2012 Doomsday Debunked Their calendar does not end on December 21, 2012; it's just the end of the cycle and the beginning of a new one.
Image: Space.com
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have put out a new video to address false claims about the "Mayan apocalypse," a non-event that some people believe will bring the world to an end on Dec. 21.
In the video, which was posted online Wednesday (Mar. 7), Don Yeomans, head of the Near-Earth Objects Program Office at NASA/JPL, explains away many of the most frequently cited doomsday scenarios. [See video]
Addressing the belief that the calendar used by the ancient Mayan civilization comes to a sudden end in December 2012, and that this will coincide with a cataclysmic, world-ending event, Yeomans said: "Their calendar does not end on December 21, 2012; it's just the end of the cycle and the beginning of a new one. It's just like on December 31, our calendar comes to an end, but a new calendar begins on January 1."
Yeomans also attempted to allay fears regarding potential causes of a Mayan apocalypse, including Nibiru, an imaginary planet that some people think is swinging in from the outer solar system just in time to collide with Earth in December. "This enormous planet is supposed to be coming toward Earth, but if it were, we would have seen it long ago. And if it were invisible somehow, we would have seen the [gravitational] effects of this planet on neighboring planets. Thousands of astronomers who scan the sky on a daily basis have not seen this," he said. [Believers In Mysterious Planet Nibiru Await Earth's End]
He added that there is zero possibility of a NASA cover-up. "Can you imagine thousands of astronomers who observe the skies on a daily basis keeping the same secret from the public for several years?"
As for solar flares, Yeomans explained that these do exist — in fact, two massive solar flares erupted just days ago, sending bursts of solar radiation into space — but they are part of the sun's normal 11-year cycle. Radiation from solar flares can damage orbiting satellites, but Earth's magnetosphere shields its inhabitants from the blasts, and the flares are not a health concern.
"Then we have planetary alignments," Yeomans said. Some doomsayers believe the other planets and the sun will align with the Earth in December and cause catastrophic tidal effects. "Well, first of all, there are no planetary alignments in December of 2012, and even if there were, there are no tidal effects on the Earth as a result. The only two bodies in the solar system that can affect the Earth's tides are the moon, which is very close, and the sun, which is massive and also fairly close. But the other planets have a negligible effect on the Earth."
(Incidentally, it is perfectly normal for the sun and moon to align, bolstering each other's gravitational pulls on Earth and generating higher-than-normal ocean tides. This happens twice each month.)
Addressing the claim that Earth's axes are going to shift on Dec. 21, 2012, he said: "The rotation axis can't shift because the orbit of the moon around the Earth stabilizes it and doesn't allow it to shift." He noted that the magnetic field does shift every half-million years or so, but "there's no evidence it's going to happen in December, and even if it were to be shifting, it takes thousands of years to do so. And even if it did shift, it's not going to cause a problem on the Earth apart from the fact that we're going to have to recalibrate our compasses." [What If Earth's Magnetic Poles Flip?]
Invoking the astronomer Carl Sagan's famous maxim, he said: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Since the beginning of time there have been literally hundreds of thousands of predictions for the end of the world, and we're still here."
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140 Comments
Add CommentMy prediction is on Dec 22nd I will still have to go to work :(
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHeard recently: "This just in: The Mayan calendar does not have leap days every four years. The Earth was destroyed seven months ago. Sorry if you missed it."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell, i thought it was funny.
There's also a group that (among other things) monitors end of the world predictions. They have an End of the World party on each of these dates - for something to do. They often have cake left over, and save it in the fridge to be eaten the next day.
Confusing evidence of Christ's birth year place the 2nd millennium between 1986 and 2014, probably in September. It's not too late to "party like it's 1999", as the song goes. Though Clarke was right. The 2nd millennium started in 2001.
I predict the night before will be a good time to go out and get hammered....after all, how often do we have "the world is about to end!" excuse? How yeah, right...the end of the world happens about a million times a year, if you listen to those people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThey didn't address the one I recall - that the Solar system will be crossing the plane of the Milky Way's disk and will be aligned with the galaxy's center of mass, producing a surge of attraction to the galactic center.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIMO, the nearer neighboring objects of mass within the disk produce the greater effect on the Solar system. On the other hand, perhaps this is a NASA cover-up and the Earth will be suddenly sucked into the galaxy's supermassive black hole...
Look, just tell me if I have to go Christmas shopping or not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe uncertainty principle states that if you don't you'll wish you had...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswell obviously the whole thing is wrong since they been looking at the wrong calendar. awesome facts check, scientific american. (
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is too funny.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLook, if someone is so backwards and bewildered as to *believe* this Mayan calendar nonsense, no emission from NASA will solve that problem. If they had *any* respect for science, this would be a non-issue.
These same people probably think the moon is made of green cheese, the earth is flat, and there really is a god or gods.
I agree with the science in the article. I'm currently living in Mexico, and I can't stand all the New Age hype surrounding 2012. Two criticisms about the article. One minor. One major. Minor: I'd hoped to see written that all this doomsday talk about 2012 does not come from the ancient Maya or their descendents, but is a modern interpretation of the calendar and it's surrounding cosmology.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHere's my major criticism: this article is about debunking myths regarding doomsday events relating to 2012 and specifically the Mayan calendar. The photograph you included in the article is of the Sun Stone, made by the Aztecs over a thousand years later by a completely different civilization. Furthermore, the Sun Stone isn't even a calendar. It's unclear what it's original purpose was. So, while your article debunks one myth, it's perpetuating another.
But thanks for writing this piece!
-Christopher Maeda-Pease,
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
I was under the impression that in the past few years we have had other "heavenly bodies" come pretty close to Earth but they were not discovered until a much closer time then 9 months we are discussing here.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe calendar in the picture is Aztec, not Mayan. Two cultures separated for a thousand years...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDear Scientific American's crew, you are doing it wrong. The picture you are using on this article and the video you link is:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this1) Not mayan
2) Nor a calendar
That stone is called "The Sun stone" and is a depiction of Aztec's (Mexica) pantheon. There is not certainty on what the use was.
I understand it may seem as a quick cognitive references for most people in the U.S. to the mesoamerican pre-columbian cultures. But aztecs and mayans are entirely different. So please, fix this.
Gee thanks. I used to get jealous when I heard someone described as 'scientist at JPL' but now I realize they have nothing better to do than make videos about nonsense.This story belongs in the Onion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat is the theory I remember (not surprised this erudite and crushing article chose to forget).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Mayan believed that at the center of the galaxy resided a great monster that swallowed earths.
