Thursday, December 20, 2012

21 December 2012: Armageddon out of here


According to some doomsday theorists and their interpretations of the Mayan calendar, the world will end on Friday 21 December 2012. Merry Christmas, folks.
And if the end really is nigh, we're apparently going out with a bang - with Earth either crashing into a giant planet called Nibiru, being sucked into a supermassive black hole, or tilting on its axis.
If you're thinking the axis shift sounds a bit tame by comparison, by the way, think again.
That would actually mean huge volcanic eruptions, violent earthquakes, giant tsunamis, magnetic pole reversals, major outbursts of radiation from the sun, and the general feeling of being trapped in a disaster-style blockbuster.
But if you're about to climb in a bunker or make a call to see if Liam Neeson's free for a spot of saving the world, you might want to hold off.
To equal out those announcing armageddon, the Irish Astronomical Association is among the many others de-bunking the 21/12/2012 theory and happily heralding the winter solstice instead.
Winter solstice in the northern hemisphere will happen at 11.11am on Friday and, according to the local astronomy group, we'll not only see it - we'll live to tell the tale.
So why is anyone saying otherwise?
"It started with some dubious interpretations of the very complex Long Count Mayan calendar," Terry Moseley, from the Irish Astronomical Association, said.
"It's basically a linear calendar and the 'Long Count' consists of a 5,125-year cycle based on a unit called a b'ak'tun. And this cycle, some say, will end on 21 Dec 2012 - marking 'the end of the world'."
He added: "Why are the Mayans supposed to know something that the rest of us don't?
"It's because 'ancient wisdom' (everything from the Sumerians to pyramidology to Atlantis, the Mayans, and lots more) is much beloved by all sorts of New Age mystics, conspiracy theorists, etc.
"Add the fact that Earth and the sun will align with the centre of the Milky Way, and specifically with the supermassive black hole there, on 21 December - and a hypothetical giant planet called Nibiru is heading our way - and you have the perfect recipe for armageddon."
It's as near to 100% certain as makes no difference that we will still all be here on 22 December. And after whatever the next doomsday prediction may be.
Irish Astronomical Association
Perfect recipe? That's not exactly reassuring stuff so far.
Well, the Irish Astronomical Association also says that, for a start, we should also consider that not even the Mayans can agree on the interpretation of their calendar.
"Many actually say the end of the Long Count would herald a good time, not a bad time," Terry said.
Then there's the fact that Earth and the Sun have been aligning with the centre of the Milky Way and its supermassive black hole every 21 December for the last few hundred years.
"And both the centre of the Milky Way and the black hole are about 30,000 light years (180,000,000,000,000,000 miles) away - much too far to have any effect whatsoever," Terry added.
What about this giant planet then? Earth's on a collision course and that can't possibly end well!
"Nibiru does not exist. It's a total fiction. End of story," Terry said.
Oh.
And just for the record, there's no reason the Long Count won't just be followed by another one; a major shift of the Earth's axis is apparently impossible; a magnetic pole reversal would take centuries; and the Sun's being pretty quiet right now and that's unlikely to change in the near future.
And if that's not enough, NASA is so confident that we'll still be here on Friday that they've already made and accidentally released a video celebrating the fact we weren't all wiped out "yesterday".
So no armageddon (almost definitely), no white Christmas (probably only marginally less likely than an apocalypse), but maybe some time travel (if you're NASA) ...
To make sure we've covered all bases though, check out our gallery of 'end of the world' style movies for inspiration on how to survive an apocalypse!

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