# Mayan calendar and earth's magnetic pole reversal. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621 "2012-04-13T00:28:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/1 "2012-04-13T00:28:19Z")
I just heard a commercial on tv that claimed that according to the Mayan Calendar the Earth’s magnetic poles will reverse and throw everything out into space. I doubt this, but I’m wondering what it could be on that venerable calendar they base this claim on. My question is about information derived from the calendar, not the Earth’s magnetic poles. Please. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/2 "2012-04-13T00:44:05Z")
The Mayan calendar rolls over from the 12th b’ak’tun to the 13th b’ak’tun. A b’ak’tun is 144,000 days. > **[Maya calendar | Long Count](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_calendar#Long_Count)** > > Since Calendar Round dates repeat every 18,980 days, approximately 52 solar years, the cycle repeats roughly once each lifetime, so a more refined method of dating was needed if history was to be recorded accurately. To specify dates over periods longer than 52 years, Mesoamericans used the Long Count calendar. > The Maya name for a day was kʼin. Twenty of these kʼins are known as a winal or uinal. Eighteen winals make one tun. Twenty tuns are known as a kʼatun. Twenty kʼatuns make a bʼakʼtun. > Th... ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/3 "2012-04-13T01:02:20Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > The Mayan calendar rolls over from the 12th b’ak’tun to the 13th b’ak’tun. > A b’ak’tun is 144,000 days. > > [Maya calendar - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_calendar#Long_Count) Interesting link. Thanks. So does this rollover coincide soon with a date on our calendar? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/4 "2012-04-13T01:11:27Z")
December 21st 2012 is the roll over date. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/5 "2012-04-13T01:14:29Z")
I’ll never learn to [look](http://www.ancient-mythology.com/mayan/2012.php) before I leap. Guess I let those “reporters and pundits” lead me astray. Interesting though. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/6 "2012-04-13T01:34:11Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I just heard a commercial on tv that claimed that according to the Mayan Calendar the Earth’s magnetic poles will reverse and throw everything out into space. The commercial says that Earth’s _gravity_ will reverse and throw everything out into space. Magnetic pole reversal wouldn’t have that effect. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/7 "2012-04-13T01:55:02Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > The commercial says that Earth’s _gravity_ will reverse and throw everything out into space. Magnetic pole reversal wouldn’t have that effect. You’re right. In that case, it must really be gonna happen, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/8 "2012-04-13T01:59:56Z")
“South - it’s the new North.” But seriously, other than throwing off a bunch of magnetic-type compasses, would magnetic pole reversal really have much effect? It’d throw off the internal compasses of lots of animal species -? Or… oooh… maybe reverse the flow of various magma currents? Hey, just trying to keep up the paranoia here. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/9 "2012-04-13T02:02:59Z")
According to [this calendar](http://www.calendars.com/Kitten-Cuddles-2012-Wall-Calendar/prod201200005408/?categoryId=cat00186&cm_vc=PDPZ1&navCount=1&related=PDPZ1), the world ends on December 31, 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/10 "2012-04-13T02:25:47Z")
> [@](#): > > “South - it’s the new North.” But seriously, other than throwing off a bunch of magnetic-type compasses, would magnetic pole reversal really have much effect? South being where North was (and vice-versa) wouldn’t matter much in itself, aside from the obvious need to relabel compasses. However, the process of reversal itself could be damaging: During the reversal (which could take perhaps decades; we’re not sure, having never witnessed one), the magnetic field over most of the Earth would be much weaker, which would result in a much higher rate of cosmic rays hitting the Earth, possibly causing anything from cancer to disruptions of weather patterns. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/11 "2012-04-13T02:44:39Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I just heard a commercial on tv that claimed that according to the Mayan Calendar the Earth’s magnetic poles will reverse and throw everything out into space. What product can they possibly hope that this ‘information’ will persuade us to buy?😕 > [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > The commercial says that Earth’s _gravity_ will reverse and throw everything out into space. Magnetic pole reversal wouldn’t have that effect. Or, indeed, this?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/12 "2012-04-13T03:29:39Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > “South - it’s the new North.” But seriously, other than throwing off a bunch of magnetic-type compasses, would magnetic pole reversal really have much effect? Yes, it would affect the planet’s ability to fend off solar radiation. When the fields reverse there is a collapse of the magnetosphere. Takes awhile for it to happen. Something like 1,000 to 10,000 years. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/13 "2012-04-13T03:32:34Z")
