Why the World Will Still Be Here After December 21 December 11, 2012

A Panel Examining “Doomsday 2012” from a Scientific Perspective

With:
David Morrison (SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center)
Ed Krupp (Griffith Observatory)
Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College)

Tuesday evening, December 11, 2012 at 7 pm
at the SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Avenue (#100), Mountain View, CA 94043

Free admission, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

If tabloid TV shows and internet rumors are to be believed, the world is coming to an end on the winter solstice (Dec. 21), 2012 – a time when the Maya long-count calendar purportedly resets. All sorts of bizarre and unlikely events have been suggested for just how doomsday will arrive – including a rogue planet heading our way, some drastic cosmic alignment, a shift of the Earth’s poles, or explosions on the Sun. Astronomers who deal with the public are getting increasingly worried inquiries from teachers, parents, youngsters, and web surfers.

The three members of the panel – all known for their skill in explaining astronomical ideas in everyday language – will discuss a brief history of doomsday, the suggestions that have been put forward for the 2012 apocalypse, and the real science that governs the fate of the Earth. They will also talk about the increasing problem of “cosmophobia”—a term coined by David Morrison to describe a fear of celestial phenomena (which now seems to be a disturbing part of how astronomical discoveries are treated on the web and in the general media.)

The panel presentations will be followed by a question and answer period.

If you are not able to attend in person, the panel will be webcast as a Google Plus Hangout and recorded as a YouTube video. See:
https://plus.google.com/events/cvdkpj271hd9s6its3933fucoc8

The SETI Institute is a non-profit scientific and educational organization, founded in 1984, whose mission is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe. See: www.seti.org for more information.

Official Website: http://www.seti.org/weeky-lecture/why-world-will-still-be-here-after-december-21st