What if the Maya Were Right and Doomsday is Just Around the Corner? National Geographic Channel Investigates the Science Behind Ancient Clues in 2012: Countdown to Armageddon

What if the Maya Were Right and Doomsday is Just Around the Corner? National Geographic Channel Investigates the Science Behind Ancient Clues in 2012: Countdown to Armageddon

Examine Evidence of the Catastrophic Prophecies and Current Theories That Suggest an Imminent Doomsday Is Not Impossible

Timed With Major Hollywood Release of "2012," 2012: Countdown to Armageddon Premieres Sunday, November 8, 2009, at 8 PM ET/PT

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- What if the Maya were right about the end of humanity as we know it? Would floods destroy the nation's capital and Los Angeles slide into the Pacific? That's how Hollywood is interpreting the end of the Maya great calendar cycle on December 21, 2012, in the new movie "2012" with John Cusack. Is there truth behind the compelling myth? Now an unexpected discovery points to a catastrophic Earth event ... could this be scientific basis for the date ancient Maya astronomers anticipated thousands of years ago?

NatGeo Channel examines evidence behind the Maya calendar prophecies in 2012: Countdown to Armageddon, premiering Sunday, November 8, 2009, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, following Princeton University scientist Adam Maloof on a detective story that spans eons.

The Maya believed that everything occurred in cycles. Their calendar spanned five cycles, each lasting approximately 5,200 years. At the end of each cycle, the Maya believed the current, flawed creation had to be destroyed for the world to be born again. Some believe the end of the current cycle on December 21, 2012, is an apocalyptic sign, and they point to an unexpected discovery in 2003 by Maloof as proof.

When examining an 800-million-year-old rock in Norway, Maloof found surprising evidence that suggests the Earth's entire crust and mantle violently shifted at once. To confirm, Maloof heads to the Australian outback, where rocks found half a world apart provide further evidence. Then, Maloof travels to the Peruvian Andes after an incredible discovery was found -- 5,200-year-old plants flash-frozen. Millennia ago, when the last great calendar cycle of the Maya came to an end, rapid climate change shook up the world and devastated habitats. Today, climate change is happening again ... are we on the verge of a catastrophic event in 2012 that the Maya predicted?

For more information, visit natgeotv.com/2012.

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Source: National Geographic Channel

CONTACT: Chris Albert, NGC, +1-202-912-6526, CAlbert@natgeochannel.com,
or Photos: Doan Nguyen, +1-202-912-6708, donguyen@ngs.org

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Profile: International Entertainment