Answered Questions

Following are some recent reader comments sent to Ask an Astrobiologist:

You answered everything I need to know about 2012. I have searched the internet over and over again looking for REAL scientific data on the alleged alignment and have found nothing but fear mongers, dooms-sayers, and wacked-out, wonk-head, web sites. Then, finally I found NASA and you!
AND
I... More

Why do you not provide yes or no answers, but rather beat around the bush with unrelated, sidetracking analogies when being confronted about doomsday?

OK, that is easy. Nothing will happen in 2012. All the doomsday stories are lies, just part of a big hoax. (If you want a longer answer with details, please look at the “summary” of 20 questions and answers at the top of this page).

David Morrison
NAI Senior... More

In movies extra terrestrials are always seen as being futuristic, but if EVERYTHING in the universe was created in the Big Bang, then wouldn't all lifeforms have progressed at the same relative rate?

The Big Bang created our universe about 13.7 billion years ago, but it required several billion years to manufacture the heavy elements that are necessary for life (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, etc.). Perhaps some planets with life are as much as 10 billion years old, but our Sun and solar system... More

Is it possible that the locations of Jupiter and Saturn will cause stronger solar flare ups and sun bursts in 2012? Does their gravitational pull have anything to do with these solar storms? And if solar storms do occur, and they do reach our Earth, are the places of significant 'human imprint' at more risk, than other areas?

Here is another example of cosmophobia to add to the already long list I am collecting. The answer is a simple no, the positions of Jupiter and Saturn (or any other planets) do not influence solar activity. This is not a new idea; it received a lot of discussion 35... More

I'm really worried about supernovas and hypernovas. I'm specially worried about stars called Betelgeuse, Eta Carinae, Antares and WR 104, as there is a lot of conroversial information on the internet about these stars. I Know pretty well the situation about WR 104, as you have answered it also, but the rest of the stars i mentioned are still a mystery. This is really worrying me as i can't sleep when I worry about these things (yes I'm a worryer and a bit of a cosmophobic), so it would be very helpful if you could give me the information I need so I could go on with my life.

I can think of no reason why any of the stars you mention should be considered threats. I don’t know what specific information will calm your fears, but these are just ordinary stars going about their business like the other 100 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. The most... More

If NASA discovered something and the government did not want it to be revealed to the public, would it still be publicized? And could they even keep from NASA employee’s and scientists, like they would be able to do in other government agencies? AND Where will you, your family, and the rest of the NASA team be on Dec. 21, 2012? I have been reading that NASA will not be on earth. That they will be "studying dust" on the moon. Please elaborate on why you "just so happened" to choose this date to not be here on earth with the rest of us.

These questions suggest a failure to understand what NASA is and how scientists operate. I will try to clarify. (1) NASA (a U.S. Government agency) rarely discovers anything. Individual scientists do, often with some support from NASA or using NASA instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope (which, incidentally, is operated by a private... More

I just found out about this new suicidal planet, and I heard that this new planet causes an odd effect on the sun. If this planet crashes into the sun will it hurt the sun? AND Will this newly found suicidal planet hurt Earth?

These two questions are from readers who both seem to have missed the essential point that the “suicidal planet” in the news is not part of our solar system. The discovery of this giant planet (ten times the mass of Jupiter) was reported in August. The planet is called WASP... More

I have heard that scientists say that we are approaching an ice age that could happen in this century (Approximately 2055 - 2060), they say that global warming is a step in the ice age, and I wanted to know if this would be confirmed.

No reputable scientists are predicting an Ice Age. Ice Ages are caused by very slow changes in the orbit and axis tilt of the Earth. Such cycles are completely overshadowed by the current rapid warming due to addition of heat-trapping gasses in the atmosphere. Bob Parks of the University of... More

I have a question regarding the likelyhood of panspermia. I have come across the repeated assertion by scholars that abiogenesis violates Pasteur's law of biogenesis, and that panspermia is becoming more and more likely as the alternative. Is this a valid assertion?

Scientists who study the origin of life do not quote nineteenth century “laws” such as Pasteur’s Law of Biogenesis. That is not the way science is done, and any “scholar” who makes this sort of argument today probably is not doing real scientific research on the origin of life. The... More

People are saying that a solar flare is going to hit the Earth in 2012 and "toast" us alive. What is this site http://www.instituteforhumancontinuity.org/ all about? I even saw their commercial on tv! I just want to know the truth and be prepare if something is really going to happened. AND I recently saw a commercial on Discovery's History Channel where a lottery entry has begun to "save yourself" from the 2012 doomsday event; however, it was not specified what this event may be or how these winners would be saved. AND I found this website with very believable information. Is it really true ? http://www.instituteforhumancontinuity.org/#/home. AND I saw this commercial on tv about the institute for humanity continuity and I am very scared.