In our present enlightened paperless age we have observed a Black Hole. It is observed by inference. Neighboring stars move rapidly about it in a dance of death, zipping past it and being slingshoted out again by gravity. When the star wins it loses. That is when it achieves it's goal it is "crushed" and swallowed.
I am reminded of the Mayan ball court. Some have steep sides but more common is the sloped sided court. The ball players kick the ball towards the goal, a tiny vacant hole in a juting protrusion. Each time the ball misses it is pulled down the slope by gravity and then returns once again by the action of the players. When the ball goes in just once the game is over.
Do you suppose spectators of these games ever did "The Wave"? What perturbations consisting of *What?* are propagated along the plane of galactic disk, the vicinity of which we are now in.
Of course they would say that, they don't want to cause a panic.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with what he said nothing going to happen on the 21/12/2012, but to say we are not feeling effects on the earth of Nibiru explain all this, out of season weather, extreme weather, plate movements, increase earthquakes, ice caps melting, pole’s moving, earthquake drills up on down the Mississippi, FAMA 14 million ready meals and the list goes on, I found this on the article about the Moon eccentricity http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.0212?context=go-qc .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOk let say Nibiru not real, what NASA do say and have know for many years is that we are going through a part of the galaxy they have named the Local Fluff a energy cloud, this cloud is upsetting the sun and heating the solar system up, ice caps melting on Mars and Earth, Earth core heating up, I believe this is the reason for some of what we are experiencing on the Earth, but does not explain why Earth, the Moon and other plants are tilting over, or why Venus rotation has slowed by 6 min.
If the Local Fluff is to blame then till the people that and explain we will be though it in a year or so as predicted, but please don’t lie to us.
NASA is a prime suspect in the apocalypse. 1 o' 7 angels
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn any case, we should be prepared to leave our planet and go into a journey beyond our solar system in search of a safer place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSkxPghXTCg
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAttention journalists: please stop using photos of the Aztec calendar in articles about the Maya. Thank you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Maya
Attention journalists: please stop using photos of the Aztec calendar in articles about us. Thank you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Maya
I guess it will be more accurate if they were reading a mayan calendar instead of the aztecs calendar, Im just saying.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks for explaining @capt. obvious' reference to 'the wrong calendar' - I finally get it!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNostradamus associated the space shuttle with death .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscentury 1 q 81
Thanks for remembering!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'd guess that the Mayan ball game spectators did the 'gravity wave'...
Of course you religion-denying heathens can't understand the End of the World.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo understand such deep spiritual matters, you must strive for Enlightenment. And Enlightenment is waiting for you. It's available to all true seekers.
All you need to do is read the Package, at the top, where it opens. Then you'll find that 2012-12-21 is the date when His Exalted Holiness the Flying Spaghetti Monster reaches His best-before date and starts smelling bad.
The Mayans had more than one calendar. There was the solar calendar which used 365 days. They also had a calendar known as the Long Count which covers a cycle of 5,000 years. They had multiple cycles of this calendar, with the very last one ending December 22nd, 2012. That's where the mystery comes in. People are referencing the wrong calendar.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAt first I did my best to give those who claim to be "experts" the benefit of the doubt and allow them time to prepare statements after safety measurements were installed, but it has gotten to a point far past insult. I'm beginning to believe that the percentage of those without faculty is greater than 97 and now includes professionals in the scientific community as well.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSolar Flares and CME's hurl radiation towards our planet. The exchange of energy between particles DIRECTLY affects our atmosphere and by extension weather as well as natural disasters.
DO YOUR RESEARCH IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE. Every time a solar flare expels radiation in our direction, within 48 hours: an earthquake hits/storm is created/volcano erupts/Tornado/Hurricane/etc.
The current heat-wave as well as the abnormal temperatures all winter just happen to coincide with solar storm activity.
IF there is a cover-up, it's justified. Natural selection in terms of intellect.
With the inane remarks I've read lately, I wouldn't bother to save the majority either.
>"Can you imagine thousands of astronomers who observe the skies on a daily basis keeping the same secret from the public for several years?"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe problem is that delusional conspiracy theorists do imagine that, and will keep imagining that regardless of actual facts or data presented to them.
The Mayan Calendar doesn't signify the end of the world at all. It's meaning is more of a metaphysical or spiritual nature. The change thats happening is not of the outside world, as the outside world does not necesarily exist. But rather the change is happening in our own minds, in everyones mind. The solar flares that are getting more frequent are acting directly on our thoughts and feelings. Didn't know that? The news outlets don't report on it. Please, inform yourselves.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.carliniinstitute.com/how_recent_solar_flares_are_affecting_us
And the rise in solar flares is affected by the rising energies of the universe hitting earth.
The Mayans knew of this as they were masters of astronomy.
That is all.
Are you calling this article 'scientific evidence'?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEven though I am a 'doomsday doubter', you failed to "crush" anything with this mish-mash of accurate, inaccurate and irrelevant claims.
Among other concerns raised, this piece fails to address what is considered to be believers' most important claim --that being the Sun and Earth aligning with the galaxy's dark rift(perhaps the exact galactic center)and the associated electrically conductive plasma band our solar system is moving through, and on that basis renders this fluff useless!
Is there any particular reason why Scientific American chose to use the AZTEC Sun Stone as a photo in an article about the MAYAN calendar?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHere's some NASA crushing information. The coordinates of Planet X are "blocked" out on Google Sky.Explain that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is how it really went down --
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this1st Mayan priest (throws down chisel, steps away from giant stone block): "Wow, man -- there HAS to be an easier way to do mathematical calculations. OK, we have this calendar calculated all the way to Dec. 21, 2012. Should we keep going?"
2nd priest: "Nah, we got to stop somewhere."
1st priest: "Will 2012 be far enough out to suit His Majesty? You know how he likes to appear omnipotent."
2nd priest: "If anybody asks, we'll just say that's when the world will end. It ain't like anybody will give a crap about this in 2012."
cmon -- the mayans were tracking the precessional cycle
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthis is the end of the 5th 5100 year great age which given all five make up the 26K cycle ... in fact this was scientifically commemorated in December 1999 with the setting of a new epoch insofar as the tropical solstice point had contacted the edge of the galactic disc.
10,000 bc there was a similar orientation with the tropical cancerian solstice point and the betelguese intersection w/the galactic disc -- check out the black mat and the great extinction
not to mention the 12,000 year frequency of the ice ages
the mayans were not whistling dixie
this orientation due to relationship of the earth's axis vis a vis the galactic disc and center at SagA
galactic forces are in a different aligment to earth's core central core, changing perhapse our electromagnetic protective shell ...
I think the wild weather we've been experiencing these past two years are evidence of that ...
