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NASA video crushes 2012 Mayan apocalypse myth
NASA debunks fear of an apocalypse caused by calendars, incoming planets, solar flares and planetary alignments.
Fri, Mar 09 2012 at 9:26 AM
365 DAY: The steps and top platform of El Castillo, the pyramid at Kukulkan, Chichen Itza, represent the days of the year. (Photo: Alaskan Dude/Flickr)
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have put out a new video to address false claims about the "Mayan apocalypse," a non-event that some people believe will bring the world to an end on Dec. 21.
In the video, which was posted online on March 7, Don Yeomans, head of the Near-Earth Objects Program Office at NASA/JPL, explains away many of the most frequently cited doomsday scenarios. [See video]
Addressing the belief that the calendar used by the ancient Mayan civilization comes to a sudden end in December 2012, and that this will coincide with a cataclysmic, world-ending event, Yeomans said: "Their calendar does not end on December 21, 2012; it's just the end of the cycle and the beginning of a new one. It's just like on December 31, our calendar comes to an end, but a new calendar begins on January 1."
Yeomans also attempted to allay fears regarding potential causes of a Mayan apocalypse, including Nibiru, an imaginary planet that some people think is swinging in from the outer solar system just in time to collide with Earth in December. "This enormous planet is supposed to be coming toward Earth, but if it were, we would have seen it long ago. And if it were invisible somehow, we would have seen the [gravitational] effects of this planet on neighboring planets. Thousands of astronomers who scan the sky on a daily basis have not seen this," he said. [Believers In Mysterious Planet Nibiru Await Earth's End]
He added that there is zero possibility of a NASA cover-up. "Can you imagine thousands of astronomers who observe the skies on a daily basis keeping the same secret from the public for several years?"
As for solar flares, Yeomans explained that these do exist — in fact, two massive solar flares erupted just days ago, sending bursts of solar radiation into space — but they are part of the sun's normal 11-year cycle. Radiation from solar flares can damage orbiting satellites, but Earth's magnetosphere shields its inhabitants from the blasts, and the flares are not a health concern.
The well-known stone pictured in the video is actually an Aztec calendar, which was adopted from the Mayan calendar, changing the names of the days and months but following the same method.
"Then we have planetary alignments," Yeomans said. Some doomsayers believe the other planets and the sun will align with the Earth in December and cause catastrophic tidal effects. "Well, first of all, there are no planetary alignments in December of 2012, and even if there were, there are no tidal effects on the Earth as a result. The only two bodies in the solar system that can affect the Earth's tides are the moon, which is very close, and the sun, which is massive and also fairly close. But the other planets have a negligible effect on the Earth."
(Incidentally, it is perfectly normal for the sun and moon to align, bolstering each other's gravitational pulls on Earth and generating higher-than-normal ocean tides. This happens twice each month.)
Addressing the claim that Earth's axes are going to shift on Dec. 21, 2012, he said: "The rotation axis can't shift because the orbit of the moon around the Earth stabilizes it and doesn't allow it to shift." He noted that the magnetic field does shift every half-million years or so, but "there's no evidence it's going to happen in December, and even if it were to be shifting, it takes thousands of years to do so. And even if it did shift, it's not going to cause a problem on the Earth apart from the fact that we're going to have to recalibrate our compasses." [What If Earth's Magnetic Poles Flip?]
Invoking the astronomer Carl Sagan's famous maxim, he said: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Since the beginning of time there have been literally hundreds of thousands of predictions for the end of the world, and we're still here."
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We as humans are not supposed to know when the end of our world will be. So, stop guessing!
We know not the time or the day. But we do know the season. For those who read the Bible. God has NEVER done any thing that He hasn't let His people know. So look up, your redemption draweth nigh. So as in the days of Noah.... read what was going on in those days, and that will give you a big idea of what and where we are at, don't be decieved and caught unaware. Listen and know His voice.
If our children have invisible friends that they talk too we take them to a shrink...Whats the difference between children and idiots that think an invisible man in the sky is watching over them. Get a grip on reality!
It's better to be prepared and it NOT happen than to not be prepared and it DOES happen! Nobody believed Noah when he said, "it's gonna rain!"
I'm prepared: ready to grab my ankles on a moments notice.
Exactly HOW do you prepare for that might I ask???
Easy... from a sitting position, cover your head with your arms, lean forward, tuck your head between your legs and then kiss your a$$ good-bye!
Okay...then the sky fairy will appear and destroy everyone the church people don't like and there will be choclate sundaes for all the saints who lie thru their teeth for the sake of monetary support for their big temples. Grow up or see a shrink!
i vote for NOT being prepared and it NOT happening.
(and don't forget the fourth option: being prepared and it does happen.)
the fifth option is we all realize we are idiots for thinking about this at all.
The Mayan Calendar never predicted an apocalypse. It predicts a major change in the societal paradigm. Many scholars theorize that it will be a major shift from a patriarchal to a more matriarchal society. Now that would change things, wouldn't it?
It is supernatural of course science will debunk a theory like this. Science also tries to debunk religion
Trys?
The Mayan calendar also does not account for leap years, meaning that the Mayan doomsday actually came and went about seven months ago. The post-apocalypse world seems surprisingly routine.
Oh come on NASA. Everyone knows that the world will end by either the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising. The Mayans knew this yet most of us will still be unprepared when it happens later this year!
knew the e-o-t-w fears were just simple minded fears from the uneducated,this is why we need to elect representatives who will keep our education funding at maximum strength, vote intelligently for smarter guys because what inhabits the house, senate, congress, isn't smart enough VOTE 2012 ,,,,if you are intelligent?
This is great, but anyone who didn't already understand what baloney the 2012 disaster theories are before this video is not going to be persuaded by logic now.
Zombies!! hahaha
Zeitgeist
To whom it may concern,
Please refrain from using pictures of calendars of other cultures depict Maya calendars.
Thank you,
Giovanni Conrado,
Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico
We've changed the main image on this story and added a line under the video to avoid the cultural confusion you mention. Thanks for your note.
MNN Editor
What about "Apophus"?
Apophis is an asteroid discovered in June 2004. In December, early calculations showed that there was a 2,7% chance that it was going to hit the earth. This obviously caused some concern, so since then, astronomers have closely monitored this Asteroid and gotten much more accurate data on its trajectory. The result? In 2009, astronomers concluded that in 2036, there is a 0,0004% chance that it will hit the earth.
Thats right. 0,0004% chance. 1 In 250.000.
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