Astronomers report a faint shimmering curtain of light has become visible at the edge of the solar system. It is not clear what this is. It looks a bit like the aurora borealis in pictures. There is a lot of speculation with suggestions ranging from a sheet of interstellar gas which has just become visible as it is lit up by solar radiation to a suggestion that it is a contact between the brane on which our universe sits and another brane. Scientists on the TV suggest there is no cause for concern.
It seems that the astronomical phenomenon is somehow fixed in space relative to the earth which is approaching it not just with the speed of its orbit, the motion of the sun or even that of the galaxy. It seems somehow it remains still in relation to the local group of galaxies. When first sighted it was about 10 billion km away. Earth is approaching it at something like 500 km/s. So it appears that in something like 231 days earth will pass through it.
The press suggest that the world might end when it hits the phenomenon. They start calling it The Barrier. They say the earth could be sterilized by radiation or broken to pieces. Others suggest that the earth could fly into another dimension. Others assume it is just another scare or even a hoax to get more funding for astronomy. 22 April 2012 gets the name Doomsday.
Observations have continued. It appears that it is definitely not a gas cloud or anything like that. The Barrier is moving away from Earth with the expansion of the universe but is static compared with the proper motion of everything else. The brane theory is gaining ground. Scientists don’t know what will happen when the earth hits the barrier but are making observations as other objects strike it. As it is possible to see objects behind it is clear that radiation passes through it.
President Obama makes a statement to the American People saying that they have the best scientist studying the phenomenon and that it is important for everyone to keep calm and hold together in this worrying time.
The Barrier causes a distortion of light passing through it. It bends or lenses light.
Various marginal religious figures start to suggest that the end of days are coming. Gradually their movements gain popularity. Especially in the US there is a huge rise in religion with fervour rising as the day approaches. The news is full of mass suicides, people giving away all their property, pilgrimages and marches. Conventional religious groups seem unsure as to how to interpret events and get rather left behind.
Vladimir Putin appears before the State Duma. In his speech he states that Russian scientists have studied the Barrier and he has been assured that is poses no threat to life on earth and seems to mock the hysterical reactions in the US. He also announces his intention to run for the presidency again in 2012. This is interpreted by the Russian media as a sign that there is nothing to worry about.
Eris passes the barrier apparently unscathed. There is a bright flash mostly in the visible spectrum as it goes through but with some more energetic radiation. Whilst this says nothing about what will happen to life it at least shows that Eris didn’t break up as the more gloomy predictions had it.
There are discussions about getting a space probe to pass through the Barrier. The main issue is that even if a probe could go as far out as Mars it would only give about 1.5 days of time before earth passes through anyway. After a while it is decided that there isn’t enough time to prepare a mission and get in an appreciable distance from earth. NASA will rely on its existing probes.