Date: April 27, 2009
Title: Will the World End in 2012?
Podcaster: Cameron Hummels
Organization: Columbia University Astronomy: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu.
Description: An increasing number of people believe that December 21, 2012, will mark the end of the world. Proponents of this idea cite diverse astronomical reasons for an imminent apocalypse: the end of the Mayan long-count calendar; an alignment between the Solar System and the Milky Way; the solar sunspot cycle reaching an all-time high; the reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field; and a devastating collision with ‘Planet X’. Tune in to hear to the facts and controversy surrounding this purported impending disaster.
Bio: Cameron Hummels is pursuing a PhD in astronomy at Columbia University, where he researches disk galaxy formation and evolution using hydrodynamic simulations. As Columbia Astronomy’s Public Outreach Director and NASA’s IYA New York State Student Ambassador, Cameron organizes many events to bring astronomy to the masses of New York City. Initially interested in programming, Cameron earned a B.A. in computer science from Pomona College, changing course after graduation to pursue an M.A. in astronomy at Wesleyan University. Outside of astronomy, Cameron enjoys travel, hiking, cycling, and foreign languages. He plans to become an astronaut.
Today’s Sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by AAS.
Transcript:
Cameron: Hello everyone, and welcome to Columbia Mondays! My name is Cameron Hummels and I’m a 4th year astronomy graduate student here at Columbia University in New York. I’m joined by Josh Schroeder, a 2nd year graduate student in our department. Say Hello.
Josh: Hi there!
Cameron: Today the topic of our podcast is “Will the World End in 2012?”
Josh: Good, because I’ve heard a little about that, and I think the world is going to end December 21, 2012, and I wanted to find out some more about that…
Cameron: Oh I see, well what did you hear about it?
Josh: I heard that there was some ancient prophecy that says a comet will hit the Earth in 2012 and wipe out all of humanity.
Cameron: And where did you hear this?
Josh: Well, I think it was on the internet…
Cameron: Oh I see. This seems to be the problem. There are a lot of rumors and unsubstantiated claims being spread around the internet about this whole 2012 business. Before we get to the scientific and historical facts of the matter, let me list off the different *rumors* that I’ve read.
The astronomical calendar of the Maya is counting down and it runs out on December 21, 2012. On this day, there will be a cosmic alignment between the Sun, the Earth, and the center of the Milky Way Galaxy resulting in some sort of spiritual or gravitational disaster, the Earth’s magnetic field will flip resulting in cosmic radiation killing us all, a massive solar flare will shoot out of the Sun and burn the Earth to a crisp, and we will be struck by a massive planet from the outer solar system causing mass destruction. According to these rumors, any way you look at it, we’re toast!
Josh: Yeah, that doesn’t sound good.
Cameron: I’m here to tell you that you have nothing to worry about. While each of these claims has a hint of true science in it, the resulting predictions are totally absurd.
Cameron: Throughout history crackpots have been claiming that doomsday was right around the corner, and every time these people have been shown to be wrong. This 2012 debacle is just one more instance in a long string of crazy claims by misinformed, delusional, and/or greedy people–you’ll note that all of the websites making these claims are trying to sell you a book, a dvd or a movie on some aspect of this purported apocalypse. In fact, There is a blockbuster movie coming out later this year entitled “2012” directed by the same guy who gave us “Independence Day” and “The Day after Tomorrow.”
Josh: Hmm…That’s pretty interesting.
Cameron: Yeah, it would be entertaining if there weren’t so many people out there who actually believe this hogwash. So let’s get down to it. The first claim that these doomsdayers make is about the Maya calendar. The Maya were a classical civilization that flourished in Central America between 200 and 900 AD. Among other things, they were good mathematicians and astronomers, as good as the Greeks, which meant they were good at keeping track of time. In fact, they had several different calendars tied to different cycles, a lunar calendar, a solar calendar, a Venusian calendar, a ritual calendar, etc. Of course, these cycles are all relatively short, so they invented a “long count calendar” in order to keep track of longer periods of time. The long count calendar consisted of 5 different digits to keep track of the number of days since the beginning of time, so for instance, today is 12.19.16.5.4. It is a little weird for us westerners because they used a base-20 numerical system instead of a base-10, but it is a very logical system.
You can think of their long count calendar as sort of equivalent to our western calendar of years since Christ’s birth. Of course, they didn’t know or care about Christ when they invented their calendar, so they chose the “beginning date” of their calendar to be August 11th, 3114BC, even though this was long before the Mayan people were actually around.
Josh: Now, that’s a pretty strange date to choose as the beginning of your calendar.
Cameron: Not really, it isn’t any more arbitrary than us choosing January 1st, 1 AD to be the defining day in our Western calendar. Anyway, What *is* interesting about the date that marks the beginning of their long count calendar, is that they didn’t label it as day 0.0.0.0.0, as we might have logically expected; they labeled it 13.0.0.0.0, with day 0.0.0.0.1 following it. It would be a bit like us calling the first day of our western calendar some arbitrary date like March 13th, 1978AD, and then having it followed by Jan 2nd, 1AD.
Josh: That’s pretty weird though.
Cameron: Yeah. But now you may see the cause for everyone’s concern. December 21st, 2012 marks the first time that the Mayan calendar has returned to this original date of 13.0.0.0.0 since the beginning of their calendar system over 5000 years ago. It isn’t that the calendar is *ending*, but it is just reaching the same date that it had it when it began.
Josh: Oh, so that’s why everyone is so concerned.
Cameron: Yes, but what’s interesting is that the ancient Maya themselves never foretold any prophecies about the destruction of the world on this date. According to many Mayan scholars, they may have celebrated it, but they certainly didn’t view it as some sinister date to be feared. In fact, there are stone carvings that predict there will still be people celebrating the coronation of king Pakal in the year 4772 AD, long after 2012 has come and gone.
Josh: So this whole calendar ending thing is sort of like Y2K.
