred to me that the author (who wasn't available) had probably been born and raised in Europe, it was easy to find the data once I searched on July 1st. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 06:06:15 [Permalink]
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| Yeah. I don't understand that. In just about everything else, we go from general to the specific. Kilograms, grams. Feet, inches. Miles, yards. Hours, minutes, Seconds. Then why shouldn't we continue using the same system: year, month, days instead of the opposite or mix them? |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 06:32:13 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
Yeah. I don't understand that. In just about everything else, we go from general to the specific. Kilograms, grams. Feet, inches. Miles, yards. Hours, minutes, Seconds. Then why shouldn't we continue using the same system: year, month, days instead of the opposite or mix them?
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Because we're Mericans. Our people got kicked out of every decent country out there. We still use the Empirial scale of weights and measures in normal use. Converting to metric (or conforming to any standard set by those dang furriners) wouldn't be Merican.
(Toungue firmly planted in cheek) |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 11:29:37 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
Yeah. I don't understand that. In just about everything else, we go from general to the specific. Kilograms, grams. Feet, inches. Miles, yards. Hours, minutes, Seconds. Then why shouldn't we continue using the same system: year, month, days instead of the opposite or mix them? |
I've got a feeling that it's a hold-over from writing formal dates like "the Seventeenth day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven." |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Hal
Skeptic Friend
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 12:32:36 [Permalink]
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CCYYMMDD(HH:MM:SS)
Easy to sort. I can't even write dates in any of the "normal" ways anymore.
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Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Martin Luther King Jr.
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 13:34:39 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Hal
CCYYMMDD(HH:MM:SS)
Easy to sort. I can't even write dates in any of the "normal" ways anymore. |
But you've got four worthless characters in there. I use just the 14 needed digits. Or 17 if I need millisecond resolution. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Hal
Skeptic Friend
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 14:29:32 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
Originally posted by Hal
CCYYMMDD(HH:MM:SS)
Easy to sort. I can't even write dates in any of the "normal" ways anymore. |
But you've got four worthless characters in there. I use just the 14 needed digits. Or 17 if I need millisecond resolution.
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That's just how I write it out for managers.
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tw101356
Skeptic Friend
USA
333 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 21:25:38 [Permalink]
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If the form has labeled boxes, I fill them in accordingly.
If I have to write it out free form, I use the military format: 04DEC12
If someone is fussy about it, I use ISO-8601 format - 2012-12-04T20:03Z - and tell them to go look up the standard..  |
- TW
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular
Norway
1273 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2012 : 02:21:44 [Permalink]
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| TBH I didn't even think about it when writing it out, I should have, but didn't. DD:MM:YY is standard for every country I've lived in, but obviously I'm aware Americans generally use MM:DD:YY (or YYYY) due to the pervasiveness of American customs. The CCYYMMDD might make sense but it's alien to me. |
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Hal
Skeptic Friend
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2012 : 13:05:46 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by On fire for Christ
TBH I didn't even think about it when writing it out, I should have, but didn't. DD:MM:YY is standard for every country I've lived in, but obviously I'm aware Americans generally use MM:DD:YY (or YYYY) due to the pervasiveness of American customs. The CCYYMMDD might make sense but it's alien to me.
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It's kind of like the callous that develops on the necks of violinists and violists. It's strange to others, but their fellow musicians don't even notice.
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular
Norway
1273 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2012 : 17:32:40 [Permalink]
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| yes comparing it to an unpleasant patch of hard skin seems very apropos. |
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21/12/12 email
