Mayan astronomical secrets

1. Mayan Astronomical Secrets
By: Thomas Schneider
Professor: Harold Williams
Astronomy 101

2. • The Mayans were able to develop a
complex calendar system through careful
observations with were built upon the
foundation set by the Toltecs.
• These two primitive civilizations were able
to track the movements of stars against
the perfectly aligned pyramids which they
built

3. • The Mayan used 17 different calendars in
their culture; the two most important being
the Tzolk’in and the Haab.
• The Tzolk’in is based I the cycles of the
Pleiades which is 26,000 years but is used
in fractal form containing 260 days which
also relates very closely to the time when
a woman first stop menstruating and when
her child is born.

4. • The Tzolk’in calendar is divided into 13-20
day months.
• The Haab calendar, also called the Long
Count Calendar, is the other important
Mayan calendar which is based upon the
movements of the sun.

5. • The New Year on the Haab calendar
begins at the winter equinox where a
figure of a serpent shines through a hole
in the wall of a temple and the proceeds to
slither up the wall.
• The zenith is then calculated to be 60
days later.

6. • The Haab calendar was created for agricultural
purposes and was therefore the Haab dates
change in order to accommodate the 365.2422
year which the Mayans were able to calculate
with great accuracy.
• The Mayan were able to estimate of the year by
dividing 1,101,600 by 365, subtracting 2, and
taking that number and dividing 1,101,600 by the
result, which gives us an answer of 365.242036
days, which is slightly more accurate than the
365.2425 days of the Gregorian calendar.

7. • The Haab calendar is devided into 18, 20
day months with one 5 day month and the
end of the year.
• The Tzolk’in calendar by comparison has
been followed unbroken for 3,000 years.
• By combining the Tzolk’in and Haab
calendars a 52 year cycle results which is
known as the Calendar round.

8. • In Mayan culture a person did not become
an elder until they had lived through one
calendar round.
• Through careful observations of the
pleiades relative to their massive