Cameron: Precisely, it is a consequence of people getting alarmed at some alignment of digits in an arbitrary calendar system. By all accounts, the same thing happened in the west when the year 999 AD transitioned to the year 1000AD, people thought Christ was going to return. Furthermore, I’m not sure why we should be particularly trusting in any sorts of prophecies that the Maya made, since they didn’t foresee the collapse of their own society around 900 AD or the Spanish conquest in the 1500s.
Josh: Ok, so now I’m not so worried about the Maya calendar, but what about that Galactic alignment you mentioned earlier?
Cameron: Let’s be clear on what an astronomical alignment is. It’s when three or more astronomical bodies line up in space. Doomsdayers claim that the Earth, the Sun, and center of the Milky Way are going to align precisely on December 21, 2012. And you know what, they are correct. Well, nearly so. They’ll be about 6 degrees off from each other, but the imaginary line connecting the Sun and the Earth and extending to infinity will cross over the Galactic plane, that is the Milky Way’s plane, on that date. The point that isn’t often mentioned associated with all of this is that this happens *every year*. It doesn’t always happen on December 21st, it might happen on December 22nd, or December 23rd, but it still happens every year.
Josh: Wait, but isn’t that alignment kind-of special?
Cameron: The gravitational force associated with the Milky Way core, or with the Sun for that matter, are dramatically weaker on earthbound humans than the gravitational force from the Earth. So all of those non-Earth gravitational forces for all intents and purposes are zero; they’re just too weak to affect us here. Nothing special happens during these alignments. This is consistent with the fact that we’ve had these Galactic alignments for every year in history and nothing special has ever been correlated with them.
Josh: Alright, so the Galactic alignment is not something to worry about, but what about the magnetic field of the Earth reversing? That sounds pretty bad!
Cameron: To give a little background–everyone knows about the Earth’s magnetic field–it’s what allows compasses to point to the north pole, birds to navigate, and it even plays a role in creating the Northern Lights. The Earth’s magnetic field is caused by the rotation of the Earth’s liquid metal core, and this field extends outward through the surface of the Earth creating a sort of magnetic envelope shielding the Earth. This magnetosphere, as it’s called, helps the atmosphere deflect and block cosmic rays and other potentially harmful particles from getting to the Earth’s surface.
The field is a bit like a bar magnet’s field with a north pole and a south pole. Interestingly enough, the magnetic pole doesn’t always align with the geographic pole, so for instance, now, the north magnetic pole lies in northern Canada, not at the true geographic north pole. It wanders over time–it has wandered almost a thousand miles in the 20th century. Once in a very long time (like every few million years) the magnetic poles flip, so that the north magnetic pole points to the south geographic pole, and vice versa. Such an event is called magnetic reversal. Scientists believe, however, that these reversals are a very slow process taking thousands of years, not the sort of thing that would occur in a day or a year.
Josh: OK, but what *would* happen if the Earth underwent a magnetic reversal?
Cameron: OK, so let’s say that the Earth does undergo a long, slow magnetic reversal. It is very unlikely that we would be harmed by it directly. Sure our compasses wouldn’t work for a while, but our magnetosphere would still be present, even if it were somewhat weaker than before. Scientists believe that it would still be capable of blocking most damaging cosmic rays from reaching the surface. In fact, there is evidence that a magnetic reversal occured while homo erectus, our ancestor, was around, and it doesn’t appear that they suffered a mass extinction from this.
Josh: Alright alright, so we don’t have to worry about magnetic reversal, but what about those solar storms that will burn up the Earth?
Cameron: Like the Earth, the Sun has an active dynamo in its interior generating strong magnetic fields, but unlike the Earth, these fields are orders of magnitude more powerful and they erupt in a number of ways.
One of these ways is sunspots, regions on the surface of the Sun where magnetic storms rest, keeping gas close to it cool and darker than the rest of the surface. Another result of the Sun’s magnetic fields are coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, which occur when subsurface magnetic field lines are thrust outward into space and carry with them material from the hot solar interior. Lastly, there are solar flares; these occur when magnetic reconnection occurs on the surface and solar material is accelerated dramatically resulting in x-rays or other high-energy radiation spewing outward from the Sun.
Josh: Wow, so that’s all pretty dangerous!
Cameron: Well, the sunspots are not a threat to us on the Earth, as they are a phenomenon local to the surface of the Sun, but flares and CMEs can potentially be a problem for objects in orbit around the Earth. Our magnetosphere, the magnetic field surrounding the Earth, protects us from outflowing solar material contained in CMEs, and our atmosphere protects us from the x-rays in a solar flare. However, objects in orbit, like satellites and astronauts, aren’t as well protected by our atmosphere or magnetosphere so they are potentially at risk.
Josh: So why are all these people concerned about this sort of thing happening in 2012 specifically?
Cameron: Solar magnetic activity is known to oscillate with an 11-year period, although it is still not fully understood why. Right now we’re in the minimum part of that oscillation, which means that 2012 will be closer to maximum in this magnetic activity cycle. Doomsdayers believe that this maximum will be the biggest maximum in history, but really, there is no scientific evidence backing up this claim. Even if it were true that there were loads of solar magnetic activity on its way in 2012, the most it would mean is that we might lose a few satellites and we’d have to ground some astronauts–certainly not a mass extinction event or a doomsday possibility.
Josh: Alright OK, so we don’t really have to worry about the solar storms, but what about, I don’t know, a cometary collision that’s going to happen on December 21, 2012?
Cameron: The doomsdayers believe that a comet, or an object named Nibiru or “Planet X” has been sitting in the outer regions of the solar system and will enter into the inner solar system on December 21st 2012 causing mayhem and destruction. Depending on who is telling the story, the object may directly collide with Earth, or it may just pass close enough to mess up our orbit, but either way the result is the same: environmental and social crisis.
Josh: Oh, so we probably should be worried about this, right?
Cameron: Here is the supposed evidence. Historically people have noticed perturbations in the orbit of Neptune that suggest there may be a massive body, like another planet, undiscovered in the outer solar system. People have been looking for it since the 19th century. Different proponents have claimed to have seen evidence for it at 30 AU, 50 AU or 200 AU from the Sun, where AU is an astronomical unit, the distance from the Earth to the Sun.
