NASA Debunks the 2012 Doomsday

Unless you have been in a coma for an extended period, you have heard about the interpretation of the end of the Mayan long count calendar, as a doomsday event prediction.

If this is your cup of tea...fine. I really don't want a heart to heart with a true believer on the coming apocalypse, but I thought it might be entertaining to look at some of the ways that have been put forth, that would bring about the end of times.

There is of course the rogue planet "Nibiru" or "Planet X". (from the msnbc article)

• 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.

Astronomer Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object program say that Planet X is the darling child of pseudo-scientists "who don't seem bothered by a complete lack of evidence,".

You really have to like this one... because it really highlights how much common sense someone has to ignore to support their belief system.  Case in point is that any body capable of destroying Earth would have to be in the magnitude of the Mars sized impactor that created Earth's moon is a pretty difficult thing to hide this late in the game.  Something that big and that close would already be visible to the naked eye.  But what about something smaller, say the size of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago?   "There are no known near-Earth objects in 2012 that present a credible risk to Earth," Yeomans said. "None, zero, zip, nada."

Or how about this cosmic alignment that is to take place December 21st? The sun will align with the center of the galaxy and Earth and this alignment will bring about radical change on Earth.  My problem is that doesn't this already happen twice a year anyway?

How about the poles flip flopping causing compasses to go haywire and magnetic sensitive animals would get lost and possibly die out.   This one is interesting because there is evidence that the magnetic poles have flopped in the past.  Fortunate for us, our over-sized moon helps support the Earth's poles from wild perturbations so that leave magnetic poles.  Their period of reversals is about 500,000 years, not between reversals but once the process begins...yep, extremely slllooooooooooooooooooooooow.   "... no evidence of a flip on Dec. 21, 2012" states astronomer Yeomans.  

Still in the face of evidence to the contrary, some are continuing to become more and more frantic about the coming world destruction.  Read the complete MSNBC article here for more.

Doomsday Clock moves 1 more minute away from midnight

Clock Announcement 2010 from TurnBackTheClock.org on Vimeo.

On January 14th, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientist adjusted the "Doomsday Clock" back one minute to 6 minutes before midnight.

The reason for the change was, as the Bulletin stated was:

• Encouraging Progress Seen Around Globe in Both Key Threat Areas: Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change.

The decision by the BAS Science and Security Board was made in consultation with the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors, which includes 19 Nobel Laureates.

From the article:

• Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock has been adjusted only 18 times prior to today, most recently in January 2007 and February 2002 after the events of 9/11. By moving the hand of the Clock away from midnight--the figurative end of civilization--the BAS Board of Directors is drawing attention to encouraging signs of progress.

Read the complete article here

Does Russia Still Have an Active Doomsday Device?

Leave it to IO9 to dig up some really nightmarish scenarios. In this article, Charles Jane Anders writes that Russia built a "nuclear fail-safe strike-back device" in 1984.

Wired Senior Editor Nicholas Thompson recently wrote an article about this Soviet defensive weapon, known as Perimeter, but also frequently referred to as The Dead Hand. The system was reported to remain in a semi standby mode, but once activated, would look for evidence of a nuclear attack.

What makes this device particularly nightmarish is the evidence that it was never part of the "MAD" plan which through various sabre rattling by both side to assure each others certain destruction should an attack be launched. Perimeter was kept classified by the Russian government and secret even from Russia's own arms negotiators.

What's more, "Dead Hand" does not seem to be in any way shape or form, phased out. There is every indication that the machine is continuously being upgraded.

Here is the complete IO9 article and the wired article can be read here [Wired]

Very scary and very interesting indeed.

Mankind's secrets kept in lunar ark

Now here is a perfect example of something conceived in science that could make a great science fiction story.

Plans are being drawn up for a “Doomsday ark” on the moon containing the essentials of life and civilization. A basic version of the ark would contain hard discs holding information such as DNA sequences and instructions for metal smelting or planting crops. It would be buried in a vault just under the lunar surface.

I can see the drama of the build, the horror of the collapse, and something akin to Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders when they found the ancient AI that helped rebuild civilization. As great as it sounds....could it work? Look at how fast knowledge can fade away. Often the same thing is invented several times, there is ample evidence in history to support this claim. I suspect that if a life ending event happens on Earth, the ability to run the machinery or maintain the machinery that would retrieve this information would quickly pass. The knowledge that is saved would still be lost. If not retrieved and implemented almost immediately, I suspect that within a century there would be no one left who would understand how it all functioned. Look at how much was almost lost when the Egyptian empire collapsed. They left the records, but the ability to decode the writings was lost. Great fiction, not practical.

click here for the complete article from the Times Online

NASA lacks funds to find killer asteroids

NASA officials say the space agency is capable of finding nearly all the asteroids that might pose a devastating hit to Earth, but there isn't enough money to pay for the task so it won't get done.

The cost to find at least 90 percent of the 20,000 potentially hazardous asteroids and comets by 2020 would be about $1 billion, according to a report NASA will release later this week. The report was previewed Monday at a Planetary Defense Conference in Washington.

Congress in 2005 asked NASA to come up with a plan to track most killer asteroids and propose how to deflect the potentially catastrophic ones.

These are asteroids that are bigger than 460 feet in diameter -- slightly smaller than the Superdome in New Orleans.

The agency is already tracking bigger objects, at least 3,300 feet in diameter, that could wipe out most life on Earth, much like what is theorized to have happened to dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

But even that search, which has spotted 769 asteroids and comets -- none of which is on course to hit Earth -- is behind schedule. It's supposed to be complete by the end of next year.

Doomsday' vault design unveiled

The final design for a "doomsday" vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government. Built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole, the vault aims to safeguard the world's agriculture from future catastrophes, such as nuclear war, asteroid strikes and climate change.

posted by Shaun A. Saunders

Doomsday clock edging closer to midnight

The Doomsday Clock was set ahead two minutes reciently. "It is now five minutes to midnight," said Kennette Benedict, executive director of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. "This change reflects the global failures to solve the problems posed by nuclear weapons and by climate change."

The move is significant because the scientists who are the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists , has moved the clock only 18 times since it was set to seven minutes to midnight in 1947. The clock has been closer to midnight, two minutes away after the Eisenhower administration tested a nuclear bomb in 1953. But it is also a long way from its most optimistic setting, at 17 minutes to midnight in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Today's change was the first since 2002.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, named for its newsletter, was founded in 1945 by scientists who worked in the Manhattan Project and were concerned about the prospect of nuclear war. And the "Doomsday Clock" appeared as a graphic on their first newsletter and has since been adopted by the group as it's official logo.