I'm going to be in Guatemala City for the winter solstice this year, I expect to return to US 31JAN2012
But, as an astrologer, given the aspects on Election Day and Inauguration Day ... I don't think we will know who the POTUS elect by the time I return.
What I can't understand is how no one has ever considered the hypothesis that the Mayan calendar dude just got busy somewhere and forgot to finish the calendar. What? You think people back ten were more diligent than today? For all we know he could’ve been working on his calendar one day, needed a nature call and on the way got killed by some wild animal or ended up finding a party somewhere and forgetting all about the job he was doing. You never know.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTrue story they neglected to teach you in school. A long, long time ago the "official Mayan calendar maker" was working in his shop when his wife stopped in. He proudly showed her that he was all the way up to 21/12/2012. She took one look at the calendar and said "You dolt, don't you see that the calendar repeats itself every 28 years? Now quit wasting your time on this foolish project and get your butt home because I have some chores for you to do around the house. I should have listened to my mother when she told me that you would never amount to anything. Oh, by the way she's coming to visit for a few weeks." The next day the calendar maker didn't go to his shop. Instead he went to the Temple and persuaded the high priests to make him the human sacrifice of the day.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis might have been addressed already, but I am feeling lazy and not going to do the right thing (which is read more posts to see what is said)...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"If the Local Fluff is to blame then till the people that and explain we will be though it in a year or so as predicted"
I am guessing that you don't have 0 keys on your keyboard... That's the only excuse I can think of for the inaccuracy. We aren't predicted to exit the fluff (It's actually called an interstellar cloud) in "a year or so." We entered it tens of thousands of years ago and are expected to exit in 10,000 years, NOT 1 year.
And Because of how long we've been in it already, all the "sudden" changes you mentioned as happening right now would have been happening gradually. As in thousands of years gradually.
Also, you said: "but to say we are not feeling effects on the earth of Nibiru explain all this, out of season weather, extreme weather, plate movements, increase earthquakes, ice caps melting, poles moving, earthquake drills up on down the Mississippi, FAMA 14 million ready meals and the list goes on"
As I write this, there are 24 comments between yours and mine, so I hope this has been explained 24 times. It's the phrase that for ridiculous reasons, scares people: Climate change. And I don't even mean they have to be man-made problems. Even if you are saying the current events are all just normal parts of the earths cycle, that alone discounts any effect by an outside force. You wouldn't have a parabola if it was all caused by something only approaching all this time.
Additionally, you really fell into the "conspiracy theory" camp in your comment. You start out saying that Narobi explains the weather changes, plate movements, earthquakes, etc, but then you just had to more or less switch into cover-up mode by bringing up earthquake drills and such. The two are separate: either you want to discuss Narobis affect on Earth or you want to discuss peoples reactions to Narobi.
And then there are the 14 million meals that FAMA has stockpiled. I really don't see why the band Fama would stockpile any food. Where are you getting your information? Or did you mean the FAMA - Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association? Or Freshwater and Marine Aquarium (not sure how an inanimate object can stockpile anything)? Or why would the coffee company want to stockpile food. I mean, they might want to SUPPLY to stockpiles, but they surely wouldn't do it themselves.
Oh, maybe you meant FEMA....
fyngyrz science is limited to its findings and that's as far as respect can go, in any case. Science deals with infrastructure, known findings and is limited to this foundation.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Here's some NASA crushing information. The coordinates of Planet X are "blocked" out on Google Sky.Explain that."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you are really, really bothered by this, I suggest you go to http://www.sky-map.org/ or http://skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/ and put in the coordinates (5h 53m 42.0s -5 57' 27.2").
Spoiler: BOTH show the spot in space and BOTH show there is nothing out of the ordinary there. As boring as it is, the fact of the matter is that it was caused by human error when stitching together the individual files from the sky survey.
"I'm going to be in Guatemala City for the winter solstice this year, I expect to return to US 31JAN2012"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat would be quite an achievement, but time travel is a whole different conspiracy theory.
The first thing science must acknowledge is, Science Doesn't know science Doesn't Know and get of the beaten path. As long as tenure for science prof's. and or grants are a factor, need i say more?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShow me findings without footnotes and I'll take a hard look.
Scientific American needs a photo and copy editor. The image is NOT the Mayan Calendar, it is the Aztec calendar. The Mayas never carved their calendar in stone but on sheets of bark.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI saw a "heavenly body" in my bed last night. It made a pretty big collision with me. I hope it wasn't the end of the world.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhile I do understand the frustration from the scientific community regarding the blatantly ignorant and blinded belief by some people as to what they will and won’t believe, I am troubled by Scientific American’s seemingly biased regard for the more recent NASA statement regarding the Mayan “End of World” predictions.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFirst of all, we have had professor Michio Kaku, well known and respected Astrophysicist, come out on public television *several times* warning the general public of the potential for heavy solar flare activity towards the end of 2012 and during the first half to three quarters of 2013.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj5ZBJM8jso&feature=related
Secondly, the Mayan’s worshiped “Sun Gods”…and the better portion of their belief system was built around the Sun and the planets that *revolved around the Sun* (as in they knew this before the “educated” European folk did). There is also undisputable proof that they believed “something would happen” upon the end of the long year Mayan calendar.
Third, the Nibiru/PlanetX concept is *not* Mayan… it is *Sumerian*…as in on the complete *other side of the planet* to the Mayans. What does Sumerian records have to do with *Mayan* records??
Fourth, the NASA official himself claims that we have not had a global Earth changing flare for over 740,000 years… however what he *does not* mention is that there is empirical evidence that this cycle happens closer to every 600-700 thousand years…over millions of years on this planet.
Finally, I find it odd that the same agency, NASA, sent out a global message to only their internal employees tell them to “be prepared” ahead of time, but now they are coming out and telling the pubic “don’t worry”?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cEudUWyIeE&feature=related
Come on Scientific American… you are not being very “Scientific” in your willingness to just follow the lead from a single entity that is only comparing “unlikely” scenarios that don’t even coincide with the Mayan society or “lore”…in an attempt to say that nothing will happen?
Totally Debunked??? Really???
The Moon IS made of cheese. The Earth IS NOT round and there is/are a God or Gods. What planet are YOU on???