Josh: Oh, so there probably *is* something in the outer Solar System.
Cameron: Well, there may be. But, scientists are actively searching for objects in the solar system with near-Earth trajectories, since the consequences of an impact with one could be dire. The NEAT, Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking team, is using high-powered, high-resolution telescopes to find and track potentially dangerous objects. They’ve done a good job so far, and they estimate that the probability of discovering an Earth-impacting object with only 10 years of lead time is 1 in 10,000, and this probability goes down with less lead time, so the probability that a rock is going to hit the Earth in 2012 that we’ve not yet discovered is around 1 in 100,000 or even lower. I personally like those odds.
Josh: Alright, I guess I do too.
Cameron: Lastly, people seem to forget that space is really vast. Remember the podcast intro “This stuff is far?” Even if there were an object at 50 AU that was in gravitational free fall coming directly at us here on Earth, I did the math, and it would take over 160 years to reach us, not the suggested 3.5 years left before December 21, 2012. Over that kind of time span, there is a lot we can do to divert its path before impact.
Josh: OK, well, I guess I’m not exactly convinced. Maybe you can go over it a little more and tell me why I shouldn’t be worried that the Earth is going to end on December 21, 2012.
Cameron: Alright, let’s recap. There are some people claiming the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. They base their claims on the end of the Maya long-count calendar and several false scientific claims about astronomical disasters.
Fact: The Maya long count calendar does not *end* on December 21, 2012, it simply cycles to the calendar’s start date and the the Maya never prophecied that any disasters would befall humans or the Earth on this date.
Fact: The claims that there will be some sort of alignment between the Sun, the Earth and the Galactic Center are true, but it is nothing special, since this alignment happens *every* year.
Fact: The Earth’s magnetic field takes thousands of years to reverse, not 1 day. Even if it were to flip on December 21, 2012, it is unlikely to have any direct negative impact on Humans other than our compasses not working.
Fact: The sunspot cycle may reach a maximum in 2012, but it is doubtful to have a significant effect on humans on the Earth. Our magnetosphere and atmosphere protect us from most solar activity, and the worst that might happen is a few satellites may be damaged, not humans on the ground.
Fact: The claims that a planet X, or comet will come in from the outer solar system and strike the Earth on this date are very very low, like 1 in a hundred thousand low. Nothing to worry about.
I hope this podcast reassures you that life on Earth is not threatened on December 21, 2012 any more than it usually is. Doomsdayers are just kooks trying to get their 15 minutes of fame or sell a product. I advise the public to be skeptical of rumors or claims that are too good or too bad to be true because they probably are.
If you’d like to learn more about this topic from reputable sources (i.e. PhD researchers) check out the work by Ian O’Neil on UniverseToday.com (PhD in solar physics) and the work on FAMSI.org by Mark Van Stone (PhD in Mesoamerican art history and anthropology).
This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. Our next Columbia Monday podcast will be on Monday, May 25, where Robert Morehead will be speaking about “Tides: More than What Floats Your Boat.” Have a great day and keep listening.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the New Media Working Group of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow…goodbye.
I dont honestly think this is true….. Me and 2 friends are reaserching this and tbh i think it will happen. The talk could be made up…. if you research a little more you wil see
I’m so glad you guys did this episode! I’ve been battling the 2012 ‘whack-a-mole’ rumors for a while now! My page on the 2012 hoax is http://astrogeek.wordpress.com/hoax/
Chazzle:
What makes you think that it will happen? I’ve done a lot of research (which is how I made the podcast), and there is no evidence suggesting that December 21, 2012 is going to be any different from any other day. Why do you believe otherwise? Is this belief based on any facts?
This episode is very good, I never believed the 2012 Doomsday thing, but I learned some new stuff. I should send this one to some people!
This article has been added to the Astronomy Link List.
You made me feel so much better, i do really believe you on this 1 because, doomdays believers based there belief on the doomsday prediction on the Mayan Calendar, but they doesn’t know that the mayan calendar might have another calander continuin on to the one that ends on Decemeber 21,2012. Thank you soooooooooo much for this espisode!
It was a very interesting and a very useful information. Of course, an average person with no scientific background might feel very scared by all this. So, these simple explanations made by scientists are very useful. Thank you so much. The sad part is that humans are the most damaging factor for this planet, not some danger from outer space. But they miss it. They should be afraid of themselves, not some comet, flare..etc. They are the biggest calamity, the disaster for this planet..alas.
you are a hero. you saved me from panic attacks.When i became insecure i listened to this podcast and i stopped having panic attacks for good. thank you
Thanks!
this was amazing thank you. I did research before i landed on this podcast and all of the research that i found was all given in this. However, do you know what NASA is prediction. something about that planet x would pass the earth but 15 million miles away?
im so glad to read this site it has put my mind to ease thanx a million
Ive read a lot about doomsday and sayings of a lot of people. Ive noticed most o fthe websites – say a 95% of them are just tellin it without much proof of just with that calendar thing of Mayans and about the reversing of poles. But ive been searching for more and have found several scientists saying there’s nothing to worry about all these rumours. And they have clear proofs as to why we shoudnt worry about 2012.
This podcast is really informative. I’d advise people to find out the real truth behind all these rumours and not get worried by the 2012 stuff and not listen wot ppl with less knowledge says.
Thanks. Much appreciated.
the only thing i can say is lets just continue our lives as if we didnt know about it and well see what happends on dec. 21 2012. i bet its nothing
Well thank u it made me feel better… But I read sth saying that even if sth is going to happen government is going to hide this from us? Could this be true?I dont know!
No one knows exactly when the world will end… so dont believe in such foolish rumors! PLZ
My wife insists that I read the book “Fractal Time” by Gregg Braden. If anybody has, what’s your bend on his thoughts? Useful Beneficial Computer Information
Interesting Article. Thanks!
You are so guilible they preditcted that it will end in 2000 it never happened so im serious it wont global warming has gone done so much so i no it wont end then people just want to scare you!!!!
