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Jessika Toothman
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There has been a lot of hype surrounding Dec. 21, 2012. Doomsayers and movie producers have increasingly set their sights on this calendar crux as the day the world will end. But apocalypse predictions and science fiction aside, there's next to no reason to suspect Dec. 21, 2012 will be anything but a regular winter day, notable only in that it's the season's solstice.
Some apocalypse enthusiasts point to patently ridiculous theories that leave astronomers shaking their heads, such as mysterious planets on a deadly collision course with Earth or a reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles that will wreak devastation, while others go with slightly more plausible if still farfetched theories. Solar flares are an example. Turbulent space weather can cause disruptions in communication networks and power grids; whether it can be severe enough to "end the world" is extremely unlikely.
Others say the Mayans knew what was in store for us when they contrived their Long Count Calendar. The theory goes like this: The Mayan Long Count Calendar uniquely plots some 1,872,000 days (roughly 5,125 years). Proponents of this idea say when the Long Count Calendar comes to a close, that will signal the curtain call for life on our planet. It's important to note the Mayans themselves don't feel this way, which doesn't lend a lot of credence to the theory. In their minds, the end of the calendar is simply a time of new beginning, much the same way many of us feel about New Year's Day.
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