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGo Christopher!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would expect much better from a purported scientific journal. While I appreciate the debunking of the physically impossible things that could happen with the end of any calendar (which should be like shooting fish in a barrel for the likes of JPL), the flashing of the *Aztec* calendar (for shame!) only perpetuates the mystery of the Mayan calendar event. Brushing off the Mayan calendar event as being simply "like December 31st" is also erroneous--the Mayan calendar in question is not a solar calendar, but a count of days since August 11, 3114 BC. The scheme is exactly like the Julian Date (currently in use by JPL) being a count of days since January 1, 4713 BC. Because of the not-quite-base-20 counting system used by the Mayans (maybe the first guy who had to count 20's was missing two toes?), December 21, 2012 is merely 13.0.0.0.0 (for reference, today is 12.19.19.4.4). Reaching this count is much more akin to reaching the Julian date of 3,000,000 (today is 2,455,562), and not "December 31st" of the Gregorian calendar.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPlease do your homework next time.
It drives me nuts when folks do that--I say that it's like writing about sandwiches and illustrating with soup, on the basis that both are tasty.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you for pointing this out. I hope that SA changes the illustration and leads by example!
I am waiting for Quetzalcoatl. When he gets here, NASA will be soooo sorry--if it still exists. How dare NASA challenge a GOD? It thinks it is smart but Quetzy will show it! (...Oh, ye of little faith..)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis too funny
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe myth did not originate from Mexico or the Mayans, but beyond the borders of Mexico,
too funny that local mayan descendants are only duping people for money, they now they can get all the advantage of the 2012 hoax and all the money they can, also they can just sell pieces of some rock and tell you it is sacred, and guess what? you american dupes will buy those pieces of rock
Why you show off an Aztec ceremony stone in your article about Mayans ? I don't get it....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe end of America will be the first Tuesday in November 2012 if Obama is re-elected
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can think of several Astrophysics papers that make Mr Yeomans look pretty foolish,Look on Nasa jpl's facebook wall,you'll see there in the comments a few links that disagree with what Mr Yeomans states.Has anyone realized that Noah's flood approximately matches the turn of the Mayan long count calender?.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHey Scientific American; you can debunk all ya'want, but the landfills are still over-flowing with "science" - it might not be as "sexy" as debunking sensationalized myths, predictions and exploited culture and mysticism - but as it says at the end of your article "we're still here." What a condescending pish-posh; stay away from mysticism. There's a population and resources problem that's staring right at us like a loaded gun, so quit with the Nostradamus & Armageddon debunking bologna - "let the Hun do that" - we have a garbage, disease, problem - get your heads out of the mysticism stuff and back on the ground into science. Sick of this crap - its been going on for twenty years now - gives us break - its like listening to someone over explain a painting or a piece of music - go back to the chalkboard guys. Or better yet "more like E.O.Wilson" - "less like Fox News"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Mayan Apocalypse is based on the Cycles and Alignments of the Sun, The Moon and Venus and refers to the end of a dominant Religious era, in this case the end of the Christian Era and the begining of another Religious Era in this case it seems to me to be the Muslim Era (or Atheism). All will become apparent around July 2012 and will culminate around December 2012, a few days before Christmas Day, being the turn around point of the Sun. The question then becomes will this change be accepted by all the people of the world?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe planet,(or what ever one calls it), in question is close now. We may not see it, it's at a different frequency i believe. We may feel the effects or even experience cognitive awareness from or with a cognitive entity associated with the mass element in question.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe planet,(or what ever one calls it), in question is close now. We may not see it, it's at a different frequency i believe. We may feel the effects or even experience cognitive awareness from or with a cognitive entity associated with the mass element in question.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell, they'll sure be embarrassed if an event of some magnitude DOES happen near this time ! (well, not for very long ;)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhile I'm certain NASA is on the right track here, I'll admit to falling for the possibility of a 2012 magnetic pole flip, for a few hours back in 2009. There seems to be some evidence of a (relatively minor) increase in Earth magnetic field anomalies and, back in 2009, the alignment issue was getting considerable play. I'm not convinced a magnetic pole flip would be the non-event suggested in this article. At least this has been a learning event. Before this issue, I wasn't aware the magnetic poles actually do completely reversed.
"the Solar system will be crossing the plane of the Milky Way's disk and will be aligned with the galaxy's center of mass, producing a surge of attraction to the galactic center."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"this is a NASA cover-up and the Earth will be suddenly sucked into the galaxy's supermassive black hole..."
This is total nonsense. Take it from Dr. David Morrison of NASA:
There is a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, and like any concentration of mass it exerts gravitational force on the rest of the galaxy. However, the galactic center is very far away, approximately 30,000 light years, so it has negligible effects on our solar system and Earth. There are no special forces from the galactic plane or the galactic center. The last time the Earth was in the galactic plane was several million years ago. Claims that we are about to cross the galactic plane are untrue.
The entire “galactic alignment” scare is ridiculous. Late in December the Sun is always approximately in the direction of the center of the Galaxy as seen from the Earth, but so what? Apparently the scaremongers have decided to use these meaningless phrases about “alignments” and the “dark rift” and “photon belt” precisely because they are not understood by the public.
To answer all the ridiculous claims about 2012 doomsday, read this FAQ from NASA.
http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/2012-and-counting/
Don Yeomans, how can we believe you when you talk about 500,000 years which are not existence. Haven't you heared there was no time before 6000 years ago?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd poor Carl Sagan, he knows now better but too late:
["Since the beginning of time there have been literally hundreds of thousands of predictions for the end of the world, and we're still here."]
How does he know that, did he read them all and did he existed since the beginning of time? You evolutionists are not even average fairy tale tellers.
For everybody, try the Bible 'calendar'.
Wow, you certainly crushed my little joke!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOh, dooms day is not going to end in a solar flare or anything massive as mentioned above. However, there is one fact that no one, at least by what I saw above, considered. What about the "Super Volcano" right in the middle of the U.S.A., that is Yellow Stone National Park? If that erupts then, the whole world is going to realize it's affects. What if the Volcano in the Canary Islands erupt and as a result creates a landslide, there fore sends a mega tsunami hurdling towards the Easter Coast of the U.S.A. Everyone only considered what is going to happen above us when there is also danger below us. This doesn't indicate that I believe in the apocalypse or that there is a "end" near us. However, what I believe is that scientists should start investigating the basement more and strengthening it to an equivalent level of what we have investigated space and other areas of danger.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow about this scenario: Pole shift quite fast, not in that amount of time was suggested here, (and this is a cyclic event which can be predicted by some open minded civilization); and during that time we are not actually protected from sun flares, which appears to increase this time, and this is also a cycle which can be predicted by the same civilization. So, this two predictable cycles might overlap and have an apogee in 21 Dec. Anyway, the beginning should start to be visible already from June. Put your business in order.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat leap year thing that has been going around the internet in regards to this topic is incorrect. The Mayan calendar in question is a countdown of a specific number of days ( I can't remember how many), but the countdown ends on 12-21-2012 leap years included.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIsn't the illustration that of the Aztec calendar stone? Although both the Aztec and the Mayan calendar are essentially the same, I think you ought to identify this as an Aztec, not a Mayan, artifact--unless, of course, I'm wrong.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIsn't the illustration that of the Aztec calendar stone? Although both the Aztec and the Mayan calendar are essentially the same, I think you ought to identify this as an Aztec, not a Mayan, artifact--unless, of course, I'm wrong.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPeople who continue to project false "end of the world" dates are fools who have failed miserably in life, and keep motivating themselves to cope with their miserable lives by fabricating pseudo-science (to use an elaborate phrase for childish fabrication).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAdmittedly, many are busy harvesting the little money these fools have earned as fast food servers and other low level labor by selling them conventions, books, and phony services pandering to these delusions.
