NASA fields hundreds of calls from worried public
Updated 2:57 pm, Friday, December 21, 2012
Depending on the scenario, the "end of the world" could come from giant solar storms, a meteor barreling toward Earth, a blackout or a mysterious "Planet X" threatening widespread destruction.
But doomsday predictions all seem to agree on one thing - the date - Friday, Dec. 21, 2012.
On the eve, NASA was working to quell fears and debunk the myth - pointing hundreds of concerned callers to the clear-cut scientific facts that promise the Earth will not end Friday.
"There are so many scenarios out there, we are trying to wrangle them all in and get the truth out," said J.D. Harrington, a NASA spokesman.
The space agency's communication experts have answered hundreds of emails and calls from the public worried about the predictions and skeptical of science.
Harrington said the calls from all over the world have been steadily increasing during the past few days. Thousands of online comments about the end of the world dominate the website and emails continue to pour in with concerned theorists. The dozens of calls received last week have spiked into hundreds daily, he said.
"They are afraid. They are scared," Harrington said. "They believe what they read on the Internet. Even though most respectable news organizations are saying it's not going to happen, they don't want to believe it."
NASA created a separate Web page, www.nasa.gov/2012, which has had almost 5 million views, to help ease some of the fears. NASA first started disseminating information on its website in 2011. The site answers frequently asked questions, explaining the origins of the original predictions and dispelling some common theories.
The agency also released a video dated Dec. 22 titled "Why the World Didn't End Yesterday."
"The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012," the site states.
NASA explains the origin of the 2012 prediction is from a story about a planet called Nibiru, or Planet X, heading toward Earth. The date for that planet's collision with Earth was originally believed to be May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved to December 2012, linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar.
As for the Mayan prediction, NASA explains, "Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then - just as your calendar begins again on January 1 - another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar."
Harrington said even with scientific facts presented to the callers, many are still skeptical, believing instead that scientists do not want to cause widespread panic by releasing the truth.
"You should make plans for the weekend," he said, "or you won't have anything to do on Saturday."