Good News For A New Year: NASA Scientists Say the World Will Not End In 2012

There are those folks out there who have received a lot of publicity by claiming 2012 is the year that the world (or at least our splendiferous presence upon it) all comes to an end. There was even a feature film about so momentous an event called "2012," and I saw the DVD on sale for a very reasonable price at Albertson's just the other day. Which was a lot less than what I paid when it first came out, by the way. But how was I supposed to know that I could have waited?

Just so you know, scientists are not buying into all of this apocalyptic despair, and in an article on Space.com, "Apocalypse Not Now: 2012 Doomsday Predictions Debunked By NASA" (click here), challenge many of the myths that have grown up around things like the soon to expire Mayan Long Count Calendar. While naturally also expressing their indignation at the hubris of some people.

Here is how Space.com contributor Charles Q. Choi embarks upon this journey of scientifically anchored denunciation:

On Dec. 21, 2012, many doomsday believers fear the apocalypse -- anything from a rogue planet smashing into us to our world spinning end over end. However, the world should expect nothing more than the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, NASA says.

Many people point to the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar on Dec. 21, 2012 as evidence of the coming apocalypse, but astronomers have been quick to stress that there is nothing to be concerned about.

According to the ancient Mayan calendar, next year's winter solstice marks the end of a 144,000-day cycle. This cycle, which begins at the mythical Maya creation date, has already been repeated 12 times. The 13th will end in 2012, capping a full 5,200-year Mayan cycle of creation.

The date has long been shrouded in mystery, with many claiming that it will bring destruction to our planet.

There are many ways that the destruction of Planet Earth is supposed to come about. Space.com thoughtfully lists them for us to ponder, while also explaining why each of them is a lot of hooey. See if any of these have made it onto your menu of possible apocalyptic denouement.

Rogue Planet Nibiru

One fear is that a rogue planet that has been dubbed "Niburu" or "Planet X" is supposedly aimed at Earth. Self-proclaimed Niburu expert Nancy Lieder, who says she is in contact with the aliens from Zeta Reticuli, first said Niburu would cause widespread disaster in May 2003, only to change it to Dec. 21, 2012.

There is, however, no evidence that Niburu is real. "Niburu is ridiculous because it doesn't exist - it never existed as anything other than a figment of the imagination by pseudo-scientists who don't seem bothered by a complete lack of evidence," astronomer Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object program office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told Space.com. There is no basis for the claim that it might be lurking behind the sun, as it could not have hidden from observation until now, Yeomans said. If such a planet was headed toward Earth by Dec. 21, 2012, it would already be visible to the eye.

Cosmic Alignments

There are also concerns that planets or stars might line up in ways that will transform Earth. For instance, some theorists claim that from our point of view, the sun will cross in front of the plane of our galaxy on Dec. 21. However, the sun already does this twice a year, Yeomans said.

Some also claim that gravitational effects from planets lining up with each other will somehow affect Earth. However, there is no planetary alignment due in Dec. 21, 2012, "and if there were, it wouldn't cause any problems." Yeomans said. The only bodies that have any significant gravitational impact on Earth are the moon and the sun, effects we see as tides. Tidal effects from other bodies in our solar system are negligible at best, and in any case, we have experienced them for millions of years without notice.

Solar Storms

Solar storms -- deluges of energetic particles from the sun -- do happen, usually waxing and waning in cycles that last roughly 11 years. When these charged particles collide with Earth, they can trigger auroras and damage satellites and power lines, although not really inflicting any lasting harm, Yeomans said.

There are accounts of a solar "super-storm" slamming into Earth in 1859. Although that caused relatively little damage back then, there are concerns that such a storm might cause far more harm now that our world is more dependent on electronics. Yet, there is no evidence that such a super-storm will happen on Dec. 21 of 2012, Yeomans said.

Flip-Flopping Earth

There is some alarm that 2012 could see the flipping of Earth's poles -- either the planet's geographical poles, which mark the earth's axis of rotation, or its magnetic poles, which our compasses point toward.

But there is no reason to fear such an occurrence, scientists said, because the moon stabilizes our planet's spin. The planet's magnetic poles do flip, but over periods of about 500,000 years, and not suddenly, "but over thousands of years," with no evidence of a flip on Dec. 21, 2012, Yeomans said. Even if the planet's magnetic poles do flip, no real problems would occur, other than the inconvenience of us having to change our compasses from north to south, he added.

Cosmic Impacts

The Earth is always vulnerable to impacts by comets and asteroids, but giant impacts are rare, with the last major collision taking place 65 million years ago, ending the Age of Dinosaurs. Still astronomers do monitor the sky for near-Earth objects.

"There are no known near-Earth objects in 2012 that present a credible risk to Earth," Yeomans said. "None, zero, zip, nada."

I don't know about you, but I find this all to be quite a relief. Now I can go out and ride my bike without having to worry about the world coming to an end while I am away from the house.

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