I don't know why anyone who "gets off" or "mentally masturbates" on this undignified childish fabrication even bothers to get up in the morning. What kind of life is that? Gives me the creeps to think about these people. I almost wish they were diagnosed as having some form of mental retardation only because then, there would be hope of curing them. In fact, the only "cure" is when they wake up on January 1, 2013, and I wonder how many of them will survive that "cure" without having mental breakdowns.
I feel sadness more than contempt for those people, and my real contempt is aimed at those exploiting them for financial gain, those who will be living in wealthy enclaves long after they're deceased (many self-inflicted when having an epiphany they've been taken for everything they have, even their human dignity).
fun read of the articles and comments...Thanks!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Wow, you certainly crushed my little joke!"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLOL It's unimaginative. Joke about the LHC forming mini black holes that will devour earth. Some scientists actually believe that!
It's ridiculous for some people to believe the 2012 world ending theory just due to a film and then give up in their lives.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou are humorous, and i still need to continue my study
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOk, I read all the comments on this topic and I can agree with Nikola Tesla's and Stu k's comments.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Mayan's calendar points out that we live in a "fourth" period out of 5 periods which complete the turn of the zodiak (26,000 years)and Mayans state that each of the periods end with the destruction with one of the "elements". December 21st, 2012 looks like the right date since this is described as "astronomical" event, and I do believe that we are looking in the wrong direction searching for the signs to confirm the possible event. I think that we should be checking out the historical events that happened 5,125 years ago, and the one before that. As Stu k pointed out, the great flood timing could be right on spot for the previous event, and the Atlantis disaster could be the before that. If those events really happened, then the timing of those events would be too much to ignore if they happened at corresponding ends of the second and third period and in destruction with on of the elements - in the last case of flood, "water".
This is a pitifully simplistic explanation. Zero evidence.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI read all of Sagans books(I was a big fan)until he slandered Velikovsky for 5 chapters with no evidence as well. Earth in Upheaval is full of evidence that can be followed and looked up easily even if Worlds in Collision requires more difficult reading. The Mayan calander is not a stand alone testiment to cataclysm study. It is just easier for the so called scientists to take it on as an individual (divide and conquer, sun tsu). When all the other sources of this info are added together there becomes a great amount of evidence supporting it. Hindu Shiva(so somebody attached a name to this event) cycles (24000 year). James Churchward gives evidence. So does Graham Hancock. The Great Flood. The very nature of the universe is highly destructive. Niburu? Not sure about that but why wouldn't it be in some orbit, everything else is. How about 100 million mammoths buried in the permafrost of Siberia for the last 24000 years. Fresh as day they were flash frozen there from some cataclysmic event (pole shift). There are scientific papers that confirm this. Other evidence of pole shifts include pottery with magnetite that shows the lines of magnetic force that have changed in known areas and times. Anyway, this is not about beliefs or religion, only fact finding. Did this or did this not happen before. Will this or will this not happen again.
Maybe you should have got a Russian to do this video. Like "Ya, ya, dis es not true. In mother Russia thes nevor hoppens."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPretty poor argument guys. Makes me wonder about your readership. And that whole wrong stone thing. God! (I am not religious).
I bet you your life savings the end doesn't come...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPhysically impossible? Isn't the Universe itself physically impossible? Started from nothing, which started from nothing, which started from nothing and it's turtles all the way down young man. And the Julian calander didn't indicate an end date and return to one, did it. Maybe they didn't know what the Mayans did. Two different peoples. Why make a cyclic calander instead of just keep counting to infinity and beyond, unless there is a cyclic pattern they trying to represent. Going to an end of the world party would sure beat going to see the next Harry Potter film. It's still entertaining whether we die or not. The pursuit of knowledge is a road not a destination. We won't know for sure til happens, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't think about it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisP.S. I don't have a life savings to bet. I keep buying guitars.
Thats good!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI read Carl Sagan's book "Broca's Brain." His debunking of Velikovsky's theories was all science. If you think Sagan's refutation was lacking, it's your grasp of science that's lacking.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI also read Graham Hancock's book "Fingerprints of the Gods." It's a very interesting story. But Hancock and his theory are not taken seriously by the scientific community especially archeologists and geologists.
I subscibe to Sagan's dictum that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. The burden of proof lies on those making extraordinary claims. Velikovsky, Hancock, von Daniken and others made extraordinary claims but their evidence is lacking. Worse, there's plenty of contrary evidence.
To answer all the ridiculous claims about 2012 doomsday, read this FAQ from NASA.
http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/2012-and-counting/
I was a Sagan quoting zombie like yourself until I read Brocca's Brain and was turned. Sagan makes nothing but personal attacks without any substance. That's why I read Velikovski. Perhaps you should read Velikovski as well and not just quote Sagan. You can lead a skeptic to the library, but you can't make it think.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWorm holes seem like a pretty extraordinary claim to me. Where's the extraordinary evidence there. And every 'scientist' in world will back that one.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo evidence for wormholes. It's based on pure mathematics and general theory of relativity. But unlike you, physicists know they are speculating when they talk about wormholes. It's the laymen who get the impression that it's a fact.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNibiru is not even the main claim in this issue. That idea was popularized by Zecharia Sitchin and does not represent much of the argument. The 'scientists' keep dragging this in because it's easy to attack. Churchward makes no mention of this. Nor does the bible, second coming stuff or Hindu manuscript. Nor the Mayans.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI hope you are referring to the same "Broca's Brain" book. I'm amazed you said Sagan makes nothing but personal attacks. He made detailed calculations in celestial mechanics to debunk Velikovsky. Unless you didn't understand his mathematics. You need a tour to the skeptic library because it takes credulity to believe Velikovsky.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRelativity? You still believe in Einstein's gravity I suppose. Probably never heard of Leonhard Euler and his theory of gravity. Einstein was a marketing ploy, E=mc2, big hair. Has memes written all over it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHave you read Earth in Upheaval. Velikovski calls it the bones and the stones telling the story because he uses fossil evidence to back up his claims. And they are well known ones that can be googled with ease. And the logic is there.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am referring to the same book and Sagan uses no science, no calculations, no mathematics of any kind. Just hands on hips, arms akimbo stating "that's preposterous" with stubbornness equal only to that of those who persecuted the scientists of older times.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you, Dr. Yeomans, for telling us the real scientific truth versus those thousands of quacks in the Internet who love to scare us all to death with their stupid interpretation of the signs in the sky.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd thanks for dumbing it down for the masses. And the wrong stone.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEuler was a great mathematician but his theory of gravity is obscure and obsolete because his ether supposition had been debunked by Michelson-Morley experiment since 1887. A casual reader of physics would know that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow I know you haven't read Sagan's book. It must be Dr. Suess comics you're reading. You also haven't read Velikovsky's book. Heck you can't even spell his name right. I rest my case.