I think it would be very interesting to see how animals that use the Earth’s magnetic field cope during the switchover. Maybe they will use other methods of navigation until the reversal is complete? ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/14 "2012-04-13T03:48:15Z")
Well the calendar rolls over (in some traditions) but the only reference to the event isn’t very clear about what happens (and some of the hieroglyphs are degraded). They did believe the world has been destroyed and recreated five times before, and will be again; this time it will be by earthquakes, not pole reversal or gravity. I doubt they even understood the concept of pole reversal. But they didn’t specify a calendar date for the next bout of world destruction. Most of the 2012 stuff you see in popular culture comes from New Age psychics and such. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/15 "2012-04-13T03:57:09Z")
On January 31st, our calendar ends. So? The ad was to debunk the myth. The ad goes on to say- _but if it doesn’t won’t you need a financial plan?_ ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/16 "2012-04-13T04:21:24Z")
I read a book in the 1970s by some psychic claiming the poles would shift shortly into this century, and the result would be that the oceans and lakes would shift, also, placing some populated areas under the sea, and drying up what is now rge ocean floor to become land. I live in southern Illinois and am waiting for Lake Michigan to come rushing down the street. Is what the OP is talking about something like that? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/17 "2012-04-13T04:35:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > On January 31st, our calendar ends. So? > > The ad was to debunk the myth. The ad goes on to say- _but if it doesn’t won’t you need a financial plan?_ To extend your point. Like our calendar the Mayan calendar doesn’t end with a counting rollover. If Wikipedia is to be believed there are at least two more digits in the Mayan base 20 long calendar count. So we are less than 1/400th of the way to the end of the Mayan calendar. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/18 "2012-04-13T07:28:26Z")
Oh, and we are roughly “due” for a pole reversal, but it’s one of those geologic timescale things: “Due” could mean any time in the next ten thousand years or more. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/19 "2012-04-13T15:54:57Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > “South - it’s the new North.” But seriously, other than throwing off a bunch of magnetic-type compasses, would magnetic pole reversal really have much effect? > > It’d throw off the internal compasses of lots of animal species -? Or… oooh… maybe reverse the flow of various magma currents? > > Hey, just trying to keep up the paranoia here. Given that there have been [184 geomagnetic reversals in the past 83 million years](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal#Geomagnetic_polarity_time_scale), an average of once every 450,000 years (FWIW, the last one occurred 780,000 years ago, so we are overdue, but millions of years have passed between some reversals), it is a pretty regular occurrence, geologically speaking; there is also no evidence that it has any significant adverse effects on life, whether by throwing off migration or radiation. The latter in particular may be because when you hear of the Earth’s magnetic field disappearing, what really happens is that the _dipole component_ of the field disappears; in other words, instead of a north-south field, you have a chaotic mess of N-S poles all over the globe (as shown [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NASA_54559main_comparison1_strip.gif)). Incidentally, [the Sun undergoes a magnetic reversal every 11 years](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cycle), so we have a pretty good idea of what happens during these periods, which is to say not much (on the scale of the Sun, that is). ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621/20 "2012-04-13T16:35:12Z")
Magnetic pole reversals [don’t happen on a particular date](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal). We think they take between 1000 and 10,000 years to happen. What happens is that the dipole component of the Earth’s magnetic field (the component of the magnetic field that makes there be a magnetic North and South pole) gradually diminishes in strength, and eventually a new dipole component becomes established in the opposite direction. We’re pretty sure it’s not like someone flips a switch and all compass needles immediately flip 180 degrees. It’s not terribly meaningful to attach a particular date to a gradual phenomenon like that. I don’t think there’s any evidence at all that the Maya knew that the Earth has a magnetic field, or knew that the Earth’s magnetic field reverses itself, or even knew that magnetic fields exist, when they were setting up their Long Count calendar. If that’s the case, they couldn’t possibly make any kind of meaningful prediction of a geomagnetic reversal. There are planets with very weak or no magnetic fields. The moon does not have a dipole magnetic field, nor does Mars or Venus. Things on the surface of the moon, Mars, and Venus don’t spontaneously fly off the surface and into space. Gravity does not require a magnetic field to work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayan-calendar-and-earths-magnetic-pole-reversal/618621.md?page=2)