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C VanDorne
And how did the Mayans build their empire?
WKetel
Locally the sky did fall today, with the first serious snow of the year. Not a ...
Not the end of the world, says NASA
Sylvie Barak
12/17/2012 2:10 PM EST
For those frantically stockpiling canned tuna in their underground bunkers or saying their final goodbyes to those around them, you may be being a little melodramatic. Or just plain wrong, according to NASA.
In a video leaked a week early, entitled “Why the world didn’t end yesterday,” NASA attempted to dispel fears that the world was about to be destroyed by a freak planetary incident and assuage people with the cold hard facts.
"The world will not end in 2012," NASA said. "Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012."
Don Yeomans, head of NASA’s near earth object program stated that no known asteroids or comets were on a collision course with earth, neither is a rogue planet coming to destroy us.
In the video, NASA Astrobiologist David Morrison claims that if there were anything out there, like a planet headed for earth, “it would already be one of the brightest objects in the sky. Everyone on earth could see it. You don’t need to ask the government, just go out and look, it’s not there.”
For those claiming that solar flares will be earth’s fiery end in five days’ time, NASA makes short work of that theory too. Lika Guhathakurta, head of NASA’s living with a star program said the sun had been flaring for billions of years, long before the Mayans even existed, and so far, it’s not destroyed the world yet.
True, the sun is approaching the maximum of its 11 year activity cycle, but Guhathakurta went as far as to describe it as the “wimpiest” solar cycle of the past 50 years. Harsh.
So, what’s the deal and how did the Mayan’s get it so wrong? Perhaps it was all just a big misunderstanding. In a statement on the NASA website set up to field questions about Dec. 21, the organization said the date was simply the end of the Mayan long-count period. “Just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar."
Phew. Panic avoided. Until the next “end of the world” date emerges, you’re safe for now, Nostradamus.
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Why is NASA audio so bad?
In a video leaked a week early, entitled “Why the world didn’t end yesterday,” NASA attempted to dispel fears that the world was about to be destroyed by a freak planetary incident and assuage people with the cold hard facts.
"The world will not end in 2012," NASA said. "Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012."
Don Yeomans, head of NASA’s near earth object program stated that no known asteroids or comets were on a collision course with earth, neither is a rogue planet coming to destroy us.
In the video, NASA Astrobiologist David Morrison claims that if there were anything out there, like a planet headed for earth, “it would already be one of the brightest objects in the sky. Everyone on earth could see it. You don’t need to ask the government, just go out and look, it’s not there.”
For those claiming that solar flares will be earth’s fiery end in five days’ time, NASA makes short work of that theory too. Lika Guhathakurta, head of NASA’s living with a star program said the sun had been flaring for billions of years, long before the Mayans even existed, and so far, it’s not destroyed the world yet. True, the sun is approaching the maximum of its 11 year activity cycle, but Guhathakurta went as far as to describe it as the “wimpiest” solar cycle of the past 50 years. Harsh.
So, what’s the deal and how did the Mayan’s get it so wrong? Perhaps it was all just a big misunderstanding. In a statement on the NASA website set up to field questions about Dec. 21, the organization said the date was simply the end of the Mayan long-count period. “Just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar."
Phew. Panic avoided. Until the next “end of the world” date emerges, you’re safe for now, Nostradamus.
Related Stories:
NASA ponders Mars sample return mission
New NASA App 2.0 Released For iPhone, iPod Touch
NASA Launches New App for Android
The Epic Struggle Between Birds and Pigs Moves to Space With a NASA Science Twist
Why is NASA audio so bad?
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ReneCardenas
12/17/2012 3:12 PM EST
Like this briefing and it makes so much sense, just wish it were available to higher distribution media points... Keep up the great work
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EREBUS
12/17/2012 4:29 PM EST
I guess the possibility of the calendar just starting over escaped the gloom and doom people.
I guess they missed the part about the calendar being 5200 years before it resets.
Much ado about nothing, really.
People act like the sky is falling. Didn't we go through that with the Y2K idiocy?
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dell123
12/20/2012 9:50 PM EST
So sir we will not die is what u saying think you
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WKetel
12/21/2012 5:03 PM EST
Locally the sky did fall today, with the first serious snow of the year. Not a lot, but the biggest amount so far.
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Bert22306
12/17/2012 6:44 PM EST
Wait, I thought the end of the world already happened, May 21, 2011, right?
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SylvieBarak
12/19/2012 10:45 PM EST
Damn! So, we all no longer exist and this is just a dream within a dream?? ;)
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AndyMikel
12/18/2012 3:11 AM EST
Guys must see this. http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9RX2p5/www.gay3ty.com/the-world-will-end-in-2012/
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Max the Magnificent
12/18/2012 4:21 PM EST
Did you see my EOTWAWKI (End Of The World As We Know It) blog in which all is explained: http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/the-engineering-life-around-the-web/4234020/Counting-down-to-the-EOTWAWKI
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David Ashton
12/18/2012 4:54 PM EST
The world actually ended at midnight on Dec 31,1999 (ie just before Y2K). However, most people were too drunk to notice....
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Karlsbad
12/18/2012 5:58 PM EST
But what about Dark Matter and Dark Energy?
They can't be up to anything good!
NASA's keeping mum on this and I, for one, expect that there's a dark satanic conspiracy at the root of it. NASA's “Why the world didn’t end yesterday" is probably just a cover-up to shield us from the real truth that ancient reptilian aliens, disguised as human, are exploiting the earth for their own financial gain.
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SylvieBarak
12/19/2012 10:46 PM EST
Yeah, but what are you gonna do....? Meh! ;)
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Work to Ride comma Ride to Work
12/18/2012 9:19 PM EST
Remember the Hale Bopp comet? I estimate about the same number of people are concerned with rolling the Mayan calendar over to Ver 2.0.
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Work to Ride comma Ride to Work
12/18/2012 9:25 PM EST
I'd be a lot more concerned with Windows 8 than the Mayan calendar. It sounds like it's everything I don't want in an operating system. What's up with those folks in Redmond? Don't they understand some of us use computers as tools, not entertainment. My company is still using XP. We're about to roll out Win 7 and I'm not looking forward to the churn this will cause my system. Yeah, the IT folks have been testing 7 for over a year, blah, blah, blah, but with every "upgrade", there is ALWAYS pain and suffering, especially with the engineering tools which the IT folks understand the least.
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Bob985
12/19/2012 1:45 PM EST
Yes, of course they understand that some of us use computers as tools; but they also understand that the really big money is in entertainment, just as in other fields.
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mrwood
12/19/2012 2:26 PM EST
Why didn't the Mayan's calculate another long count? Simple, the conquistadors showed up and wiped them out. Funny how every time the white man shows up indigenous peoples get wiped out.
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C VanDorne
12/31/2012 9:05 AM EST
And how did the Mayans build their empire?
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Ted@SGI
12/19/2012 3:50 PM EST
Does the world end Friday 12-21-12 at 12:01AM GMT, or say 12:01AM Mayan Std time which could be Mountain Std or Pacific Std time. Does the entire Earth go poof at that instant or does each time zone go over the armageddian cliff in an orderly procession?
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dell123
12/20/2012 9:51 PM EST
Look if you want more info please got to nasa.gov or google nasa says the world wont end
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dell123
12/21/2012 9:58 AM EST
well the world did not end so wve will still L;IVEING god bless all
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