December 21, 2012

I’ve never heard of the upcoming movie 2012 until after I read Angel’s comment on my previous entry.

But instead of trying to find out what the movie is about, I went looking for information about the year itself thinking that, for something (such as those four numbers) to be used as a movie title, there must be something big about it.

And, sure enough, there is.

If you don’t know it yet, take note of this date… December 21, 2012.

Some say it’s the day of the end of the world (again), while others say it’s a “moment of awakening”.

Interesting!

Although I’m not really a believer of prophesies and predictions (as well as astrology, ghosts, and dream interpretations), I nevertheless find these things fascinating and entertaining.

So, what is it about the date?

Well, THEY (scholars) say that the Mayan's "Long Count" calendar ends on that day, marking the end of a 5,126-year era (well, some are saying it’s October 28, while others say it’s December 23. But a majority believes it’s December 21). And many (not the scholars) are interpreting this as an indication for the occurrence of a huge event.

However, the Mayans never really mentioned (or even hinted at) anything about an apocalypse… to them, it’s just a cycle. When a cycle reaches its end (being the 5,126th year), they just reset the year to zero and start counting again.

According to an article I found on the topic:

"'For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle,' says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla."

Another thing that THEY’re saying will occur on that date is the alignment of the Earth and Sun (and I think the Moon is also in with the act) with the center of the Milky Way galaxy. A phenomenon which is estimated to happen only once in 26,000 years! Now, if you’re a believer of Astrology, this is without a doubt a huge thing.

Along with that, NASA has claimed that the Sun will experience another “polar shift” during that year (that being the North Pole becomes the South and vice versa). The last time the Sun had its poles shifting occurred in February 2001.

Also, Michael Drosnin, in his book The Bible Code (which I’ve personally read and have already long forgotten until now), mentions of a meteor hitting the Earth in 2012.

But then, so far, there are no detected meteors which are in a collision course with the Earth. The closest one would be “99942 Apophis” which, in 2004, was observed to have the probability (of 1 in 233) of colliding with the Earth in 2029. Later on, the date of probable impact was moved to April 13, 2036 considering that the meteor passes through a “gravitational keyhole”, the occurrence of which was calculated with a 1 in 45,000 probability.

Personally, I don’t see any real cause for alarm from any of these… however fascinated I still am. For me, it’s really more of “what if” rather than “OMG!”