進(jìn)入12月份以來(lái),有關(guān)“世界末日”的謠言甚囂塵上。美國(guó)國(guó)家航空航天局(NASA)為了避免恐慌,日前特意提前發(fā)布一部名為《跨過(guò)2012:為什么世界末日沒來(lái)》(Why The World Didn't End Yesterday)的短片辟謠,并在官方網(wǎng)站上開辟關(guān)于“2012世界末日”的答疑專區(qū)。

Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know, however, it will be another winter solstice. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the claims behind the end of the world quickly unravel when pinned down to the 2012 timeline.
2012年12月21日不是世界末日,它只是另一個(gè)冬至日。那些明顯和常識(shí)相悖的‘末日’謠言當(dāng)會(huì)在這一天之后不攻自破。

NASA官網(wǎng)答疑

Q: Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012?
2012地球會(huì)不會(huì)有危險(xiǎn)?

A: The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.
世界不會(huì)在2012年終結(jié),我們的地球在未來(lái)的40億年中還會(huì)正常運(yùn)行。全世界的權(quán)威專家都確認(rèn)地球沒有受到任何外在威脅。

Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?
2012世界末日這種預(yù)測(cè)到底是從哪兒來(lái)的?

A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.
故事的起源是蘇美爾人發(fā)現(xiàn)的一個(gè)假想中的行星尼比魯,有很多說(shuō)法說(shuō)它將撞擊地球。這個(gè)大災(zāi)難說(shuō)法起初預(yù)測(cè)的末日時(shí)間是2003年5月,但在那一天什么事都沒有發(fā)生,所以末日日期又被挪到2012年12月,和古老的瑪雅人日歷紀(jì)元在2012年冬至日結(jié)束聯(lián)系在了一起,這也就是2012年12月21日是世界末日說(shuō)法的起源。

Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?
瑪雅人日歷會(huì)在2012年12月結(jié)束嗎?

A: Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then -- just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.
你家廚房的墻上也掛著日歷,12月31日一年結(jié)束,新的日歷就會(huì)繼續(xù)下去。同樣的,瑪雅人日歷也不會(huì)在2012年12月21日停止存在。這一天只是瑪雅人一個(gè)紀(jì)元的結(jié)束,但隨著而來(lái)的是瑪雅人長(zhǎng)紀(jì)歷的開始,就像我們的新一年的日歷從1月1日開始一樣。

Q: Is NASA predicting a "total blackout" of Earth on Dec. 23 to Dec. 25?
地球在23日至25日會(huì)完全黑暗3天嗎?

A: Absolutely not. Neither NASA nor any other scientific organization is predicting such a blackout. The false reports on this issue claim that some sort of "alignment of the Universe" will cause a blackout. There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. One major alignment occurred in 1962, for example, and two others happened during 1982 and 2000. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.
絕對(duì)不會(huì)。包括NASA在內(nèi)的任何科研機(jī)構(gòu)從沒有預(yù)測(cè)過(guò)“黑暗3天”。這個(gè)錯(cuò)誤的論調(diào)稱“行星將會(huì)連成一線” 導(dǎo)致地球黑暗,我們確信,在未來(lái)幾十年之內(nèi)都不會(huì)有行星連線現(xiàn)象,而且即使行星出現(xiàn)了連線現(xiàn)象,它們對(duì)地球的影響也可以忽略不計(jì)。1962年、1982年和2000年都發(fā)生過(guò)大規(guī)模的行星連線情況,每年12月地球、太陽(yáng)都會(huì)和銀河系的近似中心連成一線,但從未出現(xiàn)任何異?,F(xiàn)象。

Q: Is the Earth in danger of being hit by a meteor in 2012?
2012年地球會(huì)不會(huì)被流星撞擊?

A: The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today NASA astronomers are carrying out a survey called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs.
一直以來(lái)地球總會(huì)跟彗星和小行星發(fā)生碰撞,但重大撞擊的情況非常少見。上一次的重大碰撞發(fā)生在6500萬(wàn)前,造成了恐龍的滅絕。NASA國(guó)家航空航天局的宇航員一直都在進(jìn)行一個(gè)名為“太空衛(wèi)士”的調(diào)查,在任何接近地球的小行星撞擊地球很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間之前,就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)它們。根據(jù)我們的觀測(cè),絕對(duì)不會(huì)有像殺死恐龍的小行星出現(xiàn)撞擊地球的情況發(fā)生。