Armageddon. Apocolypse. Doomsday. Whatever term is used, it signifies the
end of planet Earth, or at least the end of life as we know it.
The year 2012 has been holding the proverbial trophy for the “end” prediction for several years now, thanks to the Mayans, a culture that once thrived in Mesoamerica (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador) from 2000 B.C. to approximately 250 A.D.
The Mayan culture was richly involved in astronomy, math, art, and architecture, and as a result, many interesting, historical items have been discovered in the region at which they once lived.
One such item was the Mayan calendar, which some people believe predicts the end of the world after an era of 5126 years. Specifically, it was believed that the date of December 21, 2012 at 11:11 P.M., universal time, is the official doomsday due to an upcoming astronomical event.
The winter solstace of December 21, 2012 is believed to mark the alignment of the sun with the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, which has not occurred for 26,000 years.
One Mayan man, however, does not believe that this alignment will cause mass chaos and deathly destruction. According to Apolinario Chile Pixtun of Mexico city, doomsday is simply a Western fantasy and not something the Mayans have actually predicted. He admits that it does signify the end of a major time period for the Mayans, but they have never implied the end of the planet Earth.
Will “the end” actually happen, or have humans created yet another Year 2000 epidemic of panic? The verdict is still out.