Thanks so much. You saved me from having panic attacks, I couldn’t sleep or eat for days. Then I saw this site, and felt SO much better. You guys really did your research. Thanks again!
obviously im terrified!! I’m a paranoid 13 year old who acts like a paranoid 7 year old!! What am i going to do!!? I think i’ll spend the remainder of my life hunting down the guy who decided this and kill him!! I think that he should have at LEAST kept it to himself and let us get on with our lifes!! I’m only 13 and if this is true i will die when im 16….depressing….i think i’ll go panic….But in a nutshell i dont think it will happen
who said the world i’ll be end at 27 april 2012,he is a mad, sorry no one can tel that the world is going to end if he say like that he devil is insaid
Прикольная статья. Много чего нового узнал для себя. Автору респект и уважуха 🙂
Thanks so much for this podcast! Like some of the others above, I am a young person who was (and sort of still is) severely frightened about this whole 2012 thing. On the internet, sometimes it’s really difficult to test the credibility of those type of things…especially if you’re not an astronomer, astrophysicist, or what have you.
Thanks for debunking this nonsense (or at least what I hope is nonsense) in a way that is informative as well as easy to understand!
I just can’t wait until this is over and in 2013 I can move on with my life.
thank you so much i was panicing
thank alot i am scared now why does the world have to end
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! I was really having a panic attack!!!! You really helped calm my fears
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is this true we were talking about it at skool 2day and im like so scard ill only b 15 when this happns and omg i just rememberd wat about my horses 🙁
plz help!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That was a good podcast. I’ll have to use those facts when some nut case believer comes up to me about 2012.
thank you you made me feel safe again
Thank you for such a clear and logical argument.
Thanks, interesting article, but what about the claimed winter soltice? hmmmm
thanks for this….i feel a lot better now…cause im only 11 and a half sooo….i ll believe anything
thats so stupid
so if i wrote a calender and made it end on the say the 6th of june 6000
then people would all be like OMG the world is gonna end, not only does this calender end this year but the dates are 666
LMAO
the Mayan people are just people they didnt no when the earth was going to end anymore then i do, the calender has to end somewhere they cant make one that goes on for infinity and the date 2012 was obviously in the unforeseeable future just like the year 6000 is to us now
OMG..!! Thank you so very much..!! Now I can go on with my life..!! I am only 12 years old && I’ve been shaking in my boots ever since I heard about this nonsense but I believed that this such thing wasn’t true..!! But you just made me so much more confident that we are all going to be okay for the year 2012..!! I just can’t Thank You enough..!! I hope you have a great life && god bless you..!!
thanks so much :O
I would like to know your opinion on the claims that 2012 marks the end/beginning of a 26 000 year galactic cycle/half cycle I forget which, and the last time we reach this point in the cycle, 26 000 years ago, Homo Erectus/Ergaster first started making fire and the Neanderthal were wiped out soon after. In my opinion 2012 does not mark an end, but a beginning, a revelation, possibly the beginning of the end. New World Order vs. Freedom and a final battle, or simply the revelation that Humans are destroying the planet. A mass extinction or a Societal based reduction in population. The World will end eventually and I do not pretend to know the date. An external force will destroy us if we do not destroy ourselves first.
I am very open to your opinions on what I have said, please feel free to argue or support anything I have posted, as I am clearly not as educated as you are.
However only the most intelligent can truely understand how little they know.
Respect and Good fortune Insha’ Allah
This, along with many other things I’ve looked at were very helpful. People are freaking out because nostrodaumis predicted a whole bunch of things. I watched a documentary about him, and predictions of 2010, and they say he predicted 911 because he had drawing of 2 towers burning and they were either the 2 sisters or 2 brothers, I can’t remember. However No one has proved or said nostrodaumis’s predictions to be correct, and as you said the myan calander does end but the myan’s never predicted anything bad to happen to the human race.
However I do have a question. What IS the significance of this date? If it is just reaching the same date that it had it when it began in the myan calander? Would the date just start all over again oor? I’m just getting confused here, If its all just back to the start of a calander its just like another new year? Or were the myan’s trying to tell us something indirectly?
listen, no one can predict the end of the world, to me these are all falacies and mere imagination,first it was 2000 end of the world prediction now this, comon who ever predicted this should go get a life and stop been a wierdo…….i believe on that day i’d be chilling somewhere sliping my juice and having a nice day…i’d just delete my memory of this subject and pretend i didnt know or here about it….only God Almighty knows the end of the world and no one else…i repeat no one else…..
The problem everyone forgets is that the Mayans beleived in reincarnation. How can a civilization that beleives in a never ending cycle of rebirth truly beleive in the end of the world. That is counter productive and extremly off base. The calander ending means a change, not necissarily destruction.
Actually, although the myans believed time was cyclical and had theories on many natural cycles, we cannot prove that their religion believed in reincarnation, nor can we prove many other theories about their religion. However from their known use of sacrificial caves and reverance of the underworld it is likely that they believed in an afterlife in said underworld, ie. from earth you were born, to earth you shall return. They also worshipped the sky through their pyramids, and believed strongly in astronomy being used to calculate cyclical periods of time, however it is unlikely that they had a view of the skies being an eternal resting place. They worshipped the skies because that is where the oldest of thier gods were believed to live, while the lesser gods presided over the dead in the underworld. These are the interpretations we can make from what mayan texts we have translated thus far, and in no way does it relate to a cycle of reincarnation.
Respect and Good fortune Insha’ Allah
To clarify my oldest post, after some research I realized that in no way does 2012 represent a period of cycle through the Universe, but coincedentally is the first time we have reached the exact position within the solar system which we were at 26 000 years ago which conincides with the approximate time of the extinction of multiple forms of competition to early Homo Sapiens, ie. Homo Ergaster, and Homo Neanderthalensis. Leaving Humans as the only member of the Genus Homo left on the planet and giving us the ability to conquer the planet. It is likely that around this time Homo Sapiens ability to communicate and develop tools made a huge leap of progress allowing them to eliminate thier direct competitors to the ecological niche they occupied. It is believed by some that we will have another giant leap in technology, or that it will reverse the process, however sceptics believe that archaeologists do not have the correct date and that this actually slightly previous to estimated. This would mean that the period of great advance and development was closer to the late 1800’s and has already happened, ie. the industrial revolution.
