[Discussion] 2012 Phenomena

[Sert908]

I don't think anything in particular will happen.

 

[Yuoaman]

Something very important is going to happen that day...

...

...seven billion people will wake up, live their life, and then go to sleep. It's a miracle, really.

 

[Exothermic]

I don't really believe in these theories. =(

I think that some natural disaster will happen in 2012; but it's definitely not as insane as a world apocalypse. If something like this really happened, we would all be in a state of unrest. Besides, all other previous doomsday dates have been disproved. I'll still be here on that day. ^^

 

[GlalieX]

I wouldn't be shocked if something did happen, but in the long run it probably won't matter to me.

Second coming of Christ would be pretty sweet. :P

 

[Livewire]

I wouldn't be shocked if something did happen, but in the long run it probably won't matter to me.

Second coming of Christ would be pretty sweet. :P

I just think it would be cool to see, to say after the fact, that I witnessed it or I remember 12/21/2012.

 

[Her]

I personally don't believe anything will happen, it seems too farfetch'd (oh im so witty) to be plausible. I admit I'm curious as to if anything special will be on that day, but the only thing that comes to the mind that it may be the most watched/talked about day in human history. It just seems like it'll be another Y2K, a fluke!

 

[Livewire]

I'm sure I've posted in several threads similar to this before, but I'll say it again: The hysteria surrounding the date will far overshadow what actually happens on that date.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell, really.

 

[Jaeden]

I agree with Hawo... um hoekaw... Oh whatever! The guy two posts above me.
If anyone needs further convincing, go here: https://www.2012hoax.org
it gives scientific reasons why all of the doomsday theories are false.
It also tells stories about people so depressed about 2012 that they either thought about or actually took their own lives. Some of them were children.

Another thing, it's impossible for the earth to horizontally align exactly with the galactic core. It's off by about 11 diameters of the sun.

 

[Livewire]

I agree with Hawo... um hoekaw... Oh whatever! The guy two posts above me.
If anyone needs further convincing, go here: https://www.2012hoax.org
it gives scientific reasons why all of the doomsday theories are false.
It also tells stories about people so depressed about 2012 that they either thought about or actually took their own lives. Some of them were children.

Another thing, it's impossible for the earth to horizontally align exactly with the galactic core. It's off by about 11 diameters of the sun.

Well for starters, if the Kids on that website became that depressed about 2012, their parents should be charged for Child Endangerment and Negligent Homicide. Just bad parenting there. And i wouldnr exactly uses that that website as the premier way to de-bunk 2012, there are far more scholarly sites to use if you choose that side of the argument.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but the Earth isn't even aligning at all- The Sun is.

 

[Tater Tot]

2012 WILL BE THE WORST CHRISTMAS SEASON EVER. THE MAYANS RUINED IT. WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE STOPPED THE CALENDER AT AUGUST OR SOMETHING. NOBODY GIVES A CRAP ABOUT AUGUST!

I think something big might happen but idk if it will be the end of the world.

But seriously, 2012's Christmas season is gonna be a mess because everyone will be running around like chickens with their heads cut off thinking it's their last month on the earth. SERIOUSLY WHY COULDN'T THEY LET US GET THROUGH CHRISTMAS? ;-;

 

[Livewire]

2012 WILL BE THE WORST CHRISTMAS SEASON EVER. THE MAYANS RUINED IT. WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE STOPPED THE CALENDER AT AUGUST OR SOMETHING. NOBODY GIVES A CRAP ABOUT AUGUST!

I think something big might happen but idk if it will be the end of the world.

But seriously, 2012's Christmas season is gonna be a mess because everyone will be running around like chickens with their heads cut off thinking it's their last month on the earth. SERIOUSLY WHY COULDN'T THEY LET US GET THROUGH CHRISTMAS? ;-;

Oh I think the whole year will be screwed up. By the time December 2012 gets here, There could be riots and stuff. Maybe worse than that. Martial Law being declared wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Belinda]

Just found a news article on Yahoo! and I hope it brings some good news for believers:

"Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience Senior Writer
LiveScience.com – Tue Oct 19, 7:35 am ET
It's a good news/bad news situation for believers in the 2012 Mayan apocalypse. The good news is that the Mayan "Long Count" calendar may not end on Dec. 21, 2012 (and, by extension, the world may not end along with it). The bad news for prophecy believers? If the calendar doesn't end in December 2012, no one knows when it actually will - or if it has already.
A new critique, published as a chapter in the new textbook "Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World" (Oxbow Books, 2010), argues that the accepted conversions of dates from Mayan to the modern calendar may be off by as much as 50 or 100 years. That would throw the supposed and overhyped 2012 apocalypse off by decades and cast into doubt the dates of historical Mayan events. (The doomsday worries are based on the fact that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, much as our year ends on Dec. 31.)
The Mayan calendar was converted to today's Gregorian calendar using a calculation called the GMT constant, named for the last initials of three early Mayanist researchers. Much of the work emphasized dates recovered from colonial documents that were written in the Mayan language in the Latin alphabet, according to the chapter's author, Gerardo Aldana, University of California, Santa Barbara professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies.

