Attention all University of Memphis students and faculty! It’s not Y2K, but you may want to start building your bunkers, stocking bottled water and saving mass quantities of canned goods. A rare alignment of the planets just might signal Doomsday.
The alignment has already begun and will continue into early May. By April 20, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter will be clearly visible in the evening sky and grouped within a 10-degree span. On May 5, three planets will be closest together — Saturn, Mars and Venus will be within three degrees from the sky.
“The planets will be visible along the ecliptic line,” said Kathey Nix, theaters manager at the Pink Palace Museum Planetarium and IMAX theater. “The ecliptic line is the path that the sun appears to take in the sky from our point of view.”
According to Robert Roy Britt, senior science writer for Space.com, the planetary cluster is an exiting event that could be a once in a lifetime experience.
“What’s wonderful about this event is that we have five fairly visible planets in the night sky so you won’t need binoculars or telescopes,” Britt said. “The grouping is going to be so tight and it won’t be repeated for a century.”
Although Britt views this event as “wonderful,” some do not agree with his opinion. In May of 2000, a similar planetary alignment occurred. This sparked numerous astrological predictions of earthquakes, floods and other events often associated with Doomsday. Once again, news of the May 2002 alignment has stirred up predictions of global catastrophes.
Tom Chase, founder of Revelation13.net — an astrological prophecy Web site — believes that the planetary cluster on May 5 will lead to a global economic crisis.
“This May 2002 conjunction will likely coincide with events connected with Russia and Putin’s rise to power as Antichrist,” Chase said. “This could also mean a worldwide economic crash — possibly a worldwide stock market crash — especially when Venus is closest to Saturn.”
Chase also believes that war in the world will be increased on May 10 due to the possibility that Venus will pass within less than one degree of Saturn.
Joan Schmelz, associate professor of astrophysics at The U of M, disagrees with the idea that such events will occur on May 5.
“If the world ends, it will have nothing to do with the alignment,” Schmelz said. “The alignment is just going to be an interesting opportunity for backyard astronomy.”
Britt believes that the association with planets and Doomsday dates back to ancient times.
“Throughout human existence, people have read meaning into the planets and stars that wasn’t there,” he said. “It’s interesting that even in modern times people put meaning into the alignment.”
Although it is unclear as to whether the world will experience a global catastrophe or Doomsday, Britt believes people can actually benefit from viewing the alignment.
“Between now and May 5, you will actually see the five planets get closer and closer in the night sky,” Britt said. “But it is not just something that we will be able to see. It is something that we can all learn from.”
