Will the world end on December 21, 2012?

No. We’re not going to line up with some death ray from the center of the galaxy or collide with some mysterious planetary object just because some cycle on the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end on that date (despite what you’ll come across when you enter “Maya 2012” into Google).

If you’d like to hear about what the ancient Mayans really accomplished astronomically, and why people are always so anxious to predict the end of the world, come see Dr. Anthony Aveni on Friday, April 30 at 7:00 pm in the Student Lounge at SUNY Ulster County Community College as he gives a talk on his newest book – The End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012. The talk is free and open to the general public.

Dr. Aveni has been teaching at Colgate University for over 40 years and is the Russell B. Colgate Professor of Astronomy and Anthropology, serving a dual appointment in both the Departments of Physics and Astronomy and Sociology and Anthropology. He was featured in Rolling Stone magazine's 1991 list of the ten best university professors in the country (how cool is that!) and was also voted 1982 National Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, Washington D.C.

Aveni helped develop the field of archaeoastronomy and now is considered one of the founders of Mesoamerican archaeoastronomy, in particular for his research in the astronomical history of the Maya Indians of ancient Mexico. He is the author of over twenty books on the subject.

I'll be introducing him and it should be a great talk!