Apocalypse: 2012, 3797, or never?

RELIGION - If you missed the failed Rapture yesterday predicted by American millionaire evangelist Harold Camping, don't worry there is another chance the world might be destroyed on December 21st 2012.

See Apocalypse fails to happen.

December 21st 2012 is the day the Mayan long calendar comes to an end and a fresh calendar starts. Some religious folks however have taken this to mean the world will be destroyed on that day. It should be noted however that its just a calendar and the Mayans were not prophets.

Nostradamus however was a 16th century prophet, and he predicted a much farther away date... the year 3797. Or 3786, depending on which version of Nostradamus you read.

It should be noted however that Nostradamus' predictions were so vague they are very open to interpretation and have known to be completely wrong and off the mark.

ie. Nostradamus predicted that World War Three would start in July 1999 when Europe is invaded, the war will last until 2026 and an American city will be burnt to the ground.

HOWEVER, Nostradamus did something unusual which covers his predictions if they prove to be false. He said that mankind has the option to change/prevent his predictions from happening, simply by choosing another path. Thus his predictions aren't guaranteed. Amusing move for him to make, it makes him seem right even when he turns out to be wrong.

Here is a prediction for you...

2012 will come and go, some cults will commit mass suicide, but otherwise nothing major will happen.

3797 will come and go too, nothing spectacular will happen then either. Hopefully by then mankind will be out colonizing the galaxy and using intra-galactic travel.

And the Earth won't be destroyed, or at least not for billions of years when the sun finally goes supernova. The surface of the sun is around 5780 Kelvins and would need to go up several thousand degrees Kelvin and turn blue long before it goes supernova. It takes 15,000 years for the sun's surface temperature to go up just 1 degree Kelvin.

There is an asteroid which might hit the Earth in 2029, but the chance is minimal. Only 2.7%. In which case there is a 71% chance it would hit water and cause a tsunami. If it hit land it would destroy approx. 18,000 square km, an area 20% smaller than the state of New Jersey.

So it wouldn't be the Apocalypse, just a big impact crater.

There is also a tiny chance the asteroid could hit earth's gravity at a specific angle, fall into orbit and become a 2nd moon. Which would be interesting.