Certain hoaxes, like the one claiming Mars will look as big as the moon, keep getting circulated year after year, despite being debunked repeatedly. Another such hogwash claim states that NASA predicted a global blackout in December that will last for three days due to alignment of the universe. Supposedly, the events would temporarily cause our planet to venture through different dimensions, causing big changes.

Though it should go without saying, it obviously doesn't, so I’ll say it: the whole thing is complete bullshit. NASA never made any claims that anything even remotely similar to that sequence of events would happen. Ever.

Snopes has already debunked this hoax that was based on emails similar to this:

“US scientists predict Universe change, total blackout of planet for 3 days from Dec 23 2012. It is not the end of the world, it is an alignment of the Universe, where the Sun and the earth will align for the first time. The earth will shift from the current third dimension to zero dimension, then shift to the forth dimension. During this transition, the entire Universe will face a big change, and we will see a entire brand new world.. The 3 days blackout is predicted to happen on Dec 23, 24, 25….during this time, staying calm is most important, hug each other, pray pray pray, sleep for 3 nights…and those who survive will face a brand new world….for those not prepared, many will die because of fear. Be happy, enjoy every moment now. Don’t worry, pray to God everyday. There is a lot of talk about what will happen in 2012, but many people don’t believe it, and don’t want to talk about it for fear of creating fear and panic.”

The absurdity began in 2012, when everyone was already rife with paranoia over the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the world. To make matters worse, the rumor predicted that this three days of darkness would begin on December 21, the day we were all supposed to die.

This frenzy was fed by NASA administrator Charles Bolden’s video advocating for emergency preparedness. This video was not directed at any upcoming event in particular; it was just providing good information to maintain safety provisions in the event of emergency situations like tornadoes, earthquakes, or floods. Many perpetuating the conspiracy added Bolden’s video to their obscene claims, and the context made it look like an official warning of things to come.

E. C. Krupp, Director of Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, wrote an article for Sky & Telescope Magazine in 2009 that debunked any notion of anything bad happening in 2012, and that there would be no cosmological alignment that would be potentially harmful. Despite making everything crystal clear in advance, the rumors still flew around.

I’m not sure what kind of dickbag thinks it’s funny to keep revamping this insanity every year, but here we are. There’s no need to panic or even be slightly concerned about this. Really, the only thing you need to do in response to someone “informing” you of this malarky is to politely correct them, and then possibly find better friends.