Doomsday: Is the world really going to end on December 21, 2012?

Is the world really going to end on December 21 2012? That is perhaps the most frequently asked question today. The short answer is most likely no. The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on 21 December 2012.This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae have been proposed as pertaining to this date, though none have been accepted by mainstream scholarship.A New Age interpretation of this transition is that this date marks the start of time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era.Others suggest that the 2012 date marks the end of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios suggested for the end of the world include the arrival of the next solar maximum, an interaction between Earth and the black hole at the center of the galaxy, or Earth's collision with a planet called “Nibiru”.Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of such cataclysmic events occurring in 2012. Professional Mayanist scholars state that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the extant classic Maya accounts, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar “ends” in 2012 misrepresents Maya history and culture.Most of these predictions are based on interpretations of religious writings, though some are based purely on numbers. The most famous recent prediction revolved around the year 2000 because it marked the start of a new millennium (a period of 1000 years). Computers were going to crash, riots would take place, food and water would run out and everyone would starve. Of course, nothing like that occurred.One prediction of impending doom related specifically to Australia. A spokesman from one religious group, Jehovah's Witnesses, declared that Adelaide would be destroyed by a tsunami on January 20, 1976. Several people sold their homes and moved out of the city, while others sold their businesses. The manner in which the Earth will be destroyed differs from prediction to prediction. It may be a tsunami, a meteorite, a collision with another planet, or even an alien invasion.Astronomers and other scientists have rejected the proposals as pseudoscience, stating that they conflict with simple astronomical observations and amount to “a distraction from more important science concerns, such as global warming and loss of biological diversity”.