Killer Solar Flare Won't Destroy Earth in 2012, NASA Says

By Mike Wall / Source: Space.com

If the world ends in 2012, the sun won't be to blame, NASA officials say.

Contrary to what some doomsayers would have you believe, our star isn't capable of blasting out a solar flare powerful enough to burn our planet to a crisp, according to the space agency.

"Most importantly, however, there simply isn't enough energy in the sun to send a killer fireball 93 million miles to destroy Earth," NASA officials wrote in a Nov. 10 statement.

The Mayans' "long-count" calendar is set to expire on Dec. 21, 2012, marking the end of a 5,126-year epoch. This factoid has inspired some folks to start girding up for the coming apocalypse — and to start predicting what may bring it about.

One popular theory is that a huge solar flare could do the Earth in. Some fearmongers have pointed out that the sun's activity is ramping up, implying that a killer outburst could be coming next year.

The sun is indeed building up toward the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. But that peak is expected to come in 2013 or 2014, not 2012, researchers said. Also, countless solar maxima have come and gone over the years, and we — and the Earth — are still here.

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