Another Expert Agrees With Dark Comet Theory

I’m not the best at this game. It took me over a decade to work out the most likely reason for the existence of the Long Count calendar, and although I mention it a lot in passing I’m not sure if I have actually announced my discovery. And I just realized I should be putting it on the home page of this site, so the thousands who visit every day can read my thoughts.

With just 8 days to go, here is my official announcement: 2012 Solved!

1. Many ancient cultures (including the Maya) were capable of watching the skies over long periods of time (longer than we have), and recording their observations.

2. Auroras at low latitudes (down towards the equator) are very rare, less than once per lifetime. Ancient cultures, unable to explain their presence, could have been very scared and concerned when auroras were observed.

3. By noting auroral activity over centuries or even millennia, a repeating pattern might have been discovered.

4. Of the various ways an ancient culture could have warned of the next bout of low latitude auroras, one is a calendar with a definitive end date, such as the Long Count calendar of the ancient Maya. Because the calendar was in continuous use, the end date was not forgotten.

Auroras might have been just scary lights in the sky for ancient cultures, but they can kill us. Low latitude auroras only appear during the most massive solar storms. Those same storms can take out the power grids of modern society (countries closest to the poles with the oldest grids are at the most risk – and that includes the USA), and take months or even years to repair. That would equal millions of deaths. Read more about the risks of Solar Storms.