On Sunday, February 06, 2005, an extremely rare and important celestial event will occur, according to astronomers at the International Union of Astrophysics.
"The rising of the sun on this day, February 06, 2005, has never before occurred and will likely never occur again," said Dr. Evan Lee Boddy, a professor at Daytona Beach Community College. She also warned the public against viewing the event without proper eye protection.
"Do not stare directly at the sun for prolonged periods," she advised, "For it is an angry god and will surely blind you for your arrogance."
The phenomona, which should be visible from nearly the entire globe during daylight hours, follows closely another rare celestial event, the winter solstice, which only occurs once a year.
ANCIENT PREDICTIONS
"Taken together, I think these events do have some signficance," said Crystal Higgins, an expert in the field of astrology, which is similar to, but not exactly like, astronomy.
"For example, the Mayans predicted the world would end in 2012, when the sun crosses the galactic equator on the winter solstice, but that happens every 25 thousand years or so. This rising of the sun on February 06, 2005, has never happened before and a lot of people are pretty shook up about it," pronounced Ms. Higgins.
A striking fact is that nearly all ancient astronomers, including the Mayans, the Persians, and the Chinese, are known to have predicted Sunday's event as long ago as 3 thousand years.
Only the early Christians, believing the world would end with the return of Christ in the year 1000, or, at the very latest, the year 2000, failed to predict the occurrence.
GATHERING AT STONEHENGE
A collection of modern day Druids are expected to gather at Stonehenge to witness the event. Said one, "The most amazing thing is that if you stand in the right place, the sun appears to rise exactly between the main two stones. It's eerie. And there's another place where it sets exactly between them," he explained.
Researchers have recently discovered that a line drawn between the two spots exactly coincides with the path of the sun across the heavens, something the ancient builders must have known.
An author of a book on the science of Astro-paleontology, Marwa Darshan Sri Ananda, or Matthew Goldblatt, said that the rising of the sun on February 06, 2005, may have carried a mystical significance for the ancients, and one we would do well to heed.
"We see it as the dawning of a whole new day," he said.