2012

2012

 

The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on December 21, 2012,which is said to be the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mayan Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae related to this date have been proposed.

 

A New Age interpretation of this transition posits that during this time Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era.[4] Others suggest that the 2012 date marks the end of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios posited for the end of the world include the Earth's collision with a passing planet (often referred to as "Nibiru") or black hole, or the arrival of the next solar maximum.

 

Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of catastrophe in 2012. Mainstream Mayanist scholars state that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the existing classic Maya accounts, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar "ends" in 2012 misrepresents Maya history.[3][5] The modern Maya do not consider the date significant, and the classical sources on the subject are scarce and contradictory, suggesting that there was little if any universal agreement among them about what, if anything, the date might mean.

 

Additionally, astronomers and other scientists have rejected the apocalyptic forecasts as pseudoscience, stating that the anticipated events are contradicted by simple astronomical observations. NASA has compared fears about 2012 to those about the Y2K bug in the late 1990s, suggesting that an adequate analysis should preclude fears of disaster.None of the proposed alignments or formulae has been accepted by mainstream scholarship.

 

 

Mesoamerican Long Count calendar

 

December 2012 marks the ending of the current b'ak'tun cycle of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, which was used in Central America prior to the arrival of Europeans. Though the Long Count was most likely invented by the Olmec,it has become closely associated with the Maya civilization, whose classic period lasted from 250 to 900 AD.The writing system of the classic Maya has been substantially deciphered, meaning that a corpus of their written and inscribed material has survived from before the European conquest.

 

Unlike the 52-year Calendar Round still used among the Maya, the Long Count was linear, rather than cyclical, and kept time roughly in units of 20: 20 days made a uinal, 18 uinals (360 days) made a tun, 20 tuns made a k'atun, and 20 k'atuns (144,000 days) made up a b'ak'tun. Thus, the Mayan date of 8.3.2.10.15 represents 8 b'ak'tuns, 3 k'atuns, 2 tuns, 10 uinals and 15 days. Many Mayan inscriptions have the count shifting to a higher order after 13 b'ak'tuns, or roughly 5,125 years.

 

 

Apocalypse

 

There is a strong tradition of "world ages" in Maya literature, but unfortunately the record has been distorted, leaving several possibilities open. According to the Popol Vuh, a book compiling details of creation accounts known to the K'iche' Maya of the Colonial-era highlands, we are living in the fourth world.The Popol Vuh describes the first three creations that the gods failed in making and the creation of the successful fourth world, where men were placed. In the Maya Long Count, the previous world ended after 13 b'ak'tuns. The Long Count's "zero date" was set at a point in the past marking the end of the third world and the beginning of the current one, which corresponds to either 11 or 13 August 3114 BC in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar, depending on the formula used. This means that the fourth world will also have reached the end of its thirteenth b'ak'tun, or Mayan date 13.0.0.0.0, on either December 21 or December 23, 2012.

 

In 1957, Mayanist and astronomer Maud Worcester Makemson wrote that "the completion of a Great Period of 13 b'ak'tuns would have been of the utmost significance to the Maya".[15] In 1966, Michael D. Coe more ambitiously asserted in The Maya that "there is a suggestion ... that Armageddon would overtake the degenerate peoples of the world and all creation on the final day of the thirteenth [b'ak'tun]. Thus ... our present universe [would] be annihilated [in December 2012][b] when the Great Cycle of the Long Count reaches completion."

Objections

 

Coe's apocalyptic interpretation was repeated by other scholars through the early 1990s.In contrast, later researchers said that, while the end of the 13th b'ak'tun would perhaps be a cause for celebration, it did not mark the end of the calendar. "There is nothing in the Maya or Aztec or ancient Mesoamerican prophecy to suggest that they prophesied a sudden or major change of any sort in 2012," says Mayanist scholar Mark Van Stone. "The notion of a "Great Cycle" coming to an end is completely a modern invention." In 1990, Mayanist scholars Linda Schele and David Freidel argue that the Maya "did not conceive this to be the end of creation, as many have suggested." Susan Milbrath, curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, stated that "We have no record or knowledge that [the Maya] would think the world would come to an end" in 2012. "For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Florida. To render December 21, 2012, as a doomsday event or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in."There will be another cycle," says E. Wyllys Andrews V, director of the Tulane University Middle American Research Institute (MARI). "We know the Maya thought there was one before this, and that implies they were comfortable with the idea of another one after this."