Later, the GMT constant was bolstered by American linguist and anthropologist Floyd Lounsbury, who used data in the Dresden Codex Venus Table, a Mayan calendar and almanac that charts dates relative to the movements of Venus.
"He took the position that his work removed the last obstacle to fully accepting the GMT constant," Aldana said in a statement. "Others took his work even further, suggesting that he had proven the GMT constant to be correct."
But according to Aldana, Lounsbury's evidence is far from irrefutable.
"If the Venus Table cannot be used to prove the FMT as Lounsbury suggests, its acceptance depends on the reliability of the corroborating data," he said. That historical data, he said, is less reliable than the Table itself, causing the argument for the GMT constant to fall "like a stack of cards."
Aldana doesn't have any answers as to what the correct calendar conversion might be, preferring to focus on why the current interpretation may be wrong. Looks like end-of-the-world theorists may need to find another ancient calendar on which to pin their apocalyptic hopes."

What do you think about this article?

 

[o0PinkSquid0o]

Hmm although I don't believe anything specific is going to happen to earth on that particular day, I do believe something will happen very soon!
I've been reading about how we're due for another ice-age also there's a star over in the next galaxy ready to explode and die and its apparently 20 years over due and could happen any year now and the blast from its explosion could wipe away our ozone.

Anyway lots of doom and gloom is coming our way I believe :(

 

[Amai]

Hmm although I don't believe anything specific is going to happen to earth on that particular day, I do believe something will happen very soon!
I've been reading about how we're due for another ice-age also there's a star over in the next galaxy ready to explode and die and its apparently 20 years over due and could happen any year now and the blast from its explosion could wipe away our ozone.

Anyway lots of doom and gloom is coming our way I believe :(

What does a star in another galaxy needing to explode have to do with anything? Stars explode in our own galaxy every single day (this is a proven fact) and nothing happens to us.

We are only in danger if it is near by, or if the star is pointing directly at us, the second one is EXTREMELY rare to occur. The first one, just isn't happening right now.

I think whoever told you that a star in another galaxy can wipe out our ozone is completely BSing you, or they just don't know what they're talking about.

And please don't name some random unprovable source. If you're going to argue against me, provide proof, like this proof saying there is no threat:

https://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/supernova_threat_021216.html

Then there is this, which I can't link to because it has bad stoof too:

Spoiler:

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended the first few days of the American Astronomical Society meeting this week. I went as a member of the press, as I have for the past few years. The press room is a fun place; lots of old friends, banter across the table, and, of course, the press releases.
I had a stack in my mailbox, so I poked through them. One in particular caught my eye. And how could it not? In oversized, bold print the headline ran: "THE LONG OVERDUE RECURRENT NOVA T PYXIDIS: SOON TO BE A TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA?"
Hmmm. Recurrent novae are binary systems, where a dense white dwarf is stealing matter from its companion. The matter piles up, and eventually detonates, causing a huge flash of light (that's the nova part). After time, the system settles down, the matter starts piling up, and the cycle starts again (that's the recurrent part). Lots of recurrent novae are known, and are fairly well understood.
T Pyxidis is a fairly regular nova, blowing its lid every 20 years or so. It's currently overdue, since the last event was in 1967. Using ultraviolet observations and new models of the system, astronomer Edward Sion and his team concluded it may actually explode soon as a supernova, an event far more energetic than a mere nova. Worse, their models indicate the system is "much closer" than previously thought: about 3300 light years away. In the last paragraph of their press release, it says:

An interesting, if a bit scary, speculative sidelight is that if a Type Ia supernova explosion occurs within [that distance] of Earth, then the gamma radiation emitted by the supernova would fry the Earth, dumping as much gamma radiation (~100,000 erg/square centimeter) into our planet [sic], which is equivalent to the gamma ray input of 1000 solar flares simultaneously.
​

AIIIIEEEEE!!! We're all gonna die!
[SIZE=-1"]Hubble's view of T Pyxidis from 1997, showing a shell of expanding matter from an earlier eruption.[/SIZE]

Ahem. Except, really, no. I rolled my eyes when I read that bit. A Type Ia does put out more high-energy radiation than a Type II supernova, which is caused when a massive star's core collapses and the outer layers are ejected. That's what most people think of when they hear about a supernova. Those have to be really close to hurt us, certainly closer than 25 light years. But even with their added power, a Type Ia just doesn't have the oomph needed to destroy our ozone layer (as the press release indicates) from 3300 light years away. It would have to be far closer than that.

