Graham Hancock on astronomy: what the evidence says · JRE #2215
SUBJECT: ASTRONOMY
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
now it's Polaris because the extended north pole of the Earth is spiraling in the heavens and it's pointing at different bits of space over a roughly 26,000 year period, 25,920 years to be exact. One degree of precession takes 72 years to unfold.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
Earth's axial precession is real, and Polaris is indeed the current North Star because the rotation axis presently points almost exactly at it. The rate of precession is about 50.3 arcseconds per year, which works out to one degree every roughly 72 years, matching Hancock's figure. The 'roughly 26,000 year' cycle is also correct, but the accepted modern value based on the measured rate is about 25,772 years, not the 25,920 he cites 'to be exact.' The 25,920-year figure is the idealized 'Great Year' (or Platonic year) derived from a round 50 arcseconds per year and 360 degrees, so the general framing is accurate while the precise number he offers is a traditional idealization rather than the actual measured value.