Sorry to dissapoint you, doomsday preppers.
As the song goes, we can still party like "it's the end of the world," but preparing for 2013 isn't such a bad idea after all since the end of the world on December 21, 2012 has only the faintest possibility of becoming true.
The root of all this doomsday buzz is the supposed end of the Mayan Calendar on the aforementioned date.
Contrary to common belief though, the Mayans did not mean that, on that date, the Earth will explode due to "killer solar neutrinos" (see the movie “2012”). Neither does it mean a reversal of the planet's magnetic poles, or a collision with another planet, or even a gargantuan asteroid much like the one that decimated the dinosaurs.
Here are five reasons for your perusal and reassurance.
1. It's just a misunderstanding!
The Mayan calendar is one of the artifacts excavated from the jungles of Guatemala and is considered “one of the most significant hieroglyphic finds in decades." But while the calendar contains an end date--Dec. 21, 2012--it did not predict doomsday. Mayans have a number of calendars, and one of them, the "Long Count", is used to record past and future events.
“Discovery News” reported that it is a "numerically predictable calendar," running out after 5,126 years. If translated into our modern calendar, their count started in 3114 BC. Using basic addition, after 5,126 years, it will end in 2012. Or Dec. 21, to be exact. It also happens to be the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice. The next "end date" will be on Oct. 13, 4772.
2. The planets are going to huddle, but don't be alarmed (they do it all the time).
NASA has not listed a planetary alignment in its astronomical calendar for 2012. What's in store for 2013 related to this date is just a run-of-the-mill planetary grouping, when a number of planets can be seen close together in the sky. Filipino astronomer Frederick Gabriana said during a press conference
on Dec. 14 that on May 29, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter will sit close together in the evening sky. That's about it.
3. The 2012 galactic alignment means... nothing.
Yes, on Dec. 21, 2012, our sun will line up with the Milky Way's center or "galactic equator." But no, this will not cause harm to any Earthlings. Gabriana also said this is "very normal." "This occurs every 26,000 years, so if a galactic alignment brings about the end of the world, the Earth would have ended millions of times already," he added.
4. No such thing as Planet X.
NASA Astrobiologist David Morrison answered multiple questions about Planet X or Nibiru, and doomsday.
On a Youtube video, he categorically denied the existence of such planet.
On NASA's website, Morrison said, "It is interesting to see how old stories get recycled by those who are promoting the 2012 doomsday hoax."
"Repeatedly people who have forgotten that the world is round claim that an object coming 'from the south' or 'from below the ecliptic' could be seen only from Antarctica, when in fact it would be visible to everyone living south of the equator," Morrison added.
Filipino astronomy educator Jose Rodrigo Torres of the Rizal Technological University also said during a press briefing that, if there is such a planet that could collide with the Earth, astronomers would have seen it decades ago.
The Mayans have calendars that continue beyond 2012.
The National Geographic Society funded another exploration on Mayan artifacts in Guatemala which was reported earlier this year.
“Discovery News” reported that archaeologists found paintings and hieroglyphs that were later on found to be calendars.
For the Mayans, 400 years is called a baktun. Dec. 21, 2012 fell at the end of the 13th baktun. Scientists insist that Mayans only mean that this is a start of a new cycle.
"The ancient Maya predicted the world would continue, that 7,000 years from now, things would be exactly like this," Boston University's William Saturno told Phys.Org.
"We keep looking for endings. The Maya were looking for a guarantee that nothing would change. It's an entirely different mind-set," he added.-- KDM/HS, GMA News