From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2012 (MMXII) will be a leap year starting on a Sunday. In the Gregorian calendar, it will be the 2012th year of the Common Era, or of Anno Domini; the 12th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century; and the 3rd of the 2010s decade.

It has been designated Alan Turing Year, commemorating the mathematician, computer pioneer, and code-breaker on the centennial of Turing's birth.^[1]

There are a variety of popular beliefs about the year 2012. These beliefs range from the spiritually transformative to the apocalyptic, and center upon various interpretations of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Contemporary scientists have disputed the apocalyptic versions.^[2]

Predicted and scheduled events

January

• January 13–22 – The first Winter Youth Olympics will be held in Innsbruck, Austria.
• January 31 – 433 Eros, the second-largest Near Earth Object on record (size 13×13×33 km) will pass Earth at 0.1790 astronomical units (26,778,019 km; 16,639,090 mi). NASA studied Eros with the NEAR Shoemaker probe launched on February 17, 1996.^[3]

February

• February 6 – Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the Thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia & New Zealand (as well as the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth).

March

• March 22 – Unless the European Council votes to extend current copyright law, The Beatles' debut album, Please Please Me, will fall out of copyright.^[4]

April

• April 17 – The United States will cede wartime control of the military of the Republic of Korea after 50 years and dissolve the Combined Forces Command. Two distinct military commands (South Korea and the United States) will operate in Korea during wartime, rather than one unified command under the Combined Forces Command.^{[citation needed]}

May

• May 20 - Annular solar eclipse. Path of annularity runs through the Pacific Ocean from northern China to California.

June

• June 6 – The second and last solar transit of Venus of the century. The next pair is predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125.
• June 18 – June 23 – Turing Centenary Conference at the University of Cambridge, in honor of the mathematician, computer scientist, and cryptographer Alan Turing, the last day of the conference being the hundredth anniversary of his birth.^[5]

July

• July 18–21 – The 2012 World Rowing Championships will be held at Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
• July 27 – Opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics begins in London at 7:30 pm UTC, 8:30pm BST.^[6]

August

• August 12 – Closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, a Sunday.
• August 29 – Start of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

November

• November 6 - United States presidential election, 2012
• November 13 - Total solar eclipse (visible in northern Australia and the South Pacific).

December

• December 21 – 11:12 UTC. Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.^[7]
• December 21 – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, notably used by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization among others, completes a "great cycle" of thirteen b'ak'tuns (periods of 144,000 days each) since the mythical creation date of the calendar's current era.
• December 31 – The Kyoto Protocol will expire.

Unknown dates

• China will launch the Kuafu spacecraft.
• Pleiades, a proposed super computer built by Intel and SGI for NASA's Ames Research Center, will be completed, reaching a peak performance of 10 Petaflops (10 quadrillion floating point operations per second).^[8]
• Sequoia, a proposed super computer built by IBM for the National Nuclear Security Administration will be completed, reaching a peak performance of 20 Petaflops.^[9]
• On the sun, the solar maximum of Solar Cycle 24 in the 11-year sunspot cycle is forecast to occur. Solar Cycle 24 is regarded to have commenced January 2008, and on average will reach its peak of maximal sunspot activity around 2012. The period between successive solar maxima averages 11 years (the Schwabe cycle), and the previous solar maximum of Solar Cycle 23 occurred in 2000–2002.^[10] During the solar maximum the sun's magnetic poles will reverse.^[11]

