The possibilities of something actually happening and the world going into complete chaos on Dec. 21, according to most people, are slim. Even if the chance of this event occurring is unlikely, thoughts of the world bursting into flames, all civilizations losing electricity or zombies taking over still looms in the back of many people’s minds.
What if the world did combust into a fiery rage? What if solar flares knock out electricity poles and throw our civilization back more than 100 years into the past? No matter how little the chance of something catastrophic happening, no matter how ridiculous the scenario sounds, the “predictions” of what may or can happen on the day the Mayan calendar ends will haunt many human beings’ thoughts until the morning of Dec. 22.
“I think the world is going to end when God wants it to end and everybody is going to die, so for me it’s something normal,” sophomore Christian Tolentino said. “It doesn’t scare me.”
The fear of the world ending on Dec. 21 derives from a Mayan Calendar ending on that day. Rumors exist the Mayan people predicted the world to change in some way and an event to take place. However according to AP World History teacher Rena Long, the Mayans did not predict anything catastrophic at all.
They did predict that the winter solstice would fall on this day. The Mayan calendar’s end simply marks the end of a calendar just like the Gregorian calendar, our modern day calendar, ends on Dec. 31 and starts a new cycle on Jan. 1.
“There is no historical evidence that the world is going to end or that the Mayans predicted anything,” Mrs. Long said. “Not to mention they did not calculate in leap year [to their calendar.]”
NASA monitors the planet and tracks anything that is within many miles of Earth.
Although some people say there has been no proof of danger, others may disagree. Some predict the world ending includes meteors or other planets devastating Earth in some fashion. As far as it’s known, the earth has not come close to any danger from any type of debris or alien object colliding into or desecrating the planet.
“There are lots of things in the universe that could pose a threat to Earth,” astronomy teacher George Griffin said. “NASA has not reported anything to put the Earth in danger. The question is if they did know, would they tell us and start worldwide panic.”
According to Coach Griffin, solar flares pose a small threat to Earth. Solar storms happen about every 11 years and the last solar storm was in 2001, so the sun should be welcoming its next solar storm within the next two years. Solar flares can only harm the earth if they hit directly. In the small chance of flares hitting the Earth, it would cause a complete electrical outage in which modern day civilizations would be thrown back more than 100 years and forced to survive without electricity.
“We are entering a solar maximum,” Mr. Griffin said. “This is a time when the sun flares are the most common and most dangerous.”
Scientists agree life coming to an end as human beings know it will most likely not happen, but on Dec. 21 the winter solstice will take place. The winter solstice takes place every year so nothing out of the ordinary should be expected.
On Dec. 21 the sun will shine the least out of the 365 days in a whole year. Other than the annual winter solstice nothing special or life changing, ending is scheduled or actually predicted to take place.
All in all, nothing has been predicted by the Mayans or by NASA. The 21 of Dec. should be just another day students have to wake up early for school, get their school day over with then get released from school to celebrate the holidays.
Throughout history people have predicted the end of the world to come about and reign through our lives and end everything, but so far this possibility has not become part of reality.
“I don’t think it’s all that out of the ordinary for people to predict the end of the world,” Mrs. Long said. “That’s something that’s been going on forever. That’s nothing new. It’s a popular thing to predict, but nobody knows.”
