OK adding in my two cents:
First off, I do not believe this is Earth. At the end of season 3 they CLEARLY gave us an identifiable Earth, this time they didn't, and that was for a reason folks.
For those who argue that the constellations matched, I would point out two things. One, stellar fixes based on stars of varying distances are tricky things to calculate. Even with detailed scans, given the sheer distances involved, even a tiny discrepancy in measuring here or there could mean a HUGE change in the result, and yes, we are talking light years here guys.
Second, for those who argue that not all the zodiac stars are that far away from earth, I would point out what Gaeta said when they arrived was that the 'visible' constellations appeared to match. Now, while this seems to be definite, you have to consider that he said visible for a reason. The constellations they are referring to are the zodiac constellations, which lie on the horizon (when projected into space that is) of our view on the heavens. This means that at any given time of year, we can only see part of the zodiac, (with one being most prominent at any given date... which is how we determine what starsign we belong to). What this means is that, from orbit, any observer would only be able to see part of the zodiac at a time. This is why Gaeta said visible constellations, its also one possible explanation for how they could have been wrong. He could not see the full set of constellations when he gave his report, so he based his reading on what he saw. Crucially, we do not know which zodiac constellations he was looking at, so we cannot know. (Actually, the idea of using constellations as navigation points is a subject on which i could talk at length - it makes no sense really, if you think about what constellations are... but thats not really relevant to this discussion).
Now there are those that will argue that they would have taken more readings before going down and yes, logic would dictate that they would. But does logic jump up and down at the end of three years of struggle? Does logic jump up and cheer on a dradis console? You have to look at the human aspect here (which is what BS is all about really). They have suffered, they have lost, and now they are here. None of them, not human, not cylon, wants to find out that actually they are not there yet, so they take a reading, it looks good, they land, only to have their hopes dashed. Logical? No. Smart? No. Human, most certainly YES!
So, why don't I think this is Earth? Well, I come back to my original point. Since we know, from what we have been shown so far, that BSG's Earth is OUR Earth (at least visually), then there is no reason for them not so show the outline of the landmasses other than to hide the fact that this planet is NOT Earth. I would also point out that from a storytelling point of view, there is one major reason for this not being Earth - the final Cylon. Think about it. BSG has become a search for a new home, not just for the human race, but for the Cylons as well. The Cylons are searching for the lost part of themselves, just as the humans are. Their final Cylon is no different from the human 13th tribe. RDM has gone to a lot of trouble to bring us to this point, with both races tied together at last. The only way forward for this is for the final Cylon and earth to be tied together in some way. One cannot exist within the story now without the other. We haven't found the last Cylon, so we haven't found Earth... its that simple.
There you go, my opinion on this episode and this discussion.
RoBoC
PS: Sorry, but one more thing. Has anyone else thought that the whole journey to Earth thing is a little backwards? I mean think about it. 13 tribes on Kobol. They leave. 12 go one way, 1 goes another (for whatever reason) and this is the end of contact. Yet, for no reason that makes any sense, the 13th colony leave these markers to show their cousins where they went. And there are prophecies on the colonies to point the way to the 13th tribe (which, from the stated history, would be impossible as there was no way that the 12 tribes knew where the 13th went). Could it be that this is backwards? I mean, what if a bunch of humans (or all the humans, from every tribe) have left Kobol as was recorded and, as one, traveled to a new home planet (the planet they have just found, destroyed), and then some catastrophe happened (a war between the 12 tribes and the 13th), causing them to split yet again. 12 tribes head off and found the colonies, (in much the same way as the Cylons did), while the 13th has to abandon their home to find a new one (due to fallout), founding Earth.
It would then follow that the markers that the BSG crew have followed have then been left by their own ancestors on their journey away from the 13th tribe, perhaps as a way back for some future reconciliation. Could the prophecies be nothing more than the remnants of ancient and forgotten history? Could the final five Cylons be some form of envoy from the 13th tribe to their lost cousins?
I dont know, its just a theory. What do you think?
First off, I do not believe this is Earth. At the end of season 3 they CLEARLY gave us an identifiable Earth, this time they didn't, and that was for a reason folks.
