# Are the planetary poles shifting as we speak? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 5, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549 "2012-08-05T21:23:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/101 "2012-08-09T21:34:58Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Maybe we need to make a YouTube video claiming that everything is just fine. That’s brilliant, actually. We post a video to YouTube countering every claim in the other video. The two videos then cancel each other out, and the Earth is saved! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/102 "2012-08-09T22:55:10Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > The best proof of the conspiracy is right here in this thread! Look - do you see anything suspicious about the user names and the fact that they’re spouting the same “facts” > > Can you say socks?\* > > \*Note to mods, not really, please don’t hurt the AL’s I got pretty confused the first time I was in a discussion with AndrewL, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/103 "2012-08-09T23:08:05Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > That’s brilliant, actually. We post a video to YouTube countering every claim in the other video. The two videos then cancel each other out, and the Earth is saved! The trick will be making the truth-touting video look just as insanely off the wall as the conspiracy theorist video. Lots of early 90’s style computer graphics, maybe some powerpoint slides, lots of sparkles, and of course the synthesizer sounds as things whoosh across the screen. Yes, I admit, I’ve watch quite a few of the whacky videos. They’re one of my guilty pleasures. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/104 "2012-08-09T23:45:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t believe on anything I can only find evidence of on YouTube. Not even evidencde on how stupid and or gullible some people are? > [@Musicat](#): > > Tell that to Velikovsky. > [@Chimera](#): > > Whose theories are pretty much woo? They may be woo, but he was entertaining. Though I liked his Oedipus and Ankhenaten much more than his stuff in Worlds in Collision type stuff. ---
**Author:** ![chappy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@chappy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/105 "2012-08-25T19:48:10Z")
Planetary orbits shifting: [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNYN9bhjC-8) 2nd “sun” photographed at hawaii observatory: [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69EVXMEH01Y) What say you to _that,_ skeptics? ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/106 "2012-08-25T19:53:50Z")
That an astronomer should be able to tell a star from a moon. They would also know what infrared means. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/107 "2012-08-25T22:30:40Z")
**Chappy,** you seem to think that the only people looking at the sky are government-controlled professional astronomers. You should be informed that there are literally millions of amateur astronomers all over the world, combing the skies with telescopes every night. It would not take a huge observatory to observe a hypothetical object as large as the mythical brown dwarf you describe - it would be readily detectable, either directly or indirectly, by anyone with even a modest amateur telescope. You also seem to think that it would be very difficult to detect a pole shift. This would be immediately apparent to every one of the millions of amateur astronomers that use computer-controlled “go-to” scopes. When they told their scope “I want to view and track M31” they would be surprised when M31 didn’t appear directly in their eyepiece. This would happen even if the pole shifted a TINY amount, thousands of times smaller than would be necessary to be noticed by the naked eye. If you want proof, go to your local astronomy club on a public viewing night. Look up the predicted coordinates of some celestial object, then ask someone to show you a view of those coordinates. If the object is in the field of view, there has been no pole shift. If not, you might be on to something. I’ll break the suspense for you. I took my telescope out the other night. All the stars/planets/deep sky objects were right where they were supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/108 "2012-08-25T22:31:47Z")
> [@chappy](#): > > Planetary orbits shifting: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNYN9bhjC-8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNYN9bhjC-8) > > 2nd “sun” photographed at hawaii observatory: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69EVXMEH01Y](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69EVXMEH01Y) > > What say you to _that,_ skeptics? I say…funny, but bullshit. Absolutely false. Why is it that every idiot feels the need to proclaim his abysmal ignorance in such a loud voice? With spooky music? Is it now hip to be stupid? Is it fun to look ridiculous? Who’s laughing at whom? > [@wheresmymind](#): > > I’ll break the suspense for you. I took my telescope out the other night. All the stars/planets/deep sky objects were right where they were supposed to be. :rolleyes: Obviously, you have been silenced by the Illuminati. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/109 "2012-08-25T23:14:33Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Why is it that every idiot feels the need to proclaim his abysmal ignorance in such a loud voice? The [Dunning–Kruger effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect) for one. They don’t think they _are_ abysmally ignorant. Plus, in cases such as this you have little conspiracy theory subcultures full of people who spend their time telling each other how much smarter than everyone else they are and how they are In The Know. Irrational beliefs and thought processes tend to become worse when surrounded by people who reinforce them. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/110 "2012-08-26T04:14:16Z")
So we’ve forgotten this quickly that we’re dealing with a schizophrenic here? Really people…crazy person says crazy things. News at 11. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/111 "2012-08-26T04:42:46Z")
Saw this thread open and pretty much knew who had to have resurrected it. The state of Minnesota is being powered by the rotational energy of my eyeballs. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549/112 "2012-08-29T16:45:46Z")
Banned OP, thread closed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-planetary-poles-shifting-as-we-speak/630549.md?page=5)