Planets Line Up

Threat Level: None-Low Throughout the ages, everytime the planets in our solar system align, there is panic and talk of mass distruction. These alignments have happened countless times in the past and yet no distruction has ever taken place. Is this date going to be any different?

Explanation
Planets in our solar system revolve around the sun in an eliptical orbit. Each planet revolves at a different rate therefore every 30 to 50 years are so, all the planets will just happen to be aligned, not perfectly of course, but within a relatively small arc of the night sky. On September 8, 2040 at around 7:30-7:40pm, what is known as a Geocentric planetary alignment will take place. There are two types of alignments, Heliocentric and Geocentric. Heliocentric means an alignment of all the planets (with the exception of pluto) within a 90 degree sector whereas Geocentric refers to the alignment of all planets visible to the naked eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) again, within a 90 degree sector. In this case, the geocentric alignment will feature the 5 visible planets within a 9.3 arc, which is substantially closer than the 19.5 degree arc in the last geocentric alignment (May 5, 2000). Also, this alignment is going to include the Moon as well (the largest gravitationsl force acting on the earth second only to the sun). So the addition of these two facts (closer arc, inclusion of the moon) lead some skeptics to believe that this alignment will have a substantial gravitational effect on the earth, compared to the alignment in 2000 where nothing happened.

Consequence

The explanation for the end of the world given by skeptics is as follows: All the planets in alignment will exert its gravitational force on the earth from the same direction. This pull is going to be enough to do one of several things: >> Raise the tidal level, creating tidal waves and tsunamis. >> Create plate techtonic movements resulting in large earthquakes and volcano eruptions. >> Shift the earth out of its orbit thereby moving it to a closer (or further) orbit from the sun, thereby dramatically changing the climate of the earth (scorching it, creating hell on earth, or freezing it, bringing it to another ice age). I would say with 100% certainty, that none of these things will happen. The combined gravitational force of all these planets is almost nothing compared to the gravitational force exerted by the sun or even the moon. This CNN article states that combined gravitational force (if the planets were perfectly aligned and in their closest orbit to earth) will be enough to raise our tidal level by 1/600th of an inch. This particular planetary alignment will be even lower than that, estimates currently sit at 1/1700th of an inch.

Consequence
You will not need to prepare for any mass destruction. However, if you like, I would recommend marking down the date and time on your calendar (assuming your calendar isn't affected by the 2038 bug), as it will be a spectacular sight to be able to see all the visible planets and the moon in a cluster in the night sky. It happens every 30-50 years are so, so it really is, a once in a lifetime opportunity (yes I know, its more like twice in a lifetime). I would also try to befriend an astronomer or at least read up enough to know where (and what) you are supposed to look at, because to the common eye, these planets will look just like any star.