There are a number of issues with these theories that should be noted however. Firstly, many scholars argue that in classical Maya literature there are conflicting accounts of what the end of the long count calendar might actually signify, and very few sources suggesting that it might mean an end of world scenario like the one interpreted by Micheal Coe. Secondly, the countdown was calculated differently from one Mayan city-state to another, so the precise date of the conclusion of the Mayan long count calendar is far from clear. It is also interesting that modern decedents of the ancient Maya people place little or no significance on the date December 21, 2012. Also, the ancient Maya scribes wrote about events that were set to take place after the date corresponding to December 21, 2012, so at least some of them did not predict the end of the world to take place on that date. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that either the end of the long count or its somewhat arbitrary beginning a little over 5000 years ago, have any scientific significance whatsoever.

But there are even more grand things going on in our picture of the end of the world cataclysm predicted for December 2012. Our doomsday prophecy puzzle also incorporates the idea of a significant galactic alignment that just happens to coincide with the 2012 winter solstice in December 2012, meaning the galaxy itself is conspiring against us. An American author called John Major Jenkins, who has written extensively about the Mayan culture and its relation to New Age mysticism suggests that the ancient Maya knew of this galactic alignment of planets and stars, and that this was part of their calendar countdown. However his claims, which relate to where in the sky the zodiacal constellations appear, would have had more credence in 1998 when the alignment he talks about was more precise than it will be in 2012.

No end of the world predictions would be complete without a little input from the most famous seer of them all, practically a by-word for futurology, none other than Nostradamus himself. While there are many accounts that can be found floating around the Internet, which say Nostradamus predicted the end of the world in 1997 or was it 1999, or even 2012, none of them are able to say conclusively what the predictions really were, and clearly some of them were just plain wrong, since we are still here. This is mainly because Nostradamus wrote in such an archaic language, mixed with mysticism and metaphor, no one really knows for sure what his precise meaning was in many of his predictions. In any case, most experts agree that if he did set a date for our demise it is somewhere in the late 38th century, so we should be OK for at least our lifetimes.

As well as the better known, or at least more talked about end of the world predictions, there is also a theory that a massive geomagnetic reversal is on the cards in 2012. This involves the magnetic poles and the Earth’s magnetic field completely reversing. Scientists in this area do agree that the Earth is long overdue such a reversal, and end of the world theorists have tied this into the predicted peaks in solar flare activity that are due in 2012, which could theoretically affect the Earth’s magnetic field. However experts are keen to point out that geomagnetic reversal is not something that would simply ‘start one day’. The process takes several thousand years and is not necessarily triggered by solar activity. What is more, the original predictions of a peak in solar activity in 2012 have now been put back to 2013.

Perhaps the most bizarre end of the world prophecies centres on the mysterious Planet X, which was once thought by scientists to be the tenth outlying planet in the solar system. However, later evidence proved that the perceived gravitational effects of Planet X were actually miscalculations, and that it actually never existed. Not to be put off by mere evidence, New Age thinkers, most notably Nancy Lieder, adopted the planet and re-named it Nibiru, claiming that it she had information that its orbit would take it right by the Earth somewhere around 2010, creating geomagnetic polar shifts that cause absolute devastation across the world, wiping out most of humanity. Incidentally, Lieder’s predictions are based on information she was given through an implant in her brain from aliens living in the Zeta Reticuli star system, honestly.