Category Archives: 2012

Sorry, 2012 Just Got Quieter: No Comet Impact

Posted by Ian O'Neill on
Comets are out there, but there's nothing scheduled for 2012...

Comets are out there, but there's nothing scheduled for 2012...

It’s been a nagging frustration ever since I started writing about the 2012 doomsday scenarios seven months ago. Every time I posted articles with the keywords “2012”, “doomsday”, “comet” or “asteroid”, ads would appear across my website linking to 2012 doomsday sites. Simply writing about these misguided theories had attracted ads for the very sites I was criticising!

At first I blocked them, but then I became pretty relaxed about it. Why not allow these ads to appear? I get ad revenue, they lose ad revenue, seems somehow justified doesn’t it? Well, not really. If I let these individuals advertise on my site with impunity, I’d be little better than them… I’d be cashing in (albeit in a small way) on their popularity. So I’ve kept the worst of them blocked (although you will still see some 2012 ads, they shouldn’t be the ones I’m critical of in my writing, and they shouldn’t be promoting the end of the world).

Today I decided to make a stand against these 2012 comet theories and write an article. It’s been a long time coming. In fact, it was one of those articles that have been hanging over my head for months, an uncomfortable thorn in my side. The comet impact theory has been around for decades, there’s nothing new with the thought that we might be scrubbed out of existence by a comet or asteroid, but the whole 2012 worry has dusted off some old fears…
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I Stand Corrected…

Posted by Ian O'Neill on

Forget Planet X, a rogue comet, geomagnetic reversal and killer solar flares… this could be what the Mayans were talking about:

Oh no... (PunditKitchen.com)

Oh no... (PunditKitchen.com)

OK, I’ll stop with the humour now. Time to get on with some serious science stuff…

Update: Isn’t that a bit disrespectful of Palin to be signing her name against McCain’s head? Lol.

I really am getting back to the science now…

Source: Bad Astronomy

2012 Doomsday Debunking Article Makes Slashdot

Posted by Ian O'Neill on

Just a quick bit of news: my “2012: No Geomagnetic Reversal” article over at the Universe Today was posted on Slashdot.org today! This is fantastic news, as on Saturday it became “popular” on Digg.com and hit the front page. Internet traffic has therefore been a little busy for Fraser’s server of late…

Thank you to everyone who is supporting my work, these 2012 doomsday scenarios are finally being exposed for what they really are. Although some may have a dash of scientific reasoning, most are born from scaremongering and greed, so it is very good to know that the scope of this article’s readership has expanded exponentially🙂

I am working on my next couple of articles now, so expect the completed text soon…

Cheers!

New 2012 Article Published: No Geomagnetic Reversal

Posted by Ian O'Neill on
The 2012 doomsday scenario: geomagnetic reversal. Not in our lifetime...

The 2012 doomsday scenario: geomagnetic reversal. Not in our lifetime...

Universe Today: 2012: No Geomagnetic Reversal

After a long four-month break, I’ve finally written my next in the “No Doomsday in 2012” series of articles. This time we tackle the prediction that the world will end on December 21st, 2012 after being subject to a massive internal disturbance, effectively weakening the Earth’s magnetic field and flipping the magnetic dipole on its head (i.e. the north magnetic pole will be shifted to the geographical South Pole and vice versa). While this makes for a cool plot for a disaster movie, the doomsayers theory is only half-baked. Yes, geomagnetic reversal has happened in the past, and it will happen again. However, any geomagnetic shift in the future will not happen in four years, it probably won’t happen for a few thousand years. It appears to be a rather chaotic system, and all the (scientific) indications suggest our strong magnetic field wont be doing anything dramatic any time soon…

The series so far:

2012: No Geomagnetic Reversal Now Available in Spanish

With a special thanks, once again, to Manuel Herman, my most recent 2012 article has been translated into Spanish. Thank you Manuel for all your hard work!

Here’s the series (so far) in Spanish:

2012 Doomsday Series Now Available in Spanish

Posted by Ian O'Neill on
Doomsday articles are now available in Spanish

Doomsday articles are now available in Spanish

With special thanks to Manuel Herman at Ciencia Kanija (Puny Science), four of my Universe Today 2012 No Doomsday articles have been translated into Spanish. Today, as many as 322 to 400 million people speak Spanish world-wide, making it the second most-spoken native language in the world (second only to Mandarin Chinese), so I am overjoyed that my 2012 articles will extend to this huge population of Spanish speakers!

Previously, the popular “No Doomsday in 2012” article was kindly translated into Portuguese by Nisia Chaves at Chá de Camomila, so to have the complete series translated into Spanish is a massive bonus. I didn’t think that these 2012 articles would be so popular, but it would seem their scope extends far beyond the English-speaking world. So thank you to Manuel for his tireless efforts in translating my work!

Here’s the series (so far) in Spanish:
» No habrá juicio final en 2012 (No Doomsday in 2012)
» No, tampoco habrá Planeta X en 2012 (2012: No Planet X)
» 2012: El Planeta X no es Nibiru (2012: Planet X is not Nibiru)
» 2012: No habrá llamarada solar asesina (2012: No Killer Solar Flare)

This has motivated me to continue writing my 2012 articles. Next up is an investigation into geomagnetic reversal and then the mother of all doomsday theories: galactic alignment. The next two could be the biggest articles yet, so be sure to keep an eye on the Universe Today and Astroengine.com for announcements…

2012 Doomsday Fabrication: Abusing Science and Making Money

Posted by Ian O'Neill on
Ancient prophecy plus a dash of scientific disinformation equals fear (and the potential to make a lot of money)

Ancient prophecy plus a dash of scientific disinformation equals fear (and the potential to make a lot of money)

The Mayan long-count calendar ends on December 21st 2012. For many reasons, this is a very important event, religiously and spiritually. However, there are a huge number of doomsday scenarios that are being pinned on this day too. Why? Well your guess is as good as mine. This is a very strange phenomenon. We’ve heard “end of the world” theories for millennia; from Nostrodamus, the Bible to the Y2K Bug, but as yet (as far as I can tell) the Earth has not been destroyed. Many historic prophecies have been made deliberately vague to make a future event more likely to match the future prediction by the prophet. That’s fine, I have no problem with a mystical historic figure telling us the world is going to fry at an undetermined date by an undetermined harbinger of doom. But I have a huge problem with modern-day authors publishing scientific inaccuracies for personal gain.

I am writing this article after a number of emails were sent to me concerned about yet another 2012 Doomsday scenario, so I decided to investigate. This is what I found…
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Tonight’s Terra Chat Show Now Online

Posted by Ian O'Neill on

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mediaplayer.swf?displayheight=&file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2fTerra-Chat-%2fplay_list.xml&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=180&height=152&volume=80&corner=rounded

If you missed my discussion with Colin Knight on Terra Chat tonight, the show’s recording is now online. Either check out the Flash player to the left or download the archived mp3. For information on the show, check out “2012 – Cosmic Occurances, Planet X, Space Travel.”

We had a great time discussing everything from Planet X, UFOs, space travel, Mars colonization and space weather! Be sure to check out his show, it makes for entertaining and educational listening.

Thank you Colin for having me back on your show, I had a superb time! And keep hunting for those Planet X guys…😉
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