In No fear of 2012, Part 1, I started discussing one of the scenarios I've heard, giving supposed astronomical reasons why the world will end in 2012.

Here's another that a student brought up recently: Will the planets line up perfectly in 2012, causing disaster for Earth?

Well... no. Actually, make that definitely not.

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There's a lot of stir these days about disastrous things happening in the year 2012. I would like to start out, therefore, with one very definite statement: to the best of my knowledge, there is no scientific reason to believe that there will be any sort of global catastrophe in 2012. Further, as an astronomer, let me say that I'm quite sure that there's no evidence for any astronomical catastrophe that will doom the Earth (or the Earth's human inhabitants) in 2012, or indeed at any time in the near future.

That said, several astronomical scenarios have been tossed around as possibly ending the world in 2012. In this and succeeding articles, I'll examine a few of those I've heard.

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The Space Science Center will be hosting an Astronomy Night at Prividence Canyon State Park on Saturday, January 24, at 7 p.m. We will have a pre-show explaining some of whats currently up in the night sky, and (if it's clear) we'll have telescopes and student assistants out there to show you some of it!

For our 2009 schedule, and directions to locations where we'll be, check out the Mead Observatory website.