When Is The Apocalypse? December 21 Mayan Prediction Explained

From International Science Times:  When Is The Apocalypse? December 21 Mayan Prediction Explained

When is the Mayan apocalypse? We've heard for years that the world will end in 2012, according to ancient calendars and predictions, but now that doomsday is just over a month away the question is: what will the apocalypse entail and when exactly will it happen?
The ancient Mayan calendar was unlike any modern calendar. The Mayans considered the concepts of 'time' and 'date' as intermingling spiritual cycles. Their calendar itself was a sacred object, with each day getting its own spirit.
So why are talking about the Mayan calendar? Because it ends on December 21, 2012 CE. It is believed by many, including a number of living tribes in America and around the world, that Dec. 21 will bring the end of our world and the "regeneration" of a new earth. Apocalypse.
If you're asking, "What did the Mayans know?" the answer is "a lot." Their civilization perfected a form of astrology based on the cycle referred to as the Precession of the Equinoxes. This 26,000 year cycle detailed the Earth's passing through all 12 zodiac signs, each one lasting 2,000 to 2,150 years and representing a single cosmic year.
In addition, the Mayan developed methods of architecture, art, math and science based along the same principles, and built stone pyramids and monuments based on specific computations. The reason for this heroic effort, many believe, was to leave behind a warning that the Apocalypse would come in 2012.
The Mayan's predicted that the end of the current cosmic year will bring with it new age and creation in the form of a worldwide apocalypse. The prophecy was also allegedly confirmed by Mayan King Pacal Voltan, who believed that the end of the world would occur on our December 21, 2012, the Winter Solstice.
If you're having trouble believing the predictions of long-extinct Mayans and their King, then get ready for a bombshell: modern science confirms the Apocalyptic prophecy, and even tells us exactly what time it will happen.
On December 21, 2012 at exactly 11.11 PM Universal Time (AKA Greenwich Mean Time) the sun will be positioned exactly in between earth and the center of the Milky Way. According to American Academic Lawrence Joseph, when this happens "whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted."
What exactly will occur when this happens on Decmeber 21 is unclear, but some believe that gravitional, magnetic and solar energies could be dramatically altered, causing worldwide national disasters while weakening the earth's magnetic field to allow solar radiation to penetrate the atmosphere.
In "The Mayan Prophecies," authors Adrian Gilbert and Maurice Cotterell argue that "long-term sunspot cycles" could actually flip the planet's magnetic field.
The end of 2012 also marks the transition from the current zodiac age of Pisces to the age of Aquarius. While Pisces (fish) has come to represent Christianity, religion and order, Aquarius could bring the end of the civilization of the beginning of something new, possibly through violent change.
However, others believe that the age of Aquarius will bring a "Golden Age," through a radical change in civilization and a departure from Pisces society. The word apocalypse can also signify a transition between ages (possibly a violent one), rather than simple the end of everything.
Of course, not everyone believes the world will end on December 21. Mayanist scholar Mark Van Stone has even argued that "there is nothing in the Maya or Aztec or ancient Mesoamerican prophecy to suggest that they prophesied a sudden or major change of any sort in 2012," adding that the concept of a Mayan apocalypse is a completely modern invention.
Susan Milbrath, curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History told USA Today,"We have no record or knowledge that [the Maya] would think the world would come to an end."
Executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies Sandra Noble takes the perspective even further, telling USA Today, "For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle."