即将上映的好莱坞灾难大片《2012世界末日》将网络上盛传的“2012年12月21日为世界末日”这一所谓的玛雅预言再次拉近人们的视野。因此，美国宇航局9日再次重申，2012年12月21日并不是世界末日，传言中的X星球将与地球相撞也并不属实。科学家们表示，玛雅历法不会在2012年结束，因此玛雅人自己也没有把这一年当作是世界的末日。不过，2012年12月21日的确是玛雅人的一个重要日子。到2012年12月21日，就意味着当前时代的结束，即完成了一个轮回。玛雅人的历法将从“零天”重新开始计算，开始一个新的轮回。

　　The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, NASA insisted on Monday in a rare campaign to dispelrumors fueled by the internet and a new Hollywood movie。

　　The latest big screen offering from Sony Pictures, "2012," arrives in theatres on Friday, with a $200 million production about the end of the world supposedly based on the ories backed by the Mayan calendar。

　　The doomsday scenario revolves aroundclaims that the end of time will come as an obscure Planet X - orNibiru - collides with Earth。

　　The mysterious planet was supposedly discovered by the Sumerians, according to claims by pseudo-scientists,paranormal activity enthusiasts and internet theorists。

　　Some websites have accused the US space agency of concealing the truth about the wayward planet'sexistence, but NASA has denounced such stories as an "internet hoax."

　　"There is no factual basis for these claims," NASA said in a question-and-answer posting on its website。

　　If such a collision were real,"astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade,and it would be visible by now to the naked eye," it added. "Obviously,it does not exist."

　　"Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012," it insisted。

　　After all, "our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years," added NASA。

　　Initial theories set the disaster forMay 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter solstice in 2012, to coincide with the end of a cycle of theancient Mayan calendar。

　　NASA insisted the Mayan calendar doesnot in fact end on December 21, 2012, as another period beginsimmediately afterward. And it said there are no planetary alignments onthe horizon for the next few decades。

　　And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be "negligible," NASA said。

　　Modern Maya in Guatemala and Mexico have also rushed to debunk the "prophesy"。

　　They view the burgeoningend-of-the-world 2012 industry with a mixture of confusion,exasperation and anger at what is perceived as a Western distortion oftheir traditions and beliefs。

　　"There is no concept of apocalypse inthe Mayan culture," Jesus Gomez, head of the Guatemalan confederationof Mayan priests and spiritual guides, told The Sunday Telegraph。

　　Cirilo Perez, an adviser toGuatemala's President Alvaro Colom is a prominent ajq'ij - literally a"day counter", a wise man who makes predictions and advice on the mostpropitious dates to marry, plant or harvest. He decried the commercialexploitation of Mayan culture by outsiders。

　　"This has all become business butthere is no desire to understand," he said. "When foreigners, or evensome Guatemalans, see us, they think 'Look at the Maya, how nice, howpretty', but they don't understand us."