NASA says Friday won't be doomsday

Updated 11:44 AM ET May 3, 2000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Relax! NASA says this Friday will not be doomsday. And if any disasters do occur, please don't blame the planets.

Rumors of a new apocalypse to arrive at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT) on Friday probably got started when people realized that Earth's moon and the five bright planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- will line up on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth.

"The world hasn't ended any of the other times that the planets moved into what astronomers call conjunction, so there's no reason to think it will this time," the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on its Web site, www.nasa.gov.

"There may well be tsunamis, earthquakes or other natural disasters Friday, but they won't be caused by the other planets," NASA said.

The planetary line-up will not be visible from Earth because the Sun's glare will get in the way, according to Sky & Telescope, the popular astronomy magazine. There will be another tight planetary grouping on May 17, and that will not be visible either.

Sky & Telescope's Alan MacRobert poured cold water on any fears of high tides, intense earthquakes, or even the wobbling of the poles.

"Let's get real," he said in a statement. "Nothing like that is going happen."

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), May 03, 2000

Answers

The pollies will sure get it this time. Ive prepped more for this than I did for Y2K. I never thought Y2K would be bad. Just grab a cave by Thursday night.

-- Sureglad (thanks@foritcoming.com), May 03, 2000.

Oh great, just great! You get all psyched up--and then BOOM!--you're still alive the next morning. What a bummer. :)

-- Gia (laureltree7@hotmail.com), May 04, 2000.

If the world is going to end on Friday I just hope it's before noon because I have dentist appointment I'd rather not go to anyway :^)

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), May 04, 2000.

LOL, Jim!

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), May 04, 2000.

Just read somewhere that the geophysical effects from this planetary line-up may not be over until later this year -- say October or so. There has been a noticeable reduction in California earthquake activity in the last week. This often precedes a bigger one. I wonder...

-- Quakeman (qman@quaking.inhis.boots), May 04, 2000.

Sorry, Friday is not a good day for the end of the world. Its my 1st day off after a run of night work, and I'm looking forward to a 4 day break. I also have a flight medical for my pilots licence renewal due on Monday.

Therefore, I'll just have to ask that the end of the world be postponed until Tuesday at the earliest.

-- Malcolm Taylor (taylorm@es.co.nz), May 04, 2000.

what makes me angry is we will not see this as it will happen behind the sun.

-- boo (boo@home.com), May 04, 2000.

I vaguely recall reading that this "lineup" actually subtends an arc of about 26 degrees, not exactly a straight line. Does anyone have details? And as I understand it, for a while the solar system's center of gravity will actually move out past the surface of the sun. Has this already occurred this time?

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), May 04, 2000.

people realized that Earth's moon and the five bright planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- will line up on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth.

The Earth's moon on the opposite side of the sun from the Earth. Good trick. Sounds like one of the science writing experts from out J-School.

Best wishes,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 04, 2000.

I sense an imminent major disaster on a scale unseen in our lifetimes.

-- (visions@of.future), May 04, 2000.