304 days until the end of the world?

From Harold Camping’s endless predictions of the Rapture to the Mayan calendar ending in 2012, there’s no shortage of predictions of how the world will end. But astronomy professor John J. Salzer says, most of these theories are scientifically impossible. Rest easy, Hoosiers, Inside is here to bust these 2012 myths once and for all.

‘MELANCHOLIA’

PREDICTED DOOM A large blue planet approaches Earth for a “fly-by” that will cause no harm. But the planet unexpectedly falls into a “slingshot orbit” and collides with Earth.

REALITY A celestial ball colliding with Earth defies the orbital dynamics of the solar system. Because of the gravitational relationships between the planets in our solar system, scientists would be aware of a hiding planet because it would affect the orbits of Mars and Venus.

“The premise that there’s a planet in such an orbit behind the Sun is physically impossible,” Salzer says. “The physics of the slingshot effect would actually move the planet further away.”

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‘THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW’

PREDICTED DOOM Global warming will usher in a new Ice Age on Earth. After the disruption of the North Atlantic current, torrential downpours of ice, hail, snow, and rain create super-storms, freezing everything and everyone in their way.

REALITY Although smaller, less Hollywood-style dramatic storms are possible, entering a new Ice Age is extremely unlikely.

“Because global warming is putting more energy into the atmosphere, the winters would be harsher, but so would the summers,” Salzer says.

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'2012'

PREDICTED DOOM Mutated subatomic particles and increased solar flares will cause increased seismic activity, displacing the Earth’s crust. Mega-tsunamis will ensue and consequently flood the Earth.

REALITY There’s one tiny flaw in this theory: these particles, called neutrinos, do not interact with matter. So, the effect is impossible.

“Neutrinos are produced by the sun every second. Millions are passing through our bodies right now,” Salzer says. “But even if you change the neutrino flux, which is impossible without changing the laws of physics, you wouldn’t notice it because neutrinos don’t interact with matter.”

Additionally, Salzer says scientists know the physics of the Sun very well — well enough to be certain that its activity would not change that dramatically any time soon. The Sun goes through cycles of sunspot minimums and maximums every 11 years. Although there is a sunspot maximum scheduled for 2012, it won’t be any more extreme than it was in 2001 or 1990.

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