The alignment of the planets is an event that for several centuries has been considered to be bad. Since its discovery, it has been linked to unique events and other disasters related to the end of the world. This astrological event has been evaluated by prophets and scientists around the world, and each guild has generated its own conclusions; in the following are shown some of the most impressive.
Some of the most popular myths about the alignment of the planets and their relation to natural disasters have been released by famous ancient prophets; among them is Nostradamus, whose designs have always been marked by misfortune.
This French prophet foretold that because of the planetary alignment, there would be a terrible earthquake that would take place in California, a city of risk because of the “San Andreas Fault.” The prophecy explained that “a very mighty quake in the month of May, Saturn (in) Capricorn, Jupiter and Mercury in Taurus: Venus also in Cancer, Mars in Virgo: (At that time) hail will fall greater than an egg.” According to the judgment, this tragedy would have taken place on May 28, 2015, but nothing happened.
One of the most notorious aspects regarding the alignment of the planets occurred in 2012, when the world was expecting the arrival of December 21st. According to the Mayan calendar, said date would mark the last day of humanity. That year got to see Mars rising from the west, but Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Uranus and Neptune in the East, were not part of the expected alignment. Then, the Caribbean Astronomical Society (SAC) said that fear was produced by myths of the past and that the next alignment would be in 2040.
For NASA, this is a natural event and there is nothing to be in fear of. In 2013, the agency issued the following statement: “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.”
Astronomer Phil Plait released a model in which he mathematically explained how unlikely it is that the alignment of the planets represents a danger to Earth. I have claimed that the planets in the solar system are sufficiently separated; therefore, in every alignment there is a distance of 2% between each planet, the same distance that there is between the Earth and the Moon.
The alignments that have occurred to date tilt the balance towards scientific theories that say there is no relationship between the end of the world and the way myths and beliefs try to explain this phenomenon; they were influenced by the lack of a science and the fear of the unknown of that time.