The scientific community does not expect the end of the world in 2012 as predicted by the Mayan Prophecy, although increased solar activity may harm satellites and endanger astronauts, a Russian doctor of physical and mathematical sciences said on Monday.

"The solar exposure on near-Earth space will increase, causing perturbations in the atmosphere, which will break space apparatus," Vladimir Kuznetsov who works for the Institute of Earth magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio waves of the Russian Academy of Sciences said. "Enhanced radiation could also endanger cosmonauts."

December 12, 2012 is the end of a calendar created by the ancient Mayan civilization of South America. Over the years, scientists and speculators have proposed numerous astronomical alignments and formulas, which allegedly prove that the end is nigh. [ ROANOVOSTI ]