Respect and Good fortune Insha’ Allah
Another correction to my last post, it was Homo Erectus and Homo Neanderthalensis that went extinct approximately 26 000 years ago, and Homo Ergaster went extinct far before that.
Also i would like to point out the degree of accuracy in a measurement such as 26 000 is plus or minus 500, meaning that 2012 only has significance in this context, plus or minus 500 years.
Respect and Good fortune Insha’ Allah
thanks man ur a legend… seriously NASA should hire you.
I, personally, think that all of this “The world is going to end in 2012” junk is just that, junk. I completly agree with you guys on this. However I do not believe in evolution, you did put a little of that in there. But that cast aside, I agree with you. All of the doomsdayers are just trying to cause worldwide panic, and it’s nuts!! I just glad that there are people who are fightin’ against all this garbage. Keep up the good work!!
Its is maybe because the mayans are tired to write the calender???
hi my name is zara.
i am a kid. i am afraid of the world ending! im having bad dreams and i cant stop thinking aabout it!! ahhh
im pretty sure these horrible people say the world will end bcuz they see it as a oppiturnity to make more money by writing survival guides and even surivial kits that are merely made of household items (e.g Bleach that is ‘actually a liquid made in area 51 to exterminate any alien from planet X’) or whatever
well.thanx a lot guys.but there are descriptions about the earth crust displacement theory .does it have any significance in this context ?
Thanks this podcast is much appreciated. Too many kooks out there these days actually had my hopes shot down kind of. I really got alot of relief with this podcast though. Thank You Very Much.
Rule #1 when people dismiss others who simply give information as “crackpots”, take notice. The 2012 events are not just based on the Mayan calendar but also on lots of Egyptian writings. You really have not understand how the calendar works and how why there are tons of underground bases, seed vaults, etc. Just read revelations in the bible and what it depicts and what is said to happen in 2012. Where do you think 144000 in the bible came from? Amazing that the maya baktun is 144000 days. Its all code with Jesus representing the sun coming back to earth to fight Satan. That whole book is code taken from ancient history. Go watch the first 20 minutes of Kymatica( http://bit.ly/189V5U ), then go read the book of revelations and you have the 2012 scenario. And to stop being afraid because all you do is transition – you can do it the easy way which is for enlightened people or the hard way which is for those who hold fear. You choice…
Good article on 2012:
http://ourplanetischanging.blogspot.com/2009/11/solar-anomalies-and-2012.html
all i know is 420 happens 4/20/12 not 12/21/12
Thanks for posting this podcast. I didn’t believe the world ending in 2012 but when I heard about the poles switching I was frightened. Reading this makes me feel reassured that I was correct.
the world is not gonna end you do not know when its gonna end only jesus knows and god dont be suprised when 2012 comes and where still here that proves it all now so no more thinkin 2012 is gonna be the end of humanidy so just forget it all im a christian and i believe only God knows.
Me and my mum and her boyfriend was having a convosation about it eariler thats when i found out. i felt this worrie and scare go though my body i didnt know what to think.? i told my boyfriend and he was like its rubbish but im only 15 and i want to be able to get marryed and have children but i dont know :S
Thank you so much for this explanation. I worry about this so much. It’s all understood now. The Mayan calender is simple starting over. This may be a day of celebration for them. Why do we have to see it as a day of destruction for us? Hmmm. Rumors and misunderstanding can go a long way.
Please help to make it to 2013 because do not make the world end in 2012 please help god!!!!!
I’m still Scard. I don’t sleep at night, I’m Jumpy and this whole thing is making me sick. I have a lot of health issues and this just adds to it. Are you sure you are right? Did you check and re-check? I’m sorry for sounding like a loser but this whole thing scares the hell out of me. I want to live. I know that this whole thing is Out Of Control but I don’t know what to think.
You all sound like very level headed people but this whole thing with 2012 and stuff is makeing me Crazy and Scard. So did you all Check and ReCheck?
thanks cleared everything up for me. not worried now thanks heaps.
I am still scared…I really wish there was a really good clear consensus that it will not happen. The movie never shows the world ending b/c people survive so what i am asking is will the events that happened in the movie happen??? The volcanoes and all that mess. Someone Please answer me back so i can stop worrying and live my life!
Well I really really dont think the world will end but You will never know when time will stop … but of corse the world wont end i dont think it will because the world have lived for thousands of years and nothing has happend so please injoy your life dont worry about it relax you will have life and yourlige will never end!
If the mayans don’t believe it’s the end of the world why should we?
Why do we decide to believe these doomsday websites that are full of flaws and ludicrious claims without any facts instead of listening to the men and women of science?
we have to stop believing these wackjobs unless they have sufficient evidence(theories aren’t evidence)
1st.look at the motives behind such 2012 sites(remember fear sells)
2nd.these sites constantly contradict themselves
3rd. what qualifications do these doomsdayers have to make such claims? Usually none at all unless owning a computer counts
Basically if you believe in 2012 your a gullible idiot
i think the mayan calender merely states that december 21, 2012 is like a new year or century or whatever they called it.. a new calender for a new millenium like we have a new millenium celebration every thousamd years so maybe the 21’st is a celebration for them
oh, what a load of rubbish!! the world will not end in 2012, and if you beleive that u r a pagan. in the bible, it says that the world will not end when anyone thinks it will, and i’ve done research too and this podcast is perfectly, utterly absolutely and completely true! get over yourselves….. ur all a bunch of wimps.
There is a difference between the world ending and you ending. Everyone here is correct in saying the world will not end in 2012, you depending on your location may.
If you understand that difference and have a decent understanding of mathematics you will understand that something is going to happen. The reason people think this is “a load of rubbish” is because they are simply afraid of the truth. I suggest you spend some quality time researching the subject and not listening to a woman who is pursuing a PhD in astronomy at Columbia University – a university that teaches nothing relevant about the Mayan calendar. That calendar only said it was going to be the end of an age and was essentially a countdown to what had happened many times before on the planet – a pole shift. Pole shifts are complete facts, again seek and you shall find. When the truth is so big, so obvious, so horrendous, people will always hide from it.