 

Maya inscriptions occasionally reference future predicted events or commemorations that would occur on dates that lie beyond the completion of the 13th b'ak'tun. Most of these are in the form of "distance dates" where some Long Count date is given, together with a Distance Number that is to be added to the Long Count date to arrive at this future date. On the west panel at the Temple of Inscriptions in Palenque, a section of the text projects into the future to the 80th Calendar Round anniversary of the Palenque ruler K'inich Janaab' Pakal's accession to the throne (Pakal's accession occurred on 9.9.2.4.8; equivalent to 27 July 615 CE in the proleptic Gregorian calendar). It does this by commencing with Pakal's birthdate of 9.8.9.13.0 (24 March 603 CE Gregorian) and adding to it the Distance Number 10.11.10.5.8.This calculation arrives at the 80th Calendar Round since his accession, which lies over 4,000 years in the future from Pakal's time—the 21st of October in the year AD 4772.

 

Another example is Stela 1 at Coba, which gives a date with twenty units above the b'ak'tun, placing it either 4.134105 × 1028 (41 octillion) years in the future,or an equal distance in the past.[26] Either way, this date is 3 quintillion times the age of the universe, demonstrating that not all Mayans considered the 5,125-year cycle as the most important.

 

 

Maya references to B'ak'tun 13

 

The present-day Maya, as a whole, do not attach much significance to b'ak'tun 13. Although the Calendar Round is still used by some Maya tribes in the Guatemalan highlands, the Long Count was employed exclusively by the classic Maya, and was only recently rediscovered by archaeologists.Mayan elder Apolinario Chile Pixtun and Mexican archaeologist Guillermo Bernal both note that "apocalypse" is a Western concept that has little or nothing to do with Mayan beliefs. Bernal believes that such ideas have been foisted on the Maya by Westerners because their own myths are "exhausted".Archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni says that while the idea of "balancing the cosmos" was prominent in ancient Maya literature, and some modern Maya affirm this idea of an age of coexistence, the 2012 phenomenon does not present this message in its original form. Instead, it is bound up with American traditions such as the New Age movement, millenarianism, and the belief in secret knowledge from distant times and places. Mayan archaeologist Jose Huchm has stated that "If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012, they wouldn't have any idea. That the world is going to end? They wouldn't believe you. We have real concerns these days, like rain".

 

What significance the classic Maya gave the 13th b'ak'tun is uncertain. Most classic Maya inscriptions are strictly historical and do not make any prophetic declarations.Two items in the Maya historical corpus, however, may mention the end of the 13th b'ak'tun: Tortuguero Monument 6 and, possibly, the Chilam Balam.

Tortuguero

 

The Tortuguero site, which lies in southernmost Tabasco, Mexico, dates from the 7th century AD and consists of a series of inscriptions mostly in honor of the contemporary ruler Bahlam Ajaw. One inscription, known as Tortuguero Monument 6, is the only inscription to refer to b'ak'tun 13. It has been partially defaced; Mark Van Stone has given the most complete translation:

 

Tzuhtz-(a)j-oom u(y)-uxlajuun pik

The Thirteenth [b'ak'tun] will end

 

(ta) Chan Ajaw ux(-te') Uniiw.

(on) 4 Ajaw, the 3rd of Uniiw [3 K'ank'in].

 

Uht-oom Ek'-...

Black ...[illegible]...will occur.

 

Y-em(al)...Bolon Yookte' K'uh ta-chak-ma...

(It will be) the descent(?) of Bolon Yokte' K'uh to the great (or "red"?)...[illegible]...

 

Very little is known about the god (or gods) Bolon Yokte' K'uh. According to an article by Mayanists Markus Eberl and Christian Prager in British Anthropological Reports, his name is composed of the elements "nine", 'OK-te' (the meaning of which is unknown), and "god". Confusion in classical period inscriptions suggests that the name was already ancient and unfamiliar to contemporary scribes.[32] He also appears in inscriptions from Palenque, Usumacinta, and La Mar as a god of war, conflict, and the underworld. In one stela he is portrayed with a rope tied around his neck, and in another with an incense bag, together signifying a sacrifice to end a period of time.[33] Despite all this, Eberl and Prager believe that the reference to Bolon Yokte' K'uh at Tortuguero is a positive one, because the fragmentary word translated above as "descent" seems to be the same one used during building dedications.

