Mar 15, 2012; 10:39 AM ET
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 Wednesday (Mar. 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.
"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."
Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @nattyover. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.
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