For those who argue that the constellations matched, I would point out two things. One, stellar fixes based on stars of varying distances are tricky things to calculate. Even with detailed scans, given the sheer distances involved, even a tiny discrepancy in measuring here or there could mean a HUGE change in the result, and yes, we are talking light years here guys.
Second, for those who argue that not all the zodiac stars are that far away from earth, I would point out what Gaeta said when they arrived was that the 'visible' constellations appeared to match. Now, while this seems to be definite, you have to consider that he said visible for a reason. The constellations they are referring to are the zodiac constellations, which lie on the horizon (when projected into space that is) of our view on the heavens. This means that at any given time of year, we can only see part of the zodiac, (with one being most prominent at any given date... which is how we determine what starsign we belong to). What this means is that, from orbit, any observer would only be able to see part of the zodiac at a time. This is why Gaeta said visible constellations, its also one possible explanation for how they could have been wrong. He could not see the full set of constellations when he gave his report, so he based his reading on what he saw. Crucially, we do not know which zodiac constellations he was looking at, so we cannot know. (Actually, the idea of using constellations as navigation points is a subject on which i could talk at length - it makes no sense really, if you think about what constellations are... but thats not really relevant to this discussion).
Now there are those that will argue that they would have taken more readings before going down and yes, logic would dictate that they would. But does logic jump up and down at the end of three years of struggle? Does logic jump up and cheer on a dradis console? You have to look at the human aspect here (which is what BS is all about really). They have suffered, they have lost, and now they are here. None of them, not human, not cylon, wants to find out that actually they are not there yet, so they take a reading, it looks good, they land, only to have their hopes dashed. Logical? No. Smart? No. Human, most certainly YES!
So, why don't I think this is Earth? Well, I come back to my original point. Since we know, from what we have been shown so far, that BSG's Earth is OUR Earth (at least visually), then there is no reason for them not so show the outline of the landmasses other than to hide the fact that this planet is NOT Earth. I would also point out that from a storytelling point of view, there is one major reason for this not being Earth - the final Cylon. Think about it. BSG has become a search for a new home, not just for the human race, but for the Cylons as well. The Cylons are searching for the lost part of themselves, just as the humans are. Their final Cylon is no different from the human 13th tribe. RDM has gone to a lot of trouble to bring us to this point, with both races tied together at last. The only way forward for this is for the final Cylon and earth to be tied together in some way. One cannot exist within the story now without the other. We haven't found the last Cylon, so we haven't found Earth... its that simple.
There you go, my opinion on this episode and this discussion.
RoBoC
PS: Sorry, but one more thing. Has anyone else thought that the whole journey to Earth thing is a little backwards? I mean think about it. 13 tribes on Kobol. They leave. 12 go one way, 1 goes another (for whatever reason) and this is the end of contact. Yet, for no reason that makes any sense, the 13th colony leave these markers to show their cousins where they went. And there are prophecies on the colonies to point the way to the 13th tribe (which, from the stated history, would be impossible as there was no way that the 12 tribes knew where the 13th went). Could it be that this is backwards? I mean, what if a bunch of humans (or all the humans, from every tribe) have left Kobol as was recorded and, as one, traveled to a new home planet (the planet they have just found, destroyed), and then some catastrophe happened (a war between the 12 tribes and the 13th), causing them to split yet again. 12 tribes head off and found the colonies, (in much the same way as the Cylons did), while the 13th has to abandon their home to find a new one (due to fallout), founding Earth.
It would then follow that the markers that the BSG crew have followed have then been left by their own ancestors on their journey away from the 13th tribe, perhaps as a way back for some future reconciliation. Could the prophecies be nothing more than the remnants of ancient and forgotten history? Could the final five Cylons be some form of envoy from the 13th tribe to their lost cousins?
I dont know, its just a theory. What do you think?
. any ideas on what happened: maybe a human thermo-nuclear war, destroying everything, or did the other Cylons beat Galactica to it + are hiding on the dark side of the moon, building another Ressurection Hub, waiting? 
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