Chilam Balam

 

The Chilam Balam are a group of post-conquest Mayan prophetic histories transcribed in a modified form of the Spanish alphabet. Their authorship is ascribed to a chilam balam, or jaguar prophet.The Chilam Balam of Tizimin has been translated four times in the 20th century, with many disputes over the meaning of its passages. One passage in particular is relevant to the interpretation of the 13th b'ak'tun:

 

lic u tal oxlahun bak chem, ti u cenic u (tzan a cen/ba nacom)i (ciac/cha') a ba yum(il/t)exe

 

Maud Worcester Makemson, an archaeoastronomer, believed that this line referred to the "tremendously important event of the arrival of 13.0.0.0.0 4 Ahau 3 Kankin in the not too distant future", Her translation of the line, runs:

 

Presently B'ak'tun 13 shall come sailing, figuratively speaking, bringing the ornaments of which I have spoken from your ancestors.

 

Her version of the text continues, "Then the god will come to visit his little ones. Perhaps 'After Death' will be the subject of his discourse." Makemson was still relying on her own dating of 13.0.0.0.0 to 1752 and therefore the "not too distant future" in her annotations meant a few years after the scribe in Tizimin recorded his Chilam Balam. The more recent translation of Munro S. Edmonson does not support this reading; he considers the Long Count almost entirely absent from the book, since the 360-day tun was supplanted in the 1750s by a 365-day Christian year, and a 24-round may system was being implemented. He translates the line as follows:

 

...like the coming of 13 sail-ships. When the captains dress themselves, your fathers will be taken.

 

Other Chilam Balam books contain references to the 13th b'ak'tun, but it is unclear if these are in the past or future; for example, oxhun bakam u katunil (thirteen bakam of k'atuns) in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel.Bolon Yokte' K'uh appears in in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel to signify an apparent battle and victory over Spanish invaders.

Venus

The Planet Venus





The Planet Venus is the second closest planet to the sun. It is located between our Earth and Mercury. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.



Venus is covered with thick clouds that create a greenhouse effect that makes it very hot.

Venus has no moons.

Facts about Planet Venus

* Diameter: 12,100 km. It is about 1040km smaller in diameter than Earth

* Temperature: Ranges from 900F+/- 50F (about 500°C +/- 32°C) at the surface
* Distance from Earth: At its closest, Venus is 41,840,000 km away

* Atmosphere: Carbon dioxide (95%), nitrogen, sulfuric acid, and traces of other elements

* Surface: A rocky, dusty, waterless expanse of mountains, canyons, and plains, with a 200-mile river of hardened lava

* Rotation of its axis: 243 Earth days (1 Venusian Day)

Venus

Venus is known as the Earth's "twin" because the two planets are so similar in size. The diameter of Venus is about 7,520 miles (12,100 kilometers), approximately 400 miles (644 kilometers) smaller than that of the Earth. No other planet comes nearer to the Earth than Venus. At its closest approach, it is about 23.7 million miles (38.2 million kilometers) away.

As seen from the Earth, Venus is brighter than any other planet or even any star. At certain times of the year, Venus is the first planet or star that can be seen in the western sky in the evening. At other times, it is the last planet or star that can be seen in the eastern sky in the morning. When Venus is near its brightest point, it can be seen in daylight.

Ancient astronomers called the object that appeared in the morning Phosphorus, and the object that appeared in the evening Hesperus. Later, they realized these objects were the same planet. They named Venus in honor of the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Orbit

Venus is closer to the sun than any other planet except Mercury. Its mean (average) distance from the sun is about 67.2 million miles (108.2 million kilometers), compared with about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) for the Earth and about 36 million miles (57.9 million kilometers) for Mercury.

Venus travels around the sun in a nearly circular orbit. The planet's distance from the sun varies from about 67.7 million miles (108.9 million kilometers) at its farthest point to about 66.8 million miles (107.5 million kilometers) at its closest point. The orbits of all the other planets are more elliptical (oval-shaped). Venus takes about 225 Earth days, or about 71/2 months, to go around the sun once, compared with 365 days, or one year, for the Earth.

