Don't ditch holiday plans just yet on account of the world ending On Dec. 21, as NASA is sure that 2013 is right on schedule.
NASA scientists took time on Wednesday, Nov. 28, to ease some 2012 doomsday fears, and warned about the dangers such Mayan apocalypse rumors pose. Apparently, many people are actually on the verge of suicide, fearing that the world may come to a horrible end on Dec. 21.
The doomsday rumors are usually attributed to either the end of the Mayan calendar, or the fictional planet Nibiru (allegedly discovered by the Sumerians) colliding and destroying the Earth.
NASA scientist David Morrison has been answering questions from the public for the past ten years, on the agency's "Ask an Astrobiologist" page. According to him, over the past few years an increasing number of people have been asking about the 2012 doomsday prophecies.
"In particular I'm concerned about the young people who write to me and say they are terribly afraid," Morrison said in response to a question during the Google+ Hangout NASA held yesterday specifically to address the end-of-the-world rumors. "They can't sleep, they can't eat, some of them say they are contemplating suicide."
The Google+ Hangout included NASA scientists who study asteroids and heliophysics, as well as an archaeoastronomer well-versed in Mayan history, all to ease concerns and bust the doomsday myths.
As Morrison recently pointed out, if a planet was really to crash into Earth people would have seen it in the sky each and every day, for a good while now. Meanwhile, the photos making rounds online, seemingly indicating that Nibiru has been "hiding" behind the sun, are simply the result of lens flare.
"The most specific questions are about this rogue planet Nibiru," said Morrison. "I think, if it were four years ago, you could say 'maybe.' If it were real at this point, it would be the brightest thing in the sky."
When it comes to the Mayan calendar, Mayan experts insist that the Mayans had no interest whatsoever in predicting the end of the world. In fact, archeologists believe they may have found a Mayan calendar that goes well beyond 2013.