Light requiring a medium for light waves to exist still holds true because of all other forms of waves we know of. The Michelson-Morley experiment was not conclusive due to the fact that the earths gravity had a strong influence on the outcome. They believed that the earth was likely to drag part of the ether with it through space due to viscosity effects. The experiment would have to be conducted in space, away from such effects which they were incapable of in 1887. Masters of Light I believe. In more recent news the Lageos 1 & 2 satellites provided evidence of frame dragging, an Einstein prediction that earth would drag part of time-space with it due to viscosity effects. Maybe old Einy relabeled the ether as time-space just so he could stamp his name on it. Dark matter sounds a lot like ether to me. So does zero point, dark energy and neutrinos. The ether is the combination of all those super sub-atomic particles that make up the 95% or whatever the official written in stone to be later revised by scientists figure is. The only difference is the scientists fumbling around it like so many monkeys chasing a football just so they can get their name on the discovery. The thing about Einstein is that he is the first guy to sit down and finish writing it out (in his own twisted way). He's not the first to know about this or even ponder it well. He even uses gravity to explain gravity. Euler's theory makes far more sense than some invisible tether that holds the moon in place. I think your just main stream and never thought about this. I can explain it more clearly if you like.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHere's something I wrote a while back:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is my take on Euler. Some 250 years ago Euler (a GREAT (I mean really GREAT genius) genius) came to a conclusion that all of space must be
filled with a yet to be discovered substance. The likely candidate for this substance now appears to be neutrino particles and other sub-atomic
particles. All stars in the universe, and there are many, have been filling the universe with these particles since the beginning. Neutrinos from
our star Sol are studied considerably. So anyway there are a lot of these particles. They carry a great deal of energy. It is said that it would
take a piece of lead one light year thick to stop a single neutrino. It is also said that neutrinos have a tunneling nature to them that allows
them to pass through an atom, between the electrons and nucleus, likely causing drag on the atom (implying smaller particles still) but not
colliding with the atom, which is how a detector works and why they are hard to detect. There are so many of these particles travelling in so
many directions that at any given point in space there are and equal amount of particles in equal directions converging on that point. Cancelling
each other out. For example, if we have a particle of value 5 travelling in one direction meeting a particle of value 5 travelling in an opposite
direction they cancel each other out, giving a value 0 (in terms of velocity times mass equals energy (0 velocity equals 0 energy regardless of
mass)). 5-->0<--5. If we were to introduce a mass into the equation, such as Earth, a particle may pass through this mass and experience drag
forces and a subsequent loss of velocity equaling a loss of energy. Therefore the particle exiting the surface of Earth (up) would have less
energy than the particle arriving at the surface of the Earth (down(gravity)). 5-->((Earth mass)--> 1)<--5. Such that the forces (neutrino drag)
acting downward (gravity) on an object on the surface of the Earth would be greater than the forces working upward on the object. And therefore
we are pushed or dragged onto the surface of the Earth. Simple enough. So. In order to overcome gravity, perhaps the answer is to re-energize the
particles that are moving in the upward direction. T.T.Brown seems to have conducted experiments in gravity. Most relevantly one involving
rapidly revolving a fluid described as a purplish mercury like substance. Was this in order to spin these gravity particles up to a higher
state? More interesting is my own observations of early rocket testing. Allow me to digress... Before Faraday, many electrical experimenters had
noticed and dismissed the observation that when a magnet was passed near a wire or coil of wire that a needle on an electrical meter moved. It
was not what they were looking for and pompously ignored. To subtle. Faraday was the first to say "whoa", "wait a minute" and induction was discovered (very
important). Back to the rocket testing. Wait...another digression... When I was young we had dinky cars (Matchbox cars as the sophisticated would call
them). I spent many hours pretending to jump them and comparing them to Dukes of Hazard and considering weight of the engine to center of
gravity etc. Obtaining a feel to the way things move. Rocket testing. Here we go. I noticed that sometimes when a defective rocket would launch, that it
would tilt more and more until it reached a stage where the nose seemed to have more downward motion relative to the upward motion of the tail
end in an inconsistent fashion. To cut to the chase is this. suppose the particles (gravity) moving in an upward motion as before mentioned are
diminished and that as they enter the hot gases of a rocket exhaust (hot = more excited faster particles) are restored to their former glory,
then gravity would be zero. Imagine that the particles moving upward would create a zone of influence (0 gravity) mostly in the shape of a tube,
like a column of water (physics like) and that as the nose of the rocket projects out of that column, the effects of the downward gravity
increase, pulling the nose down while the tail still appears to move up rather than in the opposite direction of "thrust" (sideways). Another
point about T.T.Brown is that he was opposed to the Apollo missions, instead recommending spending research dollars on obtaining a better
understanding of gravity itself and employing finesse rather than using giant crude chemical rockets to reach the cosmos. Newton's gravity is no
more useful than a school girl's knowledge of an iPhone. Usable, but no understanding of what's under the hood. Einstein's gravity is a farce
and his time-space is the ether repackaged (Michelson/Morley). More on this later.
Further to the concept of a hollow Earth is that at the center of any mass, gravity is zero and centripetal force causes mass to move in an
outward direction. The Casini divisions in the rings of Saturn are said to be caused by energized particles moving between the poles of the
planet following the flux lines in the magnetic field and disintegrating or blasting matter in those zones over the millennia. The same particles
would likely enter the poles and disintegrate matter there as well. The recent images of Saturn's south pole "hurricane" (hole in the pole) seems
to add weight to this.
While you are good at reading and regurgitating, you are obviously not good at thinking for yourself. Take the next step buddy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAt first this article lacks basic standards for publication. The image of the calendar used for the article represent the Aztec calendar and not the Mayan calendar, being both completely different things. Regardless of the technical explanation, this basic mistake demonstrates that the authors did not even know what are they talking about.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisClaims that the world will end in Dec 2012 are indeed irritating and ignorant, but not as irritating nor as ignorant as using an image of the Aztec calendar in an article about the Mayan calendar. You're Scientific American. You should do better.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat's most facinating is that several traditions from various cultures around the world have "end of world" scenarios that are often interpreted as coming soon. No, I don't believe any of them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHowever, the statement: "Can you imagine thousands of astronomers who observe the skies on a daily basis keeping the same secret from the public for several years?" Substitute the word "astronomer" with "climatologist" and you too might see how that statement could be discounted. Thankfully, our political morass has not yet become so deep as to have "one-world" type world leaders propogandize us to huddle together for a coming astronomical apocalypse.
Mr. Yeomans does admit that the poles are known to flip, although he says gradually. But if they do indeed flip, what is the cause of that flip Mr. Yeomans. And if you don't know, then how do you claim to be a reputable source of this information. And how can you predict that they will or will not flip again and at what rate of speed. If you do not know the cause.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have enjoyed reading comments under a number of different "news" sources, but none are better than those under Scientific American items. There are no insulting trading of views with other readers, only intelligent and often hilarious views. So may I add mine, hoping none will take offense? Here goes: We will be able to confirm the impeding end of the world if, at the end of the first week in November we open our morning paper and the headline starts: "NEW PRES................" yes , i said impeding.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell, it's quite interesting that the picture is not from a Mayan calendar but from the Aztec Sun God. And, did NASA miss the fact that every single serious and recognized historian of Mayan Culture is saying since the last year that those purported claims Mayan people did don't-know-how-much centuries ago doesn't actually come from Yucatan Peninsula but from Hollywood?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you are a guy no need to shop by then. Remember all of us guys go shopping on the afternoon of December 24th!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBUT if the magnetic poles are inverting around that date (and some suggest this could happen rapidly) AND we were struck by a large solar flare at the same time, then the earth would no longer be protected from the results by the magnetosphere.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust a little crumb of comfort for the doomsayers.
Why would you illustrate the article with a picture of the Sun stone, which is not a calendar and was carved in the 15th century by the Aztec, some 700 years after the last mayan ceremonial center was abandoned and about 600 miles from the nearest mayan site?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOn the other hand 2013 will be a one reed year. We should consider what should happen if we have the second coming of Cortez to overthrow our Montezumas.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes we should add a few dollars to the cost of each house using LC straps to attach the roof to the walls so the roof does not blow away in a wind storm. Why do we rebuild the same way after every tornado?
We can do nothing about a magnetic pole reversal. We can prepare houses for earthquakes and windstorms. We can decide how to face asteroids. Should we blow them apart into a million meteors or run a rocket beside them slowly steering them in a different direction.
I say there is too much wrong with this old order and we should use the one reed year for a new revision.
Only if you work weekends :]
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHumm. The planet is at a different frequency? What about the brains of doomsday believers being at a different frequency? This hypothesis seems a lot more probable.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt pisses me off when people confuse the Mayan and the Aztec civilizations, they are very different. I'm glad someone new this too.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMichoacan, Mexico
Hey Strangelove, not sure if you got that. The Lageos 1 & 2 is the Michelson-Morley, but conducted in space and did detect a movement against a background.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHey SA. don't forget, you heard it here first.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's really too bad so many people can't separate ridiculous claims by new agers or whomever and the actual Mayans. The Mayans were fantastic mathematicians and astronomers who never predicted the end of the world. They did make predictable changes in society and civilization based upon long term time periods. We call this Algorithmic calculations now and there are many top scientists in multiple fields studying the Mayan's and their calendar. Perhaps it's time for periodicals like this one to stop referring to this as the 'Mayan Apocalypse Claim' and instead refer to it as the 2012 Apocalypse claim so as to separate out real science and math from the ridiculous claims since it is clear many here don't.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAgreed. If there is an apocalypse coming, it's for all of us and not just the Mayans.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCan you keep a low profile with this stuff? Sales of books, generators, food packs, whiskey, cigarettes, firearms and ammo, and other survival sundries have never been higher and will probably peak early December. So, re-check those reports on the invisible, no-mass, planet that can't be detected. And get an interview with the 1,001st Astronomer who sees something coming, but because of their position in the line-up, wasn't included.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd hey, has it occurred to anyone to re-read the Mayan Calendar from another angle? Could be something there we missed. :-)
your imaginary friend's birth requires a party?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscease reference to "the oily one" (my free translation of that name) in Scientific publications, please. Thakn you.
i see this as a case of bad planning -- we prepare for the next year by printing new calenders , but alas the mayans ran out of chisels .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article is a great example of why science constantly loses battles on its home turf. They are going out of their way to "disprove" a "belief" without first demanding that those who believe this nonsense clearly explain why they believe this is true. By attempting to disprove this, they elevate the significance of this nonsense in the minds of the people who believe it. After all if there were no scientific proof of this, than why would any scientist bother to reply scientifically. Childish beliefs need to be addressed most definitely, but not this way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut maybe the planet Niburu is on a long cometary orbit and only the size of a large asteroid, not big enough for gravitational effect on a planet. Maybe the Mayans had records from seeing it twice before and knew maybe accurately when it would come again. And suppose that's not the only possible catastrophe. Maybe they saw that whatever culture would over-populate whatever area they occupied about this time. Maybe one of their messiahs was born 12 years after Jesus and they counted on fingers and tows, making the winter solstice of our 2012 more of a round number.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd then maybe they intended their calendar to simply be more of a self-fulfilling prophesy, causing people to invest for the short term, with others hoping for some kind of major change, which seems to have worked out pretty well.
The frightening conclusion drawn by "doomsayers" from the Mayan calendar is the result of applying rational thinking to spiritual matters, especially ancient writings. In the days of the Mayans, the uninitiated was not privy to the meanings of "secrets". As such, documentations were intentionally veiled as regards meanings.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFurther, as a speaker of many languages, direct translation of words are very misleading, more so for non-native speakers. I have experimented this with many individuals. In almost all cases, to their surprise, the facts were quite astonishing. In addition, any text without a context becomes a pretext. Hence, since the inspiration and motivation of the calendar cannot be contextualized, assigning precise meanings is at best scare mongering.
The first time I experienced a doomsday prediction was in 1976 and here I am today. The same thing applies to religionists who insist on literal interpretation of scriptures written as allegories.