About dozen people have written to me this week about ads for the Institute for Human Continuity. This is just part of the publicity for the science fiction film “2012” to be released in November. Let me be clear: (1) Nothing bad is predicted to happen in 2012. The... More

Some years ago it was confirmed that there was no life on Mars and then later after another probe was sent, it was claimed that there may well be microbes present showing early life forms. My question is if we can't even get it right in finding out about "near" planets, how can you be so sure that life doesn't exist elsewhere in other galaxies?

I am confused by your question. Scientists never have “confirmed” that there is no life on Mars. We do not know if there is life on Mars, and it will probably be many years before there is definite evidence one way or the other, as I have discussed in quite... More

I am so terrified of all this talk about doomsday. there are a lot of stories going around and it is making me nervous. It would be nice if my son could live a full life & I could be the famous painter I am striving to be. The most recent one is about Hellion-1957, a dwarf star, that will collide with the sun during the end of August 2009. The article gives coordinates, and is written by a person claiming to be someone who was kicked out of a secret government safe house. He says 2/3 of the planet will be destroyed. Will our sun be hit? What would happen if the sun was hit? Would the public know where to run for cover or be given advanced notice? How do I keep my son alive when so much seems to be going wrong?

The Internet can make a big deal out of nothing. The current wave of cosmophobia (fear of the cosmos) feeds on new “threats” discovered every week or two. Hellion 1957 is the latest example (although by the time this answer is posted it will probably have disappeared, perhaps to be... More

From the movie, 'Knowing', is there an actual list timing or recording the end of the world?

No, of course not. No one can predict the future. This film “Knowing” is science fiction, not science fact. Also, the super flare that incinerates the Earth in that film is a totally fiction; such a thing is impossible. The movie “2012” that will be released in November is also... More

I would like to know if there are any book for study in the area of astrobiology/exobiology that you could recommend to me. Thanks!

You can find a reading list of astrobiology books at http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/library-of-resources/books .

David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist

How do I become an astrologist?

I am not sure what you mean, since “astrologist” is not a word. If you mean astrobiologist, there is career path information on this website at http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/education-and-outreach/astrobiology-career-path-suggestions. If you mean astronomer, there are several good sources of information, such as this one from the American Astronomical Society http://aas.org/education/students.php. If you... More

HERE ARE TWO RECENT QUESTIONS: When will NASA actually admit to the existence of Niburu? It is in the Bible! People all over the world have seen it and taken pictures themselves. We all know that the Summerian Astrologers were very advanced, They knew of Pluto before our astrologists did. Why does Nasa try to discredit the existance of a planet the Summerians had mapped out a long time ago? ALSO I believe that Nibiru planet exists. Why are all other planets in our solar system experiencing global warming? Why did we just setup a telescope in the most uninhabitable region of Antarctica, and what is it doing now? Why is there a giant gap in the Kuiper belt? Why is Norway building underground bunkers ready for 2011? There are two more questions; if you can find answers for these I will give you a billion dollers. What exactly did the IRAS find? Why did the IRAS leading scientist Gerry Neugebauer say 'all i can tell you is we don't know what it is'?

I receive questions like this every day, and they upset me. They suggest to me that you are falling for the big Nibiru hoax, and that you have lost your critical common sense. Also apparently you have not read the “Summary” under “Special Note” at the top of the Ask... More

What is your take on crop circles? I hear they are from an extra-terrestrial source. Do you have any links to a scientific explanation of this phenomenon?

Crop circles are made by people as a prank. This question is easy to answer, since the original perpetrators have told about what they did and demonstrated how they did it. Two useful web references are “crop circle” in Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_circle] and in The Skeptic Dictionary [http://www.skepdic.com/cropcirc.html].

David Morrison More

In one of your replies about Nibiru, you say your scientists have never heard of it, are we to presume they have never heard of the internet also? If they have ever used the Internet how could they miss all the talk of 2012/Nibiru. To say your scientists never heard of it, that's just outrageous.

I guess your community and mine (NASA scientists) live in a different world. As you must know, there as a great deal of nonsense on the internet, which is where much of the world’s pseudoscience is now found. The Nibiru-2012 doomsday websites are generally awful. Most scientists don’t randomly search... More

Are there 8 or 9 planets in our solar system? i search internet, and some says there is 8 and some 9, but famous norwegian astronom says it 8 on his homepage www.bangirommet.no

The number depends on how you define “planet”. In our solar system there are 4 giant planets, 4 terrestrial planets, and approximately 4 known dwarf planets (with more waiting to be discovered in the outer solar system.) The two largest dwarf planets are Eris and Pluto. I count Eris and... More

I live in England and from my bedroom window i can see the space station every night, it just looks like a bright star in the sky. ALSO You’re Still Saying That Nibiru/Planet X is Hoax, Then How Do you Explain I Can See it From my House? ALSO please be honest for me, because i see a star but probably is not a star. in this case, i know a star is twinkling but this one is not. i never saw a star that big before.

My guess is that all three of you are seeing the planet Jupiter, which shines brightly in the southeast in the evening. I can’t be sure, of course, since you didn’t tell me what constellation it is in, or even what part of the sky. I know it is not... More