Steve, that is rubbish. No credible scholar treats ancient prophecies as scientific fact. There will be no “pole shift” on that date. A PhD in astronomy is exactly the person you should listen to on this subject. The Mayan calendar is irrelevant except to anthropologists.
I don’t think so because they said the world was going to and in 2002 but it didn’t so yeah all of this stuff is CRAP
This is Laredo,TX…… this sounds like relief finally someone seems to have a little bit more sense in mine plus proof than all this bull-crap going on.Its like the year 2000 and the 2002 and then the movies, books, etc. people now a days just don’t have anything else to due but make rumors and scare people those people need to get a real job
i dont think it’ll end in 2012…i never did! >:)
u should talk to obama to see if the world if its going to end
and tell him if there someone who is a specialist to check the weather or to see when
Does anybody out there know any scholars who think something will happen and why. How about that view, if it exists?
Hi guys!
Im totally at ease now, i would only be turning 21 if this did happen in 2012 which would be quite sad, for my sakes anyway. After reading a few comments someone mentioned Nasa? Well i was on the Nasa website and found this article..a true article aswell ( http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html ).
But being a christian im pretty sure god would not let his children perish without warnings, and even with an apocolypse arising im sure he would save his children from such evil that would follow. From what i have read and understood they mayans have calculated a calendar such as we do ourselves except their calendar was a little more complex, as their civilisation was built with mathematicians and astronomers. But even if their civilisation was smart they would not have the knowledge and understanding of our great minds today. We know of this city Alantis which may or may not have existed( we will find this out oneday) but if the atlantians were so smart and complex just like they mayans how come they did not predict their ending???
The mayan calendar will switch back to the start, like ours does on dec 31st, except their year in their calendar ends dec 21st. We will make it to 2013, maybe even to the year 3000, but just remember the only thing that will destroy all life is ourselves, and i dont think recycling will help. Start showing respect for this planet we call home, as oneday we might not have it anymore.
First i thought,if the world would end on 2012 then why should i study??but since there is no apt poof that the world would end on that day,why should i take a risk??
and if by any chance if the world would end,it could end on december 26 so that i can celebrate my last christmas on earth!!
anyway, try to enjoy life on earth and stop sinning.sometimes this may be the intention of the people who simply say that the world would end soon ………………
Thanks you so much for this. I’m young and i have a fmaily and when i saw the movie 2012, it got me interested. Doomsdayers had me believing this and I started having panic attacks, nightmares, and even death thoughts. Reading research like yours has tkaen away all of my panic and I can really live my life now.
By the way Chazzie, you should leave the facts to professionals to solve it. You and your friend’s thoughts on this date is never as good as experienced researchers, especially if you keep believing fantasies and misinterpretations all over the Internet like I did. I’m thankful that I found this website 🙂
I believe that ONLY GOD KNOWS WHEN IT IS GONNA END!!! We are suppossed to live each day to the fullest as if it was our last, because we DON’T KNOW WHEN WE ARE GONNA DIE. I can understand these kids what they feel, because when I was a kid, the same thing happened, they said that the world was coming to an end and I was so terrified and look, now I am retirement age and am still living, even survived cancer 17 years ago. So please everyone enjoy every day.
I’m sorry, but this podcast is not well researched enough. I did a dissertation on the Mayan calendar, and it is not true that they did not predict the end of the world. It is just, they did not think of the world the same way we do. They didn’t say the Earth would be destroyed, just that the World (or Age) of Man would end. This would be the fourth World, and it ends when the Long Count resets. The reason the Long Count starts when it does, is because that was supposed to have been the beginning of the World of Man. But just because the World of Man ends, doesn’t mean that mankind will be destroyed. Simply that man will not be the central focus of the world anymore.
I know I didn’t cite any sources here, but you haven’t either. You’ve just said “fact” this, and “fact” that. Where are you getting your facts? If you can tell me this, I might start to believe you. However, you really need to do more research and not state things as if they are true without a doubt.
I advise the public to be skeptical of YOU. And of EVERYONE else who says anything, one way or the other. Don’t ever take what someone says at face value, especially when it’s something serious, or seriously worrying.
alght guys realy planet x thats 25000 universes away theres NO way it could go that fast. either a death crazed mad scientist or a STUPID person
I have to say that I am ashamed of the human species because there are so many incompetent individuals out there who believe such crackpot ideas as the movie 2012 being a realistic outcome or that this ‘planet x’ exists… It’s a real shame that there are people who will commit mass suicide because they believe the world is truly going to end on 2012. I guess, at the end of the day, it’s for the better. If people want to be so gullible to such an idea and would like to hold onto this as a belief as strong as their spirituality; enjoy your last drink of punch.
this is so reassuring!!
It is so untrue december 21 is my b day so i go against the mayans are full of bulluni who would know they said it would end a long time a go it dident i am only 10 years old i dont want to die on my b day when i just turn 13
im scared well sorta i dont want the world to end
This was a good article. i have read a lot about this whole 2012 thing and to be honest have been pretty nervous and unsure what I believe will happen if anything but its nice to see something online that isnt saying the same ol and offers a bit of hope.
This episode is very good…
I actually never encountered the “maya calendar” to give me a strong belief in the world ending in 2012. In fact, I’m very surprised that there is nothing said here about the Anunakis. The egyptian artifacts, those evidences, tablets and the Sumerians were the people, the ‘things’ that made me believe the world will end.
Scientifically, that doesn’t seem to exist, but that’s because it wasn’t existent in your ‘discoveries.’ And the world is going to end knowing the world as in being ‘the earth’ or perhaps OUR solar system is when our sun consumes us or dies, since its just like every star. Reading from a couple of articles saying that they’ve already planned out their survival plans either underground or somewhere; I don’t know, I really don’t think that’s going to be relevant either way if dying is part of every single life; including our sun being like every other star. I’d know it and take it.
