No, the sky over the pyramids will not look like this on December 3, 2012 (image credit Universe Explorers)

There is a picture doing the rounds at the moment that allegedly shows a simulation in Starry Night Pro of how the pyramids will look on December 3, 2012. Each pyramid has a planet glowing over their tips. This is the blurb that accompanies the image.

Planetary alignment that will take place Dec 3, 2012 is dead-on alignment with the Pyramids at Giza. Night Sky in Giza, Egypt on December 3, 2012, local time … one hour before sunrise compared with the Pyramids at Giza.

There is only one teeny tiny problem … the sky over Giza will look nothing like this on 3 December, 2012 one hour before sunrise.

Firstly, although the planets Mercury, Venus and Saturn will form a nice line, it will be nearly vertical from Giza on December 3 (see the Stellarium simulation of the view from Giza to the left (click to embiggen)).

The second is the Pyramids orientation in the alleged simulated image. The image shows the planets floating over the Pyramids … to the north-west! The planetary alignment will be in the south-east, you just won’t see them like that.

Tip of the hat to David Greg who pointed the non-alignment out first.

Image credit Wikimedia commons (click to embiggen)

The orientation of the pyramids at Giza, the only way for the pyramids of the Queens to show up in the alleged simulated image is if you are looking north-east up the line of pyramids. For the planets to line up with the tips of the pyramids they would need to be in the north-west.

Which is impossible as the planets rise in the south east.