I missed that press conference, but oh, how I wish I had been there! My friend Ian O'Neill was able to track down some details, and found out that astronomers (including another friend, Alex Filippenko, who is an expert's expert on supernovae) at the meeting took Sion to task for this claim. It looks like Sion used the wrong numbers for the gamma ray emission for a Type Ia event, instead using the emission from a gamma-ray burst… a far, far, far more energetic event, and dangerous from several thousand light years away.
I don't generally have too big an issue with a scientist getting a number wrong, but it depends on the circumstance. Issuing a press release saying, essentially, we're all gonna die means they should do some due diligence. And in this specific case — they used the phrase "fry the Earth" for Pete's sake! — means I am less willing to cut them slack. People get scared from stuff like this, and it's simply wrong to feed that fire without making really sure you have your numbers straight first.
I'll note that scientists tend not to write press releases, and it can be hard to rein in the PR author if they are not that familiar with the science (which I've seen many times). But even if the numbers in the PR were correct, the phrasing of that last paragraph is unacceptable. Whoever wrote the release should have known the media would zero in on that phrase.
My buddy Ian O'Neil, in his post at Discovery News, points out The Daily Telegraph did just that, printing an article with the headline, "Earth 'to be wiped out' by supernova explosion". The UK paper The Sun — which is so awful fish complain when you wrap them in it — had a similar article with the tagline, "A star primed to explode in a blast that could wipe out the Earth was revealed by astronomers yesterday."
Sheesh.
It's too bad. There was no need to disaster-porn this release up the way it was done. Recurrent novae and Type Ia supernovae are fascinating, well worth our attention for any number of reasons including of course their potential danger. But it's a not-too-fine line between piquing interest and tarting up the science.

 

[Livewire]

^ The nearest Star to earth, aside form the sun, is Alpha Centari, which i don't think could harm us, even if it went Supernova or turned into a GRB. (Note: I'm not certain it even can become a GRB)

But If a star was close enough, then yes, a GRB or a Supernova would be in issue to our continuity. But there aren't any, to our knowledge.

 

[o0PinkSquid0o]

What does a star in another galaxy needing to explode have to do with anything? Stars explode in our own galaxy every single day (this is a proven fact) and nothing happens to us.

We are only in danger if it is near by, or if the star is pointing directly at us, the second one is EXTREMELY rare to occur. The first one, just isn't happening right now.

I think whoever told you that a star in another galaxy can wipe out our ozone is completely BSing you, or they just don't know what they're talking about.

And please don't name some random unprovable source. If you're going to argue against me, provide proof, like this proof saying there is no threat:

https://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/supernova_threat_021216.html

Then there is this, which I can't link to because it has bad stoof too:

Spoiler:

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended the first few days of the American Astronomical Society meeting this week. I went as a member of the press, as I have for the past few years. The press room is a fun place; lots of old friends, banter across the table, and, of course, the press releases.
I had a stack in my mailbox, so I poked through them. One in particular caught my eye. And how could it not? In oversized, bold print the headline ran: "THE LONG OVERDUE RECURRENT NOVA T PYXIDIS: SOON TO BE A TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA?"
Hmmm. Recurrent novae are binary systems, where a dense white dwarf is stealing matter from its companion. The matter piles up, and eventually detonates, causing a huge flash of light (that's the nova part). After time, the system settles down, the matter starts piling up, and the cycle starts again (that's the recurrent part). Lots of recurrent novae are known, and are fairly well understood.
T Pyxidis is a fairly regular nova, blowing its lid every 20 years or so. It's currently overdue, since the last event was in 1967. Using ultraviolet observations and new models of the system, astronomer Edward Sion and his team concluded it may actually explode soon as a supernova, an event far more energetic than a mere nova. Worse, their models indicate the system is "much closer" than previously thought: about 3300 light years away. In the last paragraph of their press release, it says:

An interesting, if a bit scary, speculative sidelight is that if a Type Ia supernova explosion occurs within [that distance] of Earth, then the gamma radiation emitted by the supernova would fry the Earth, dumping as much gamma radiation (~100,000 erg/square centimeter) into our planet [sic], which is equivalent to the gamma ray input of 1000 solar flares simultaneously.
​

AIIIIEEEEE!!! We're all gonna die!
[SIZE=-1"]Hubble's view of T Pyxidis from 1997, showing a shell of expanding matter from an earlier eruption.

