[AANC Contacts] Doomsday 2012 Is A Hoax, Aided by Viral Marketing for a Movie, Astronomers Assure the Public

[Andrew Fraknoi]

For immediate release

No Doomsday in 2012, But Lots of Profits for Purveyors of Doom
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The widespread Internet belief that Dec. 21, 2012 will
be doomsday for planet Earth because some
astronomical event will destroy or decimate our
planet is a complete hoax, according to NASA
scientist David Morrison. His concise summary
of the claims and the scientific response is being
published by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
as a public service at:
http://www.astrosociety.org/2012

For several months, NASA and many astronomers have
received increasingly worried letters and e-mails from
members of the public about the possibility, widely
touted on the Internet, that the world will end in 2012.
Many mechanisms for doomsday are being proposed,
including a collision with a fictional planet called
Nibiru, deadly activity on the surface of the Sun that
lashes out at Earth, alignments with the center of
our Galaxy, etc.  David Morrison has coined the term
"cosmophobia" -- fear of the cosmos -- for these
concerns, and has seen a huge increase in the
phenomenon this year.

Dr. Morrison, a world-renowned expert on the solar system
(and asteroid impacts), also serves as the public scientist
for NASA's "Ask an Astrobiologist" service, where he answers
questions for the public.  He has received so many questions
about 2012 and the end of the world, that he felt he had to
investigate and set the record straight.

One of his most interesting findings is that the distributors of the
science fiction motion picture "2012", to be released this November,
are purposely feeding the flames of the internet panic (in what
is called a viral marketing campaign) by creating fake science
websites and encouraging people to search for "2012" on the
web.  Most of the sites such searches encounter are full of
nonsense and misunderstanding, often by people who have
written books on coming disaster that they are trying to sell.

Morrison's article is in the form of questions and answers, and
is followed by a resource guide that allows readers to find even
more scientific information about why no 2012 disaster
is in the cards.  There are many reasons to worry about the
future of planet Earth, of course, but absolutely no reason to
single out the winter solstice of 2012 as a special time to be
concerned.

For an annotated guide of resources for responding to
claims of astronomical pseudo-science, from astrology
to crop circles, and ancient astronauts to moon landing
denial, see:
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/pseudobib.html

Founded in 1889, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is
an international scientific and educational organization, with a
goal of providing reliable, authoritative information to help the
public understand and appreciate astronomy.   Their website
at http://www.astrosociety.org has a host of information and
resource guides for those who want learn more about the
exploration of the universe.



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Andrew Fraknoi, Chair, Astronomy Program
Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd.,
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022, USA

Telephone: (650) 949-7288
E-mail: fraknoiandrew at fhda.edu
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