NASA On Full Court Press To Deflate Doomsday Prophecies

coondoggie writes "Insidious unknown planets lurking behind the sun ready to slam into Earth, supernova set to engulf the planet and giant, unseen asteroids screaming toward our globe are all theories espoused across the Internet as to how we will meet our demise on 12/21/2012. Do any of these theories even remotely hold out a scintilla of evidence they could happen? Not even remotely if you look at the material NASA has put out which pretty much debunks any and all of the notions being floated in across the cybersphere."

Re:Thank God...

[jythie]

What is frightening is how many apocalyptics hold public office....

Re:NASA makes it obvious we are doomed

[GiganticLyingMouth]

On NPR a while back there was an interview with a NASA scientist about the doomsday predictions. He runs the Q/A column "Ask an Astrobiologist" responsible for answering questions posed to NASA, which as of late have mostly centered around Dec 21st. He was incredulous that anyone would believe these stories, but as the same time took it very seriously; he mentioned that many of the people writing to him were of the younger generations (i.e. schoolkids) genuinely concerned about whether the world was going to end. This was the demographic that concerned him. One such excerpt -- "Though some of the questions may seem frivolous and outlandish, Morrison receives queries from people who are legitimately concerned and contemplating suicide. "Another extreme one ... I got was quite touching. It was: My only friend is my little dog. When should I put her to sleep so she won't suffer in the cataclysm?" It's easy to dismiss the doomsday people as loons (and most are), but some of them are just kids so we should focus more on taking them seriously and helping educate them to understand that it's a myth rather than dismissing the entire thing offhand. This can be a very good opportunity to show the community that science > superstition. Interview is at http://www.npr.org/2012/11/26/165928588/as-dec-21-draws-nigh-the-facts-about-doomsday [npr.org]

Re:Or...

[mfnickster]

We may not have to worry about supernovae, but a gamma ray burst [discovermagazine.com] is quite another thing.

As Phil Plait points out, we're practically staring down the barrel of WR-104!

Re:Complete waste of time...

[icebike]

...you can't fix stupid.

At least, not yet.

Unforgettably, NASA is wasting our tax dollars trying. If 6 to 12 years of public school education couldn't give them enough reasoning power, why would they believe anything NASA had to say? We've spent enough money on these idiots.

Personally I have no problem with the incredibly gullible running for the hills, committing suicide, or what ever it is that one does in preparation for the end of the world. As long as they do it to themselves. I see no upside of trying to convince them of their folly.