Phases

When viewed through a telescope, Venus can be seen going through "changes" in shape and size. These apparent changes are called phases, and they resemble those of the moon. They result from different parts of Venus's sunlit areas being visible from the Earth at different times.

As Venus and the Earth travel around the sun, Venus can be seen near the opposite side of the sun about every 584 days. At this point, almost all its sunlit area is visible. As Venus moves around the sun toward the Earth, its sunlit area appears to decrease and its size seems to increase. After about 221 days, only half the planet is visible. After another 71 days, Venus nears the same side of the sun as the Earth, and only a thin sunlit area can be seen.

When Venus is moving toward the Earth, the planet can be seen in the early evening. When moving away from the Earth, Venus is visible in the early morning.

Rotation

As Venus travels around the sun, it rotates very slowly on its axis, an imaginary line drawn through its center. Venus's axis is not perpendicular (at an angle of 90¡) to the planet's path around the sun. The axis tilts at an angle of approximately 178¡ from the perpendicular position. Unlike the Earth, Venus does not rotate in the same direction in which it travels around the sun. Rather, Venus rotates in the retrograde (opposite) direction and spins around once every 243 Earth days.

Surface and Atmosphere

Although Venus is called the Earth's "twin," its surface conditions appear to be very different from those of the Earth. Geologists have had difficulty learning about the surface of Venus because the planet is always surrounded by thick clouds of sulfuric acid. They have used radar, radio astronomy equipment, and space probes to "explore" Venus.

Until recently, much of what geologists knew about the surface of Venus came from ground-based radar observations, the Soviet Union's Venera space probes, and United States Pioneer probes. In 1990, the U.S. space probe Magellan began orbiting Venus, using radar to map the planet's surface.

The surface of Venus is extremely hot and dry. There is no liquid water on the planet's surface because the high temperature would cause any liquid to boil away.

Venus has a variety of surface features, including level ground, mountains, canyons, and valleys. About 65 percent of the surface is covered by flat, smooth plains. On these plains are thousands of volcanoes, ranging from about 0.5 to 150 miles (0.8 to 240 kilometers) in diameter. Six mountainous regions make up about 35 percent of the surface of Venus. One mountain range, called Maxwell, is about 7 miles (11.3 kilometers) high and about 540 miles (870 kilometers) long. It is the highest feature on the planet. In an area called Beta Regio is a canyon that is 0.6 mile (1.0 kilometer) deep.

There are also impact craters on the surface of Venus. Impact craters form when a planet and asteroid collide. The moon, Mars, and Mercury are covered with impact craters, but Venus has substantially fewer craters. The scarcity of impact craters on Venus has led geologists to conclude that the present surface is less than 1 billion years old.

A number of surface features on Venus are unlike anything on the Earth. For example, Venus has coronae (crowns), ringlike structures that range from about 95 to 360 miles (155 to 580 kilometers) in diameter. Scientists believe that coronae form when hot material inside the planet rises to the surface. Also on Venus are tesserae (tiles), raised areas in which many ridges and valleys have formed in different directions.

The atmosphere of Venus is heavier than that of any other planet. It consists primarily of carbon dioxide, with small amounts of nitrogen and water vapor. The planet's atmosphere also contains minute traces of argon, carbon monoxide, neon, and sulfur dioxide. The atmospheric pressure (pressure exerted by the weight of the gases) on Venus is estimated at 1,323 pounds per square inch (9,122 kilopascals). This is about 90 times greater than the atmospheric pressure on the Earth, which is about 14.7 pounds per square inch (101 kilopascals).

Temperature

The temperature of the uppermost layer of Venus's clouds averages about 55 degrees F (13 degrees C). However, the temperature of the planet's surface is about 870 degrees F (465 degrees C), higher than that of any other planet and hotter than most ovens.

The plants and animals that live on the Earth could not live on the surface of Venus, because of the high temperature. Astronomers do not know whether any form of life exists on Venus, but they doubt that it does.