The only scientific effect I can envision from the Mayan calendar ending on Dec 21, 2012 is the following: The sun will be aligned near the galactic center while crossing the galactic equator about that time in respect to the earth's position in space. Gravitational lensing by the sun of some emissions from the galactic core vicinity may show effects or enhancements for properly designed instrumentation. Our science may not be advanced enough to know where such focal points of those undetermined emissions may be in respect to our distance from the sun. However, fear not, the end is not near; our tax collector agencies will see to that. Ernest
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnyone notice that as much as NASA fills the video, article and photos with as much fact as possible, they're citing the Aztec Sun Stone, which the ancient Maya never saw, as the representation of the Mayan Calendar?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhoops!
We have more about it here: http://thewondersexpedition.com/TWE/2012/azteccs/
Scientific American, do you have any SCIENTIST or at least photo or copy editor working for you? remember people pay YOU for scientist rigor, the pic on the article and the video is NOT MAYAN and was carved in the 15th century by the Aztec, some 700 years after the last mayan ceremonial center was abandoned and about 600 miles from the nearest mayan site... where is the quality, accuracy and over all the scientist rigor?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou people don't get it. Dec 21st is going to be the beginning not of a locally physical apocalypse, but a nonlocally physical one. It's an apocalypse to our graviton copy in the parallel braneworld, which is floating in and permeating the curled up extra dimensions. For our parts, due to the coupling of our world's wavefunction and the parallel one's, we will go through massive social microchanges on molecular level, forcing us to immediately cope with the impending doom of overpopulation. The emergence of a 2nd Hitler is soon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou people don't get it. Dec 21st is going to be the beginning not of a locally physical apocalypse, but a nonlocally physical one. It's an apocalypse to our graviton copy in the parallel braneworld, which is floating in and permeating the curled up extra dimensions. For our parts, due to the coupling of our world's wavefunction and the parallel one's, we will go through massive social microchanges on molecular level, forcing us to immediately cope with the impending doom of overpopulation. The emergence of a 2nd Hitler is soon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd another mistake. Hasn't anyone heard of the Milankovich Wobbles? Axial tilt, or obliquity, precession and eccentricity all have individual cycles, with axial tilt cruising back and forth on an approximate 40 000 year cycle. That's why we have to alter our maps with respect to north occasionally. Heresay the angle is getting smaller therefore pretty soon we will have less difference between the seasons, meaning milder weather.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisenjoy this year. science and spirituality both have their own theory. but i think it is not the end on 21st. it will new begining. but still we are little bit worried about it. to clear your all doubt and know more about it . vsist: http://www.2012december21st.com/
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo one knows what will or won't happen on that date, unless they are psychic, if science even considers psychic phenom yet? Who cares. Our universe is mighty strange with parallel universes bursting at the seems.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am a writer, so I would love to see somthing amazing happen soon. We're too stuck on common world events. Something big needs to snap us out of it, so to say.
getting back to the meaning of the glyph relating to 2012, 12, 21, Bolon Yokte ku will descend. Bolon Yokte Ku being nine Gods in one of the underworld, indicating destruction, war and drought, floods, etc...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThus far, things are adding up, nicely.
some believe Vulcanism is supposed to heat up as is our sun.
the last calendar round (of 52 years) began in 1960 with one of modern Earth's most violemt quakes in Chile. Since then things have really gotten more active.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShouldn't we be asking our planet's forgiveness? instead of just asking for, what our planet will give?
"Thank you Mother Earth for giving us everything we have."
Let's at least organize ourselves to understand our true footprint in all this. If we do that, at least we can survive knowing where to go form there.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow cn the world end on 12/21/12 if my cereal expiers in 2013!?!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUmm thats The Aztec Sun Stone NOT the "Often Mistaken for" Maya Calendar
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe that Nasa expert should have explained how come that we had a bilblical flood 5,125 years ago at the end of the forth cycle...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscorrection, at the end of the "third" cycle...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSeveral months ago I have personally cancelled the 2012 apocalypse.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://phaethon.net/2012/
So quit worrying and go and go find a cure for a disease, or solve world poverty or find something else useful to do.
Although I do not agree that the earth is coming to an end on 12-21-12. NASA's article and video conference was probably necessary to calm fears.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHowever they continue to talk and support the Global Warming/Climate Change myth. That is just as damaging and causes fear and economic chaos. Why doesn't NASA get it's facts straight on this and stop spreading the myth.
There does seem to have been a dramatic increase in the number of notable meteor incidents, an apparent asteroid wave which has been rising in the closing weeks of 2012:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=2795
- Maryland and Virginia in USA on 13 Dec
- Ontario in Canada on 12 Dec (two meteors)
- Black Sea in Turkey 11 Dec
- Texas in USA on 7 Dec
- Malta on 4 Dec
- Missouri and Illinois in USA on 4 Dec
- Rhode Island on 3 Dec
- Poland on 29 Nov
- Georgia USA on 29 Nov
- North-east US on 28 Nov
- Queensland in Australia 26 Nov
- California and Nevada in USA 24 Nov
- Georgia and Tennessee on 19 Nov
- Vancouver in Canada on 15 Nov
- Bay Area of San Francisco in USA on 17 October
- Etc
how could people know about planets in those days(ancient times)?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisseriously!
Just so everyone knows, that is not the Mayan calendar. That's the Aztec calendar. Pretty crazy that NASA made a whole video about the wrong calendar.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf the world was going to come to an end this month in would have come to an end on
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this12/12/12, at 12:(o'clock am)12 minutes, 12.12121212...seconds. :)
Sadly I have to say that there´s no myth to debunk as there's no Mayan prediction anywhere, just the final days of the Long Count and at the end it'll repeat again another Long Count. And about the Aztec Sun Stone that is depicted here, well, is there something wrong with the editors? With the author? Let's say there were ancient civilizations, like Greeks and Romans. Greeks were pre-Romans and Romans took part of the Greek culture to make their empire endure for 8 centuries. Well, Aztecs did the same, closely, but their empire lasted only 2 centuries, roughly. Is this clear enough? Please, assign at least a Chac Mool statue to the Mayan civilization or the splendid ruins of the Tulum "observatory", that'll do.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is unbelievable the title of this article. Mayas never made any apocalypses claims.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe calendar in stone they are showing in this article (to the best of my knowledge) is not Mayan, it's Aztec!
What kind of a magazine is this?
Also they are slanderous with respect to NASA. NASA never destroyed something that never existed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI do not know, may be behind all this there is the need of SA to be rescued financially.
If that is the case something should be done before it is to
(Re-sending)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso they are slanderous with respect to NASA. NASA never destroyed something that never existed.
I do not know, may be behind all this there is the need of SA to be rescued financially.
If that is the case something should be done before it is too late!!!