2012: Why the World Won’t End? – NASA

we hear about the year 2012 supposedly being the beginning of the End of the World or ‘Doomsday’. You can read out everywhere online and will find people talking about in all the time in the bars, family gathering, Twitter, Facebook and all. Even an upcoming Hollywood movie 2012 is based on 2012 : End of the World. But what is TRUE?

Is 2012 going to bring the world to an end? Or is it just another ‘end of the world’ hoax like the Y2K scare?

To understand about it precisely I have found two sources that can answer some of your questions.

Fear about the year 2012 rest on just one of at least three Maya calendar systems unearthed by scholars, the “Long Count,” which began on Aug. 13, 3114 B.C. The Long Count tracks the duration of what the Maya called “great cycles” of time. The cycle we’re currently in ends on 13.0.0.0.0, what we non-Maya call Dec. 23, 2012.

[Source: USA Today]

USA Today shares a very good image to understand how to read Mayan calendar. You can understand more about it from the link above. Below is an excerpt from NASA website explaining 2012 : End of the world theory and answers some of the relevant questions.

Similar to the Y2K scare which came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won’t be the end of the world as we know.

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that are frequently asked regarding 2012:

• Q: Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.
  A: Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.
• Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?
  A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 — hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.
• Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?
• Q: Could a phenomena occur where planets align in a way that impacts Earth?
• Q: Is there a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction?
• Q: Is the Earth in danger of being hit by a meteor in 2012?
• And many other similar questions. To read about them all, please read this article on NASA website.

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