2012 in fiction

Major religious holidays

• January 7 – Christmas Day by Julian Calendar (Celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Christians)
• February 1 – Imbolc, a Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places)
• February 5 – Mawlid an Nabi – Islam
• February 22 - Ash Wednesday - Western Christianity
• March 8 – Purim – Judaism
• March 8 – Holi – Hinduism
• March 20 – Spring Equinox, Persian New Year (Nouruz), also known as Ostara
• April 1 – Ramanavami – Hinduism
• April 6 – Hanuman Jayanti – Hinduism
• April 7 – Passover – Judaism
• April 8 – Easter – Western Christianity
• April 15 – Easter – Eastern Christianity
• May 1 – Beltane, a Cross-quarter day
• May 27 – Shavuot – Judaism
• June 17 – Lailat al Miraj – Islam
• June 20 – Summer solstice, also known as Midsummer
• July 20 – Ramadan Begins – Islam
• August 1 – Lammas, a Cross-quarter day
• August 2 – Raksha Bandhan – Hinduism
• August 10 – Janmashtami – Hinduism
• August 19 – Eid al Fitr – Islam
• September 17 – Rosh Hashanah – Judaism
• September 21 – Fall Equinox, also known as Mabon
• October 1 – Sukkot – Judaism
• October 2 – Mehregan – Zoroastrianism and Persian Culture
• October 24 – Vijaya Dashami/Dusshera – Hinduism
• October 26 – Eid al-Adha, a religious festival in Islam
• November 1 – Samhain, a Cross-quarter day, Neopagan new year and Christian All Saints' Day
• November 13 – Diwali – Hinduism
• November 15 – Islamic New Year
• December 9 – Hanukkah – Judaism
• December 21 – Winter solstice, also known as Yule
• December 25 – Christmas – Western Christianity

Notes

References

• Finley, Michael (2002). "The Correlation Question". The Real Maya Prophecies: Astronomy in the Inscriptions and Codices. Maya Astronomy. http://members.shaw.ca/mjfinley/corr.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
• Houston, Stephen D. (1989). Reading the Past: Maya Glyphs. London: British Museum Publications. ISBN 0-7141-8069-6. OCLC 18814390. 
• Houston, Stephen D.; Oswaldo Fernando Chinchilla Mazariegos, and David Stuart (eds.) (2001). The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3204-3. OCLC 44133070. 
• Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6. OCLC 27667317. 
• Schele, Linda; and David Freidel (1990). A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0-688-07456-1. OCLC 21295769. 
• Voss, Alexander (2006). "Astronomy and Mathematics". in Nikolai Grube (ed.). Maya: Divine Kings of the Rain Forest. Eva Eggebrecht and Matthias Seidel (assistant eds.). Cologne: Könemann. pp. 130–143. ISBN 3-8331-1957-8. OCLC 71165439. 
• Wagner, Elizabeth (2006). "Maya Creation Myths and Cosmography". in Nikolai Grube (ed.). Maya: Divine Kings of the Rain Forest. Eva Eggebrecht and Matthias Seidel (Assistant eds.). Cologne: Könemann. pp. 280–293. ISBN 3-8331-1957-8. OCLC 71165439. 

From Wikiquote

From Familypedia

2012 (MMXII) will be a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Predicted and scheduled events

January

• January 15 — Presidential elections in Finland
• January 23 — Chinese New Year and scheduled new moon.^[1] This time of year is associated with the Water-Dragon in Chinese astrology.^[2]
• January 31 — 433 Eros, the second-largest Near Earth Object on record (size 13x13x33 km) is expected to pass Earth at 0.1790 astronomical units (~16.647 Million Miles). NASA studied Eros in the NEAR Shoemaker probe launched February 2000.^[3]

February

• February 5 — Super Bowl XLVI will be played.
• February 6 — If she is still on the throne, Elizabeth II will celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. A series of festivities across the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations will likely run throughout the year.

April

• April 1 — The United States Census of 1940 is released to the public.
• April 17 — The United States will cede control of the military of the Republic of Korea after 50 years of control.

May

• May 20 — Annular solar eclipse, a Sunday.
• May - French Presidential election (if the incumbent's term had normally finished in May).
• May - Irish general election due to be held if the current government remains in office for a full term.

June

• June 6 — Second and last solar transit of the planet Venus of this century; the next pair is predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125 (see Transit of Venus).
• June 9–July 1 — 2012 European Football Championship will be played in Poland/Ukraine.

July

• July 1 — The first possible government in Hong Kong elected by Universal suffrage take office.
• July 1 — Presidential Elections in Mexico.
• July 27 — Opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics begins in London at 7:30 pm UTC, 8:30pm BST.^[4]

August

• August 12 — Closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, a Sunday.
• August 29 — Start of the 2012 Summer Paralympics

September

• September 9 — Finish of the 2012 Summer Paralympics

October

• October 19 — at 1:36 UTC, the Earth will be home to 7 billion people, according to the US Census Bureau.^[5][6]

November

• November 6 — United States presidential election
• November 6 — United States Senate elections
• November 6 — United States House of Representatives election
• November 6 — Puerto Rico general election
• November 13 — Total solar eclipse (visible in northern Australia and the South Pacific).
• November 28 — Penumbral lunar eclipse