Spoiler:

Ahem. Except, really, no. I rolled my eyes when I read that bit. A Type Ia does put out more high-energy radiation than a Type II supernova, which is caused when a massive star's core collapses and the outer layers are ejected. That's what most people think of when they hear about a supernova. Those have to be really close to hurt us, certainly closer than 25 light years. But even with their added power, a Type Ia just doesn't have the oomph needed to destroy our ozone layer (as the press release indicates) from 3300 light years away. It would have to be far closer than that.

I missed that press conference, but oh, how I wish I had been there! My friend Ian O'Neill was able to track down some details, and found out that astronomers (including another friend, Alex Filippenko, who is an expert's expert on supernovae) at the meeting took Sion to task for this claim. It looks like Sion used the wrong numbers for the gamma ray emission for a Type Ia event, instead using the emission from a gamma-ray burst… a far, far, far more energetic event, and dangerous from several thousand light years away.
I don't generally have too big an issue with a scientist getting a number wrong, but it depends on the circumstance. Issuing a press release saying, essentially, we're all gonna die means they should do some due diligence. And in this specific case — they used the phrase "fry the Earth" for Pete's sake! — means I am less willing to cut them slack. People get scared from stuff like this, and it's simply wrong to feed that fire without making really sure you have your numbers straight first.
I'll note that scientists tend not to write press releases, and it can be hard to rein in the PR author if they are not that familiar with the science (which I've seen many times). But even if the numbers in the PR were correct, the phrasing of that last paragraph is unacceptable. Whoever wrote the release should have known the media would zero in on that phrase.
My buddy Ian O'Neil, in his post at Discovery News, points out The Daily Telegraph did just that, printing an article with the headline, "Earth 'to be wiped out' by supernova explosion". The UK paper The Sun — which is so awful fish complain when you wrap them in it — had a similar article with the tagline, "A star primed to explode in a blast that could wipe out the Earth was revealed by astronomers yesterday."
Sheesh.
It's too bad. There was no need to disaster-porn this release up the way it was done. Recurrent novae and Type Ia supernovae are fascinating, well worth our attention for any number of reasons including of course their potential danger. But it's a not-too-fine line between piquing interest and tarting up the science.

wow, everyone gets so freaking upset over everything on this site :S

It is a huge star, and scientists are saying that its due for explosions and the explosion will be so huge that it will blow our ozone away. Thats probably going to kill us. All I was saying is I don't freaking believe in 2012 but i think earth will be destroyed in another way..

wow :|

here you go!
https://www.news.com.au/breaking-ne...y-wipe-out-earth/story-e6frfku0-1225816754727


I think I got the bit about it being in another galaxy wrong but eh, what I said still fits in with this article.

 

[Livewire]

wow, everyone gets so freaking upset over everything on this site :S

It is a huge star, and scientists are saying that its due for explosions and the explosion will be so huge that it will blow our ozone away. Thats probably going to kill us. All I was saying is I don't freaking believe in 2012 but i think earth will be destroyed in another way..

wow :|

here you go!
https://www.news.com.au/breaking-ne...y-wipe-out-earth/story-e6frfku0-1225816754727

Nobodies getting upset, lets keep it chill. :)

That is certainly interesting. :0 But remember, "soon" in astrological time is millions and millions of years to us, maybe even longer. It said the star is overdue for an explosive burst of energy, not that the whole thing is gonna blow. The star could explode millions of years from now, but eventually it will explode/die. All stars do.

 

[o0PinkSquid0o]

Nobodies getting upset, lets keep it chill. :)

That is certainly interesting. :0 But remember, "soon" in astrological time is millions and millions of years to us, maybe even longer. It said the star is overdue for an explosive burst of energy, not that the whole thing is gonna blow. The star could explode millions of years from now, but eventually it will explode/die. All stars do.

Hmm but the fact that the burst of energy could still blow our ozone layer away is pretty freaky.
There was another article I was reading a way back which was similar to this one but it had a lot more information in it. I was Trying to find that one but failed. If I find it I'll definitely post it

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

Well the sun is suppose to shift it's magnetic poles in 2012 or 2013 according to Nasa, also I read an article that Nasa says there is a huge solar storm with enough power to knock out our communications and power grids for months to even as much as 10 years...which would cause the advance world a economic depression, (so people who are obsessed with electronics prepare...) also I think that communities that don't really too much on electricity will be better off than us in the west, and in Eastern Asia (Japan, China, etc.)

 

[Sora's Nobody]

I'm scared now. Really, really scared. I need Memory Bleach. But on the other hand am looking forward to it not actually happening. If thats the case.