It has been a hot debate whether the world will end on Friday, December 21, 2012.

The Mayan Calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and is claimed to be the start of a world apocalyptic event. While most people look at it as another prophecy that will not happen, some people believed that the prediction is true.

According to CNN, the calendar had a 5,126-year cycle, so many wonder why the ancient civilization, known for their advanced grasp on astronomy, chose this date. The Mayan calendar is divided into bak'tuns, 144,000-day cycles. According to NBC News, the last cycle on the calendar is fast approaching.

Other people believe that instead of destruction, humanity will enter a new era both physically and mentally. Skeptics believe nothing will happen at all and refer to the craze as an Internet hoax.

Mayan experts, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States government also debunked the apocalyptic prediction.

During a recent symposium in Yucatan, Mexico, three Mayan culture experts readily debunked rumors of an impending apocalypse.

The conference, called "Mayan Cosmic Gathering," included archeologist Tomas Gallareta, astronomer Arcadio Poveda Ricalde and professor Marte Trejo, who delivered speeches clarifying misconceptions about the Mayan calendar.

According to a statement released for the event, the three Mayan experts concurred that the Mayan calendar does not predict the end of the Earth.

To put your mind at ease, below are the five reasons why the Mayan Calendar 2012 is not true.

  1. There is no dwarf planet found inside the solar system. Just like Pluto, dwarf planets reside outside the solar system. Nibiru, Planet X or Eris is all Internet hoax. Astronomers would have seen it coming if the planet is really headed towards Earth.
  2. No asteroids are found near Earth. The Earth has been under the threat of meteors but it is not something major. NASA is constantly monitoring the surrounding area to look for a large asteroid that may hit the Earth. However, none is found.
  3. Solar storms have minimal impact to Earth. According to NASA, Solar activity has a regular cycle, with peaks approximately every 11 years. Near these activity peaks, solar flares can cause some interruption of satellite communications, although engineers are learning how to build electronics that are protected against most solar storms. But there is no special risk associated with 2012.
  4. Polar shifts are normal and does not cause harm to Earth. The magnetic polarity of Earth changes irregularly with a magnetic reversal taking place every 400,000 years on average. It does not cause any harm to life on Earth. Scientists believe a magnetic reversal is very unlikely to happen in the next few millennia.
  5. Mayan Calendar is just a calendar and means rebirth. Mayans were brilliant mathematicians and fantastic record keepers. They did not have just one calendar. They developed many different kinds, including a cyclical solar calendar and a sacred almanac. New evidences led to the discovery of facts that the Earth will live on for the next 7,000 years ahead.