For me, instead of either going suicide like some people or plan to do nothing within today until 2012, I’d rather make plans on what I want to do and what I want to achieve for the rest of our lives. I mean, there is NO point thinking too much about this if at the end you still need to live life. Sometimes knowing too much isn’t good. Of course its part of human curiosity, but learn to stop thinking too far.
I’d lastly like to say, is that science is NOT everything. Yes I agree that there are countless situations where science proved themselves right and carried out so many successful experiments and the gradually predictions, but If science can prove everything then tell me where did God come into science. “Science” already existed, before mankind. Mankind ‘discovered’ science after they had the knowledge. So who gave them the knowledge? What caused the big bang if there was a big bang?
Even if the world was gonna go pop in 2012, miracles may happen. Like how Jesus let the blind see. Or in another religious belief where their God or Gods made miracles.
Oops I left out another point…
This article might be one that’s made or put up to make people rest-assured and feel better that the world won’t end. Just another possible strategy.
eh sorry for spamming, but..
Look at the amount of natural disasters just this year, and perhaps mid year of 2009. So many floods and earthquakes all of a sudden. For a few days I’ve seen alot of red skies outside my window at around 1 to 2 am. And I mean not just normal red but redder than I use to have. Lately summer has gone way hotter and winter has gone way colder. Its not only me feeling it, but its others too, and the comments I receive. I’d observe around, find solid facts, instead of listening to other people as they are perceived through another person’s eye before it goes to us.
even if the world isn’t going to end in 2012, by what all the humans are doing to the world already have enough sufficiency to kill it.
the world will not end and everyone knows that
I would like to talk to this person my self that said the world was going to end
Well, the weird thing is, every time something is discovered and made public it disappears again within days. We all know that the Government is withholding and censoring a lot! Just like that Planet X or Nibiru. Or Roswell in the 40’s. First they admit to have found a crashed UFO and a few days later they change their mind and then it was a weather balloon. Or that disc that has been discovered by one of NASA’s satellites on Mercury. What about the UFO over Chicago’s O’Hare 2 years ago? Hundreds of witnesses and one small article in Chicago’s newspaper for one day. That was it! Know what I mean?
What about Baalbek, or Kailasa Temple, or Puma Punku, or Teotihuacan??? These are facts! You can touch them! I don’t believe human beings back then knew ho to build all this. Thousands of years ago or just 500 years ago, there was no way since the industrial age began 100 years ago. So who came here and thought us or the humans living back then??
I read about the Annunaki and the clay tablets. Either this is entirely true or someone is a master forger!!
Forget them doomsday fools! Please people live and be happy. Take a little and give a little, most of all respect each other!
i think this might happen if they do not find all crysal skulls and if you dont belive this than you should watch them find the crystal skulls and what it will look like on the discovery channel.
I meant to write >So who came here and “taught” us or the humans living back then??< up there! 🙂
@ Steve: you have done nothing but believe in a calender that we humans made a long time ago. You base all your arguments on some calenders or ancient folklores if nothing more. Need I remind you that people in the past tend to be much more suspicious than they are now. Burning of the witches? Human offerings? I bet if modern water fountain was found in the past, it would be considered as some sort of God.
While you say the Mayans have predicted the end of the human race, and the horrible events that will occur on that date. My question is “how?” How could they be so precise and where did they get the idea?
You brought the underground caves, vaults into your arguments. But really, do they have anything to do with this topic? They built them, so what? To protect themselves from polar shift? radiation? I doubt they even knew these existed. Let’s say they were aware, and they thought underground caves could save them? I don’t think so. And if they weren’t smart enough realize that the caves can’t save them, then are their predictions or prophecies really creditable?
I think all you are doing is arguing with science with your personal believes and opinions while at the same time making some people feel miserable.
@Finar: Yes these year so far had had many noticeable disasters. More so than previous years. That is also due to the increasing amount population in new coastal or in land areas. When there are casualties, the media gets involved and big coverage is brought to the public. In the year 2010, we’ve had major earthquakes hitting populated areas: hati(7), chile(9), china(6.9), and california(7.2). That’s in my opinion is just bad luck. According to USGS, there are average around 16 magnitude 7.0 – 7.9 earthquakes each year, mostly they go uncovered by the media because they happen in unpopulated areas such as ocean floors.
As for temperature and climate, I agree with you that they are changing, however, they are far from being unlivable to human beings. To my understanding, as I have read somewhere, Earth goes into cycles where the temperature and climate also under goes cycles, a period of extreme high to a period of extreme low. I think we are right in the middle of it. Of course i do believe that we need to treat our planet better, since we only have one.
@Nobody24: I agree with you that governments hide a lot of things from us. However when it comes to the end of the world where everyone is affected, (unlike UFO’s) the “hidden” information would some how leak… I would want to at least tell my family about what’s going to happen. On a side note though, people see what they want to see. Hence the UFO’S.
thank you!!!!!! i was so afraid that the world was gonna end and my friends thought so too so i was worried and didnt know where to turn to i went to google and found this website made me feel like the world wont end after all just a bunch off crazy ppl detemined to say the worlds gonna end:]
Someone told me that no human being knows when the world will end. I believe that. I believe that only God knows.
thank you!!!!!! i was so afraid that the world was gonna end and my friends thought so too so i was worried and didnt know where to turn to i went to google and found this website made me feel like the world wont end after all just a bunch off crazy ppl detemined to say the worlds gonna end:]
@Eve, I believe that only God knows when the world will end too, and who knows, it could even be today or tomorrow, thats why we all need to know the one true God, he is our only survival kit.
– In reference to the Mayan Calender. I was under the impression from a few online sources (none of which I am sure hold much credibility) that the calender’s begining and end dates also seem to correspond with our ‘age’ system of time? Or something to that effect? Also I was wondering what stories from this begining date they held in their culture and was this date picked as randomly as you made it seem? Thanks for taking the time to answer!! 🙂
Matt
Will the world die in 2012? or is it just a lie like in 2000??
I don’t think the world will end in 2012.
hi well i do not go to church nomore but God is real and only he knows this 2012 stuff is not real and not going to happen ther is alot of thing happening in 2012 and the world ending is not one of them
okay,
we’re not all doomed.
im not forcing religion,
but if you’re a christian,
2012 isnt the end,
more like a new beginning.
and everyone else will be left on this earth.
left to suffer,
left to starve,
only God knows when the world will end,
and i personaly don’t believe it will end in 2010.
i think that the world ends long after the human race is gone.
but, its not too late.
you can become a saved christian if you’re not already!!
I personally think that there should be a complete overhaul of the planet Earth as it is way past the due date. There is so much filth around. Human’s should have their brain cells reprogrammed so that he/she is a very unique and contributory being on this planet.
they are telling us that in 2012 we have nothing to worry about because the mayan callender does not end it just repeats over again and starts its cycle over planet x might hit us but it will jsut pass through ive done the math and the astronomy we will be fine and hey WHO USES COMPASSES ANYMORE? well lots of people do but who cares they will only not work for like a few months I believe that if the world was going to end in 2012 it would end because of global warming because we are usin to much gas and its hurting out atmosphere the world wont end the mayan callender will just repeat itself so we have got nothing to worry about
the world wont end…
this happened in 1999, the year i was born, and my dad and mom were sitting around on the day it was suppost to end… what happened? NOTHING AT ALL.
this is just a scam from the government.
you get all prepared, spend alot of money, then 2012 comes, and NOTHING HAPPENS!! so, please dont believe in this stuff…
Thanks this site otherwise I’ve been too much worried about whats going to happen in 2012. But after reading this scientific and logical conversation, I’m sure that we’re safe nothing is going to happen.
HI, i am 14 years old and this article relaxed me for a now before this i couldn’t eat or sleep i was very nervous and still am a little. I think that if the world is coming to an end people who truly know the answers to this should tell because all of this is literally driving people crazy.I say that if the world is really coming to an end well then forget us children should not go to school let us enjoy the last bit of life we have let us party!!!!
really i haven’t been worried at all but now i never will be because idiots out there who believe this are ill bred morons who are old men whom want their life to end and are making shit up to scare the fuck out of us younger kids well no worries the world will not end in 2011 by Worm Wood the devils star it will not end in 2012 AND it will not end in 2019 by the meteorite N27 so kids READ this an weep it its true the world will end one day but not in our life time so thank you Cameron you are my hero you are so smart and i respect your knowledge and Josh the more you learn my friend.
Dont you people realise when you re making these accusations you are scaring people to death. when i heard this thery it was 2009, i felt like i was going to faint, since then i cant get it out of my head because people are constantly saying it. If it doesnt end then some people are in trouble becuz:
people will be getting into debt thinking they can shop nonstop coz the world will end.
People are commiting suicide and destroyin familes,(wot happens if it dunt end, they killed themselves for nothing!
People are scred for there lives, and its causing them severe stress.
So stop saying things to scare people becuz the world will end in millions of years from now on, dont worry about it, try to get on with your life and stop thinking about it, you are making things worse. No one needs this stress, its constant worrying and bing afraid of life, we should enjoy life. Not fear it. Please take mit into mind and stop scaring people. x
thankyou! you have changed my opinion about this debacle!!
Thank you so so Much! Now I don’t have worry when I am trying to get to sleep!!
Sigh,im Cody im 12,and, you people acting drama, the world not going to end and really ufo`s? Do you people belive in any thing, that so stuipd.
I liked it as well.. im at ease too…. i wasnt even scared of dying or getting ended with the world…. but the true justification abt the Mayan calender is very good.. thanks for helping so many people’s panics… have a good year!
Hello, This is Mishka Fishka, i really like that post, you are doing a great job. Thanks.
I feel vibration floor underground never stop vibration about 2 years I don’t understand what king nerve vibration system a problem I think maybe from earth q
I hope you are right,I have been terrified ever since I heard about this,Nightmares and panic attacks,I believe its going to happen very soon all the signs are here,wars,disease,natural disasters,ect but Nobody knows when exactly only god,so pray live your life right and enjoy what time we have left,live laugh and love god bless you all
I wish everyone who believed the world would end in 2012 , to search on the internet and READ this instead. Then, it might make them content to know it won’t end (I don’t belive the world will end) and so, they’ll be no trouble…at least. (On 2012 some people might make crimes and murder other people just for nothing. If it does happen, I reccommend staying at home when crimes start to build up 🙂 )
I wish that it will not happen and i want to say everyone that do not worry about it , we must wait and see till 21 december , 2012
I think you r right and i say everyone whom are known that we must not worry about this and others to search this in internet
well if you guys keep GUESSING at when the world is going to end, one of these times you guys will get right,i think… i think you should find something else to do and let GOD decide
oh my gosh thank you soo much im 11 and i was really scared but you helped me calm down that the world will not end in 2012 thank you so much god bless you 🙂
Im just a kid and Im 11 years old and I was kinda confused other people say “Its true,the world will really end coz every beginning has an ending.”so I believed it other people say “Its not the end of the world only the people will end” iI also believed it.Our book said the end of the world will be after 5 billion/million years so i believed it,but bthen again I just can’t make up my mind so I asked my daddy if the world will really end he said “No it wont people are just doing this to make money.”but im still worried so i searched in the internet,finally when i was done reading this i was calmed down but still let’s just be prepared.
Thank god!!!now ican make up my mind but still im a little scared so let’s just be prepared and pray…
i am so afraid about this.so pls answer me about this.
Hi. I’m going to e-mail you some links. There is a lot of information out there on this subject and a lot of misinformation and disinformation.
if the world does end before christmas of 2012 there wouldnt be anythin we can do to stop it from happining, so in my opinion what ever happens happens
the world will not end.Enjoy life!enjoy the holidays!!!!!!!
I have done alot of research about 2012 and work in London near the olympic site for 2012 where all eyes will be watching us. I ave been so worried about the though of natural disasters linked with all the things you have mentioned, thankyou for reassuring me and others that all that stuff is unfounded.