Photon belt

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The '''Photon belt''' (aka '''The Rings of Alcyone''') is a nonsensical idea carried by some [[New age]] and [[Pseudoscience|pseudo-scientific]] groups. The central belief is that the [[Earth]] will soon pass through an immense ring of [[photon]]s which are orbiting the [[Pleiades]] star cluster or specifically its brightest star {{wpl|Alcyone}}. When the Earth passes through this belt, either the [[List of predictions of the end of the world|world is going to come to an end]], or humanity will be elevated to a higher plane of existence, depending on the source. In the late 2000s, the concept closely associated itself with [[2012 apocalypse]] groups.

This idea was first described in 1950 by [[German]] scientist Paul Otto Hesse in his book ''Der Jüngste Tag''.<ref group=note>Translation: "The Last Day" or "Judgement Day"</ref> Since that time, several others have taken up the mantle of the photon belt. Notably no serious scientists, but a fair number of authors, [[UFO]] [[crackpot]]s, and even [[contactee|a few claiming to channel communications with extraterrestrials]].<ref>For example, [https://www.paoweb.com/bio.htm Sheldon Nidle] of [http://www.paoweb.com/ Planetary Activation Organization].</ref>

Numerous dates have been put forward for when the Earth would pass into the photon belt, ranging from 1992 to the most recent failed prediction of 2012. Various explanations have cropped up (naturally) for each of the failed predictions. Regardless, our transit through the photon belt is supposed to take approximately 2000 years, so the excuses can't hold up forever.

==Debunked==
The entire concept of the photon band is absurd on the face of it, once you consider what is actually being claimed. Neither is any evidence presented for the bold claims and assertions made. Among the myriad problems with the concept are:

* No unexplained "photon phenomenon" has ever been reported or confirmed anywhere near, or in conjunction with, the Pleiades cluster by a credentialed astronomer.
* Photons are the [[quantum]] particles responsible for many types of non-ionizing [[electromagnetic]] [[radiation]], including light. In order to bend photons (and light) into an orbit around an object requires a [[Gravity|gravitational pull]] only achieved by [[black hole]]s, and any {{wpl|Photon sphere|orbit of photons}} around such a mass could only occur very close to the black hole (1.5 times the Schwarzschild radius). Thus, any passage of the Earth through such a photon band would closely coincide with its destruction due to the tidal forces of the black hole (unless one talked about a ''very'' big black hole, as the largest of those existing in the centers of galaxies). And even that scenario is incredibly unlikely, as the orbit of any photon around a black hole is fundamentally unstable, with the tiniest perturbation (such as the photon minutely interacting with another particle) causing it to very quickly either go into an escape trajectory or fall into the event horizon. The probability of a whole band of photons maintaining such an orbit for any period of time is ludicrously low.
* The Pleiades cluster is ''at least'' 400 light-years away and currently moving away from, not towards, us. This distance is much greater than the {{wpl|Sphere_of_influence_(astrodynamics)|sphere of gravitational influence}} for the Pleiades cluster.

==External links==
* [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/963/is-the-earth-about-to-enter-the-photon-belt-causing-the-end-of-life-as-we-know-it Is the earth about to enter the Photon Belt, causing the end of life as we know it?], {{wpl|The Straight Dope}}
* [https://archive.vn/RgU30 The Pleiades and our own Photonic Belt] — Whackjob explanation of the photon belt concept.

==See also==
*[[Pleiadians]]
*Not to be confused with the ''photon sphere'', which is a surface defined by the gravity of a [[black hole]], below which there are no stable orbits.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|1|80%}}

[[Category:New Age]]
[[Category:2012 woo]]
[[Category:Pseudoastronomy]]

Categories: New Age, 2012 woo, Pseudoastronomy