December

• December 3 — Jupiter oppositions.
• December 21 — The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, notably used by the Maya civilization among others of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, completes its thirteenth b'ak'tun cycle since the calendar's mythical starting point (equivalent to 3114 BC August 11 in the proleptic Gregorian calendar, according to the "GMT-correlation" JDN= 584283).^[7] The Long Count b'ak'tun date of this starting point (13.0.0.0.0) is repeated, for the first time in a span of approximately 5,125 solar years. The significance of this period-ending to the pre-Columbian Maya themselves is unclear, and there is an incomplete inscription (Tortuguero Stela 6) that records this date. It is also to be found carved on the walls of the Temple of Inscriptions in Palenque, where it functions as a base date from which other dates are computed.^[8] However, it is conjectured that this may represent in the Maya belief system a transition from the current Creation world into the next. The December solstice for 2012 also occurs on this day.
• December 23 — The alternative date for the completion of the thirteenth b'ak'tun cycle in the Maya calendar, using a version of the GMT-correlation based on a JDN of 584285 (a.k.a. the "Lounsbury correlation"), which is supported by a smaller number of Mayanist researchers.^[9]
• December 31 — Expiration of the Kyoto Protocol.

Unknown dates

• Trinidad and Tobago will hold their general elections.
• The Replacement Eastern Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will open to traffic, replacing the old Eastern cantilever span that was damaged in the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, almost a quarter century (23 years) after the span was damaged^[10]
• India's 11th Five-Year Plan (2007–2012) ends and the 12th one (2012–2017) starts.
• The United Kingdom plans to complete 5-year process to cease analogue television broadcasts region-by-region, with Meridian Broadcasting, ITV London, Tyne Tees Television and UTV being the last areas to switch off analogue.^[11]
• Australia and Ireland plan to cease analogue television broadcasts.
• This is the year when California's ban on the production of foie gras is scheduled to take effect.
• NASA's new Orion spacecraft is scheduled to become fully operational for International Space Station support flights.
• China plans to launch the Kuafu spacecraft
• Freedom Tower in New York City: Construction is scheduled to be finished by 2012 at the latest.
• Sight & Sound magazine will conduct its Top Ten Films of All-Time poll for the seventh decade since 1952.
• The Hallandsas Ridge Tunnel is set to be completed, 17 years behind the original plan.
• The Canberra class light aircraft carriers/large amphibious ships, the largest ships ever to be operated by the Royal Australian Navy, are planned to be in service by 2012.
• NASA predicts that the Sun will also reverse its own magnetic poles during 2012 as result of reaching the end of the current 11-year sunspot cycle.^[12]
• The Canadian Navy receives the delivery of the first Joint Support Ship.
• In 2012, asteroid 99942 Apophis comes into view again to recalculate odds of impact.
• Charles Manson will be eligible for a parole hearing again.

Major religious holidays

• January 7 — Christmas Day by Julian Calendar (Celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Christians)
• February 1 — Imbolc, a Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places)
• February 5 — Mawlid an Nabi - Islam
• March 20 — Spring Equinox, also known as Ostara
• April 8 — Easter
• May 1 — Beltane, a Cross-quarter day
• June 17 — Lailat al Miraj - Islam
• June 20 — Summer solstice, also known as Midsummer or Litha
• July 20 — Ramadan Begins - Islam
• August 1 — Lammas, a Cross-quarter day
• August 19 — Id al Fitr - Islam
• September 21 — Fall Equinox, also known as Mabon
• November 1 — Samhain, a Cross-quarter day and Neopagan new year
• November 15 — New Year - Islam
• December 21 — Winter solstice, also known as Yule
• December 25 — Christmas

Metaphysical predictions

2012 is sometimes claimed to be a great year of spiritual transformation (or apocalypse). Many esoteric sources interpret the completion of the thirteenth B'ak'tun cycle in the Long Count of the Maya calendar (which occurs on December 21 by the most widely held correlation) to mean there will be a major change in world order..