Most astronomers believe that Venus's high surface temperature can be explained by what is known as the greenhouse effect. A greenhouse lets in radiant energy from the sun, but it prevents much of the heat from escaping. The thick clouds and dense atmosphere of Venus work in much the same way. The sun's radiant energy readily filters into the planet's atmosphere. But the large droplets of sulfuric acid present in Venus's clouds -- and the great quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere -- seem to trap much of the solar energy at the planet's surface.

Mass and Density

The mass of Venus is about four-fifths that of the Earth. The force of gravity on Venus is slightly less than on the Earth. For this reason, an object weighing 100 pounds on the Earth would weigh about 88 pounds on Venus. Venus is also slightly less dense than the Earth. A portion of Venus would weigh a little less than an equal-sized portion of the Earth.

Flights to Venus

Venus was the first planet to be observed by a passing spacecraft. The unmanned U.S. spacecraft Mariner 2 passed within 21,600 miles (34,760 kilometers) of Venus on Dec. 14, 1962, after traveling through space for more than 31/2 months. It measured various conditions on and near Venus. For example, instruments carried by the spacecraft measured the high temperatures of the planet.

Two unmanned Soviet spacecraft "explored" Venus in 1966. Venera 2 passed within 15,000 miles (24,000 kilometers) of the planet on February 27, and Venera 3 crashed into Venus on March 1.In October 1967, spacecraft from both the United States and the Soviet Union reached Venus. On October 18, the Soviet spacecraft Venera 4 dropped a capsule of instruments into Venus's atmosphere by parachute. On October 19, the U.S. spacecraft Mariner 5 passed within 2,480 miles (3,990 kilometers) of Venus. It did not detect a magnetic field. Both probes reported large amounts of carbon dioxide in the planet's atmosphere. On Dec. 15, 1970, the Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 landed on Venus. The U.S. planetary probe Mariner 10 flew near Venus on Feb. 5, 1974. The probe transmitted the first close-up photographs of the planet.

On Oct. 22, 1975, the unmanned Soviet spacecraft Venera 9 landed on Venus and provided the first close-up photograph on the planet's surface. Three days later, another Soviet space vehicle, Venera 10, reached Venus. It photographed Venus's surface, measured its atmospheric pressure, and determined the composition of rocks on its surface.

Four unmanned spacecraft reached Venus in December 1978. The United States craft Pioneer Venus 1 began orbiting the planet on December 4. This craft transmitted radar images of Venus, produced a map of its surface, and measured temperatures at the top of the planet's clouds. On December 9, the U.S. Pioneer Venus 2 entered the planet's atmosphere and measured its density and chemical composition. On December 21, the Soviet craft Venera 12 landed on Venus. A second Soviet lander, Venera 11, reached the planet's surface four days later. Both probes sent back data on the lower atmosphere of Venus.

Two more Soviet spacecraft landed on Venus in 1982 -- Venera 13 on March 1 and Venera 14 on March 5. Both probes transmitted photographs of Venus and analyzed soil samples. Beginning in October 1983, two additional Soviet spacecraft mapped the region of Venus north of 30¡ north latitude using radar. Venera 15 finished its mapping in July 1984; Venera 16, in April 1984. The two probes provided clear images of features as small as 0.9 mile (1.5 kilometers) across.

The U.S. spacecraft Magellan began orbiting Venus on Aug. 10, 1990. Radar images received from the Magellan show details of features as small as 330 feet (100 meters) across.

Christophe Gilbert Photography

Christophe Gilbert

Christophe Gilbert is a Belgian photographer from Bruxelles, specialized in visual art, with much of talent... He’s truly different. There are so many meanings in his work… it’s amazing.. You need to look at each one for a minute to absorb it.. And I bet every one of us can get a different meaning out of the

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Biography
Born in Brussels in 1962, Christophe Gilbert started by taking courses of photography to the Academy of Ixelles in the course of the evening during one year. He integrates then the professional millieu in the capacity as assistant, posts that he will hold during two years, which enables him to discover the sector of publicity. The CCB Awards (Creative Club of Belgium), whose objective is to precede and promote the Belgian creativity, reward it in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005. Its Levis countryside was retained in Photograph Awards 2005 of the AOP. In the same way, the public could discover its creations with the AD Print Festival 2006 of Brasov (Romania). It currently works on a personal project on the topic of the heritage.