I am going out on a limb with this diary. I don't normally make a bold prediction about anything. There was one exception in 1974 in the Nixon administration. I successfully predicted he would resign. I think I was just very lucky. In this situation, NASA issued a publication November 13 with information leading me to believe the world will not end. This is news that should make us all breathe a sigh of relief.
Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know, however, it will be another winter solstice. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the claims behind the end of the world quickly unravel when pinned down to the 2012 timeline.
This movie trailer gives some idea of the terrible things we were all facing. What a big relief!
Why is NASA so confident? Why is NASA able to predict that nothing of this sort will occur? The answer in short lies in one word....
Science. Join me below the orange firestorm of death and destruction for the reasons we can feel safe and secure the end is NOT near.
Q1: Are there real threats to Earth in 2012?
A1: First, a general answer. There are no known threats in 2012. Earth has existed for more than 4 billion years. Credible scientists around the world know of no threats.
Q2: Why has it been popular to predict the world will end in 2012?
A2: Nibiru was a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians. It was supposed to be headed toward Earth. The Nibiru story originated with Nancy Lieder of Wisconsin. She claims she was contacted by gray extraterrestrials called Zetas. They put a communications device in her brain. In 1995, she used the internet to spread her story. The story gained a lot of notice on Internet newsgroups as Comet Hale–Bopp neared in 1997. Hale-Bopp was a beautiful comet. But, no Zetas were known to visit. Perhaps there are some undocumented alien Zetas. By now, they have all self-deported.
Lieder changed her story to include Planet X. Closest approach of X to Earth would occur on May 27, 2003. Earth's rotation would stop for exactly 5.9 terrestrial days. Then, the poles would shift caused by magnetic attraction between the Earth's core and the core of Planet X. Earth's magnetic core would be disrupted and cause great shifts of the Earth's crust. When nothing happened in 2003, the date was moved to 2012. It was linked to the end of the long cycle in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice December 21, 2012.
Q3: Is December 21, 2012 the end of the Mayan calendar?
A3: Your kitchen wall calendar does not cease to exist after December 31. The Mayan calendar will not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date ends the Mayan long-count period. Another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar. Records show the Mayans referred to future events in the next long count. The following video illustrates some of the relationships between different calendar cycles maintained by the Mayans.
Q4: Can an alignment of planets cause disasters on Earth?
A4: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades. Besides, they would have nearly zero effect on Earth. They do occur. Recent ones were in 1962, 1982 and 2000. Earth and Sun align each December with the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Earth and Moon align with the Sun at each eclipse. Nothing happens except some visual effects. Some might argue that hurricane Sandy's storm surge was the direct result of an alignment. In a sense, it was. High tide from the Moon and the storm timing combined to create a terrific problem. But, it wasn't an alignment of planets.
Q5: Is there a Nibiru, Planet X, or Eris that is approaching the Earth?
A5: There is no factual basis for the claims of Nibiru or Planet X. They were made up by people. If they were real and nearing Earth in 2012, they would have been tracked for at least the past decade. By now they would be visible to the naked eye.
Eris is real. It is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto. It resides in the outer solar system. The nearest distance of Eris to Earth is about 4 billion miles. Our Moon is about 250,000 miles. Don't lose any sleep over it.
Q6: Can Earth's crust change and move as described in the stories and movies?
A6: Earth won't stop rotating. There are slow plate tectonic movements of the continents and crustal plates. Sometimes, there are strong earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis associated with them. These have nothing to do with claims of reversal of the rotational poles. Disaster websites claim a relationship between the rotation and the magnetic polarity. Magnetic reversals do take place every 400,000 years on average. They don’t appear to cause any harm to life on Earth.
Q7: Could Earth be hit by a meteor in 2012?
A7: The Earth has always been struck by comets and asteroids. Most of them are sand grain sized. Big ones are rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago. It led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Astronomers are carrying out surveys to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. There are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs. All this work is done openly with the discoveries posted every day on the NASA Near-Earth Object Program Office website, so you can see for yourself that nothing is predicted to hit in 2012. As of November 17, 2012, 9431 Near-Earth objects have been discovered. Some 858 of these NEOs are asteroids with a diameter of approximately 1 kilometer or larger. Also, 1349 of these NEOs have been classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs).
Q8: How do NASA scientists feel about claims of the world ending in 2012?
A8: For any claims of disaster, where is the science or the evidence? There is none. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions.
Q9: What about giant solar storms in 2012?
A9: Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME) can cause some interruption of satellite and communications as well as spectacular auroral displays.
Solar activity has a cycle with peaks about every 11 years. The next solar maximum occurs in the 2012-2014 and is expected to be an average solar cycle. There is no special risk associated with 2012.
In summary, there really isn't any scientific reason to be fearful of the world ending in December this year. I suggest you go ahead and plan for a normal month. Go ahead and make plans for 2013. Who knows? It might turn out to be a great year for you. Melanie and I plan to make it the best year so far for us. I hope there are many good reasons for you to do the same. We are thankful for so much in our lives. May you feel the same.