Accordingly, several eclectic authors claim that a major, world-changing event will take place in 2012:

• The 1995 book The Mayan Prophecies linked the Maya calendar with long-period sunspot cycles.
• The book 2012: Mayan Year of Destiny claims the Maya may have been instructed in their wisdom by discarnate entities from Orion and the Pleiades. Contact was maintained through shamanic rituals conducted in accordance with the movements of planets and stars. However, some Mayan priests living and working in Guatemala assert that there is no legitimacy to this theory.
• The 1997 book The Bible Code claims that, according to certain algorithms of the Bible code, a meteor, asteroid or comet will collide with the Earth.
• The book The Nostradamus Code speaks of a series of natural disasters caused by a comet (possibly as above) that will allow the third Antichrist to disperse his troops around the globe under the guise of aid in preparation for a possible nuclear war, although in the strictest sense it is unspecific as to nuclear war or some other natural or man caused destruction.
• The book The Orion Prophecy claims that the Earth's magnetic field will reverse.
• The 2005 book Beyond 2012: Catastrophe or Ecstasy by Geoff Stray reviews several theories, prophecies and predictions concerning 2012 and finds where authors have used faulty information or have bent the truth to fit their theories.
• The 2006 book 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck discusses theories of a possible global awakening to psychic connection by the year 2012, creating a noosphere.
• The 2007 book Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation into Civilization's End by Lawrence Joseph does not make any specific new predictions, but it reviews a number of 2012 predictions made by various sources, and presents arguments for the possible existence of dangerous positive feedback loops involving solar storms, Earth's magnetic field, cosmic rays, hurricanes, global warming, earthquakes, and supervolcanoes that may be on the verge of erupting.

Other prophecies and apocalyptic writings and hypotheses for this year include:

• Terence McKenna's mathematical novelty theory suggests a point of singularity in which humankind will go through a great shift in consciousness.
• Some proponents of a peak oil catastrophe place major events in 2012. Richard C. Duncan's book The Peak of World Oil Production and the Road To The Olduvai Gorge claims that the Olduvai cliff will begin and permanent blackouts will occur worldwide. Several studies predict a peak in oil production in or around 2012. ^[13][14][15]
• Some alien-enthusiasts (e.g. Riley Martin), along with some new-agers, believe 2012 to correspond approximately with the return of alien "watchers" or "caretakers" who might have helped the first human civilizations with developing their technology and may have been waiting for us to reach a higher level of technological and/or social advancement. Beliefs range from the extra-terrestrials having benevolent purposes — such as to help human society evolve — to malevolent purposes — such as enslavement of mankind and/or manipulation.
• There is a Hindu following indicating the appearance of an Avatar (God in human form) with God-like powers who will herald a new age. A website to this effect appears at: End of the World 2012.

References to 2012 in the arts

Literature

• Methuselah's Children (1941/1958) and Time Enough for Love (1973) by Robert A. Heinlein: A crucial meeting of the Howard Families takes place, following the election of Nehemiah Scudder for president of the USA. In both novels, viewpoint character Lazarus Long is asked what happened at this meeting as he is the last living eyewitness; in both novels he declines to answer. Nehemiah Scudder establishes a religious dictatorship in the USA.
• The Notion Club Papers by J. R. R. Tolkien (1945): About one-quarter of the papers are found among sacks of waste paper at Oxford by a Mr. Green.
• "Domain" and "Resurrection" by author Steve Alten: A fictional series that tells the events of the Gabriel twins after discovering the mystery behind 2012.
• "2012: The War for Souls" by author Whitley Strieber is a fictional novel about three parallel earths and the occurrences leading up to December 21, 2012 in each as the walls between them begin to thin and allow passage through gateways to the others.

Comics

• The Invisibles ("The Invisible Kingdom," 1999–2000): The Invisibles' "fictional" universe expands into the meta-context of the "higher universe," possibly our own.
• Twenty Twelve is a Canadian online animation series involving Aliens plotting to host an intergalactic television show which will terminate mankind. The alien television show involves the Christ Vs. Antichrist on Dec.21 2012.

Music

• "A Certain Shade of Green," a song from the Incubus album S.C.I.E.N.C.E., references 2012 in the following lines: Are you gonna stand around till 2012 A.D.? / What are you waiting for, a certain shade of green?. December 21, 2012 also appears to be the date when the video for the song "Warning" is supposed to take place.
• Genesis's song Get'em Out By Friday from their 1972 album Foxtrot, sets "18/9/2012" (on the printed operistic-dialog lyrics) as the date when "Genetic Control" would set a height restriction on human beings so that twice as many people could fit on real estate properties.
• "Pesky Solar Flares", by Angie Strange has lyrics relating to coronal mass ejections occurring during the Winter Solstice of 2012. The song was available as a free download on the website of the popular American conspiracy talk radio show Coast To Coast Am.
• The (həd) p.e. song "I.F.O." (to be found on their second, self-titled album), which is about UFO sightings and governmental conspiracies to cover them up, references the year 2012: "Prepare to meet your maker in the skies over the pyramids / Check Stonehenge / Go ask the Mayans / 2012 soon come / I will be waitin' sayin' I told you so / When the skies are ripped open / And the mothership lands on your cynical ass".
• (hed) p.e. also references 2012 in "Killing Time" from their third album "Broke". come Twenty Twelve, come twelve tribes, come twelve strands, come twelve lives Twelve steps, twelve months, twelve drug dealers
• Stones Throw Records artist Dudley Perkins released his LP, entitled 'Expressions', in 2006
• The Some Girls song "Mayans Suck Earth Rules" presents a counter argument to the ancient predictions regarding 2012, even posing the question, "Oh yeah?"
• The instrumental song "December 21, 2012" by Frodus, which appears as a B-side to their best-selling 7" vinyl single of their Devo cover "Explosions" (Released 1997).
• The Anaal Nathrakh song "Timewave Zero" is about the apparent end of the world on December 21, 2012. The lyrics are translated as "The 21st Of December, 2012, The time will come"
• The A Day To Remember song "Fast Forward to 2012" refers to the world ending in 2012 as a warning for friends to do something to prepare.
• British nu-rave outfit Klaxons sing about apocalyptic horsemen in their song "Four Horsemen Of 2012" (Xan Valleys EP)
• The song "2012 — Demise of the 5th Sun" by the melodic death metal band Scar Symmetry is a reference to the year 2012. "For the lines on the fractal wave / Fit the course of history / They're created to work as one till the end / When the winter solstice comes / Actualizing the prophecy / The demise in 2012 realized"
• The Testament song "3 Days in Darkness", off of The Gathering album is a song about 2012, and speaks of the earth being swallowed in molten fire.
• VNV Nation's album Praise The Fallen" has the subtitle "PTF 2012", which is also the name of a track in the album, which seems to be predominantly about an upcoming war. The song, "Honour" starts with the line, "Passive fields, January 2012..."
• Heavy metal band Burnt By The Sun's two albums both deal with prophecies concerning the year 2012.
• "2012" is the name of the 2005 album by the experimental rock band Old Time Relijun, and several songs make references to ancient Mayan culture, such as "Burial Mound" and "The King of Lost Light."
• On the band Hella's album There's no 666 in Outer Space there is a track called "2012 and Countless" in which the only words are "There's no 666 in Outer Space" repeated.
• Metal band Ewigkeit's album Radio Ixtlan has a track entitled "Live at Palenque 2012" referencing both the Mayan calendar date and the site at which the Temple of Inscriptions where it is carved.
• Canibus mentions the year 2012 and December 21, 2012 on his Poet Laureate Infinity vocals and on his 2007 album For Whom the Beat Tolls.

Television

• Doctor Who
  • "Dalek," 2005: A Dalek breaks loose under the Utah salt plains, and plans to kill every living thing on Earth.
  • "Fear Her," 2006: The episode is set during the lead-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
• Futurama ("Xmas Story," 1999): The War of 2012 occurs, during which talk-show host Conan O'Brien lost his "freakishly long legs."
• The X-Files ("The Truth," 2002): On December 22, Aliens invade Earth.

2012 in games

• Shadowrun: With the sixth Mayan world beginning, magic returns to the world in an event called "The Awakening."
• Escape 2012: The player's mission is to escape from alien captivity.
• In Dark•Matter, a campaign setting for the Alternity and D20 Modern roleplaying games, the institute that the protagonists belong to believe that 2012 will be the end of the world.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R — Shadow of Chernobyl is set in this year
• Psychic Force 2012 is set during this year.
• In Universe at War: Earth Assault, the Hierarchy invasion begins.
• An in-game document from The Secret World contains the date 2012 circled and underlined but the significance of this is yet unknown.
• In Shattered Union, American president David Jefferson Adams accepts his second term in office after the Supreme Court disqualifies all other presidential candidates.

Notes

References

• Wikipedia:Category:Numbers in pop culture