When Exactly Will the Mayan December 2012 "Doomsday" Begin?

For a previous geographical look at another claimed doomsday, check out When Will the Supposed Rapture of 2011 Start?

According to some, but not most Maya themselves, something like a doomsday is suppose to occur on December 21, 2012.  But the geographer in me realizes time and date are somewhat relative.  So I have to ask, when exactly will the dreaded "Mayan" December 21 apocalypse begin?

Main scenario:  Doomsday at Dawn

Most archaeologists agree that the Mayan day begins with the sunrise so we need to find when the sun would rise over the Mayan primate city to figure out when the "day" begins.  However, there was no one Mayan empire as Maya is actually a cultural grouping.  So to does this I searched for the easternmost (Tulum) and westernmost (Palenque) major Mayan cities.

I then looked up when sunrise will be for these locations by using the NOAA Solar Calendar.  The sun will rise in Tulum on December 21 at 6:21 am local time.  Meanwhile, the sun will rise in Palenque at 6:34 am local time.  This gives us an Armageddon window of 13 minutes.

So breaking this down the Mayan end of the world starts at the following local times according to sunrise over Tulum which starts the 13 minute window.

Place                                   Local Time

New Zealand                       1:21 am / 0121 on Saturday, 22 December

Sydney, Australia               11:21 pm / 2321 on Friday, 21 December

Beijing, China                      8:21 pm / 2021

Jerusalem, Israel                2:21 pm / 1421

Central Europe                   1:21 pm / 1321

London, UK                         12:21 pm/ 1221

U.S. Eastern                         7:21 am/ 0721

U.S. Central                         6:21 am / 0621

U.S. Mountain                     5:21 am / 0521

U.S. Pacific                           4:21 am / 0421

Hawaii                                  2:21 am/ 0221

Alternative 1:  The solstice is the hour of doomsday

Some, but not all, 2012 doomsayers claim the end will start at the solstice.  However, the Solstice actually occurs one hour before the sun rises (and therefore the Mayan day before the alleged end of the word).  However, here is the solstice in local times around the world for those who still try to merge the solstice and December 21 doomsday.

Place                                      Local Time
New Zealand                          12:21 am / 0021 on Saturday, 22 December
Sydney, Australia                  10:21 pm / 2221 on Friday, 21 December
Beijing, China                         7:21 pm / 1921
Jerusalem, Israel                   1:21 pm / 1321
Central Europe                       12:21 pm / 1221
London, UK                           11:21 am/ 1121
U.S. Eastern                           6:21 am/ 0621
U.S. Central                           5:21 am / 0521
U.S. Mountain                       4:21 am / 0421
U.S. Pacific                             3:21 am / 0321
Hawaii                                    1:21 am/ 0121

The Second Great Disappointment beings at...

The math is complex and anyone can argue that there is another way to figure out the exact time of the December 21 end of the world.  No doomsayer will hit the point of the Second Great Disappointment at least until the whole world changes over to December 22


Place                                      Local Time
New Zealand                          01:00 am / 0100 on Sunday, 23 December
Sydney, Australia                  11:00 pm / 2300 on Saturday , 22 December
Beijing, China                         8:00 pm / 2000
Jerusalem, Israel                   2:00 pm / 1400
Central Europe                      1:00 pm / 1300
London, UK                           12:00 pm/ 1200
U.S. Eastern                           7:00 am/ 0700
U.S. Central                           6:00 am / 0600
U.S. Mountain                       5:00 am / 0500
U.S. Pacific                             4:00 am / 0400
Hawaii                                    2:00 am/ 0200


The final nail in the coffin will be when the sun rises on December 22 over Palenque at 6:35 am local time thus ending the Mayan equivalent to 21 December.  Around the world this time is little more than half an hour after the whole world leaves December 21.


Place                                      Local Time
New Zealand                          01:35 am / 0135 on Sunday, 23 December
Sydney, Australia                  11:35 pm / 2335 on Saturday , 22 December
Beijing, China                         8:35 pm / 2035
Jerusalem, Israel                   2:35 pm / 1435
Central Europe                      1:35 pm / 1335
London, UK                           12:35 pm/ 1235
U.S. Eastern                           7:35 am/ 0735
U.S. Central                           6:35 am / 0635
U.S. Mountain                       5:35 am / 0535
U.S. Pacific                             4:00 am / 0435
Hawaii                                    2:35 am/ 0235


No one can agree when exactly the Mayan "doomsday" is set to begin because there is no Mayan doomsday scheduled for December 21.  I will end this post with Jesus Christ's saying to his followers who kept asking about when the world was going to end.


"But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Mark 13:32 RSV-CE