Apocalypse not now: 2012 doomsday predictions debunked by NASA   
       
   On Dec. 21, 2012, many doomsday believers fear the apocalypse - anything from   
   a rogue planet smashing into us to our world spinning end over end. However,   
   the world should expect nothing more next year than the winter solstice, the   
   longest night of the year, NASA says.   
       
   Many people point to the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar on Dec. 21, 2012   
   as evidence of the coming apocalypse, but astronomers have been quick to   
   stress that there is nothing to be concerned about.   
       
   According to the ancient Mayan calendar, next year's winter solstice marks the   
   end of a 144,000-day cycle. This cycle, which begins at the mythical Maya   
   creation date, has already been repeated 12 times. The 13th will end in 2012,   
   capping a full 5,200-year Mayan cycle of creation.   
       
   This date has long been shrouded in mystery, with many claiming that it will   
   bring destruction to our planet. [End of the World? Top Doomsday Fears]   
       
   Rogue planet Nibiru?   
       
   One fear is that a rogue planet that has been dubbed "Nibiru" or "Planet X" is   
   supposedly aimed at Earth. Self-proclaimed Nibiru expert Nancy Lieder, who   
   says she is in contact with the aliens from Zeta Reticuli, first said Nibiru   
   would cause widespread disaster in May 2003, only to change it to Dec. 21,   
   2012.   
       
   There is, however, no evidence that Nibiru is real.   
       
   "Nibiru is ridiculous because it doesn't exist - it never existed as anything   
   other than a figment of the imagination by pseudo-scientists who don't seem   
   bothered by a complete lack of evidence," astronomer Don Yeomans, manager of   
   NASA's Near-Earth Object program office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in   
   Pasadena, Calif., told SPACE.com.   
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   There is no basis for the claim that it might be lurking behind the sun, as it   
   could not have hidden from observation until now, Yeomans said. If such a   
   planet was headed toward Earth by Dec. 21, 2012, it would already be visible   
   to the naked eye.   
       
   Cosmic alignments?   
       
   There are also concerns that planets or stars might line up in ways that will   
   transform Earth. For instance, some theorists claim that from our point of   
   view, the sun will cross in front of the plane of our galaxy on Dec. 21.   
   However, the sun already does this twice a year, Yeomans said.   
       
   In fact, the sun will eventually cross the plane of our galaxy. However, the   
   sun is about 67 light-years from the galactic plane, so it should take several   
   million years to do so, Yeomans said. Even then, when our solar system finally   
   does cross the plane, nothing special will occur, he added. [10 Failed   
   Doomsday Predictions]   
       
   Some also claim that gravitational effects from planets lining up with each   
   other will somehow affect Earth. However, there is no planetary alignment due   
   on Dec. 21, 2012, "and if there were, it wouldn't cause any problems," Yeomans   
   said.   
       
   The only bodies that have any significant gravitational impact on Earth are   
   the moon and the sun, effects we see as the tides. Tidal effects from other   
   bodies in our solar system are negligible at best, and in any case, we have   
   experienced them for millions of years without notice.   
       
   Solar storms?   
       
   Solar storms - deluges of energetic particles from the sun - do happen,   
   usually waxing and waning in cycles that last roughly 11 years. When these   
   charged particles collide with Earth, they can trigger auroras and damage   
   satellites and power lines, although not really inflicting any lasting harm,   
   Yeomans said.   
       
   There are accounts of a solar "super-storm" slamming into Earth in 1859.   
   Although that caused relatively little damage back then, there are concerns   
   that such a storm might cause far more harm now that our world is more   
   dependent on electronics.   
       
   Yet, there is no evidence that such a super-storm will happen on Dec. 21 of   
   next year, Yeomans said.   
       
   Flip-flopping Earth?   
       
   There is some alarm that 2012 could see the flipping of Earth's poles - either   
   the planet's geographical poles, which mark the Earth's axis of rotation, or   
   its magnetic poles, which our compasses point toward.   
       
   But, there is no reason to fear such an occurrence, scientists said, because   
   the moon stabilizes our planet's spin. The planet's magnetic poles do flip,   
   but over periods of about 500,000 years, and not suddenly, "but over thousands   
   of years," with no evidence of a flip on Dec. 21, 2012, Yeomans said.   
       
   Even if the planet's magnetic poles do flip, no real problems would occur,   
   other than the inconvenience of us having to change our compasses from north   
   to south, he added.   
       
   Cosmic impacts?   
       
   The Earth is always vulnerable to impacts by comets and asteroids, but giant   
   impacts are rare, with the last major collision taking place 65 million years   
   ago, ending the Age of Dinosaurs.   
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   Still, astronomers do monitor the sky for near-Earth objects.   
       
   "There are no known near-Earth objects in 2012 that present a credible risk to   
   Earth," Yeomans said. "None, zero, zip, nada."   
       
   But despite evidence to the contrary, doomsdays theorists have garnered   
   attention, and similar prophecies will continue to proliferate unless   
   scientists become more involved in bringing truth to these outlandish claims,   
   Yeomans said.   
       
   Mounting hysteria regarding these unfounded doomsday predictions "will improve   
   only if scientists get more engaged in debunking pseudoscience," he said.   
       
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       Infographic: A Brief History of Doomsday   
       End of Days in 2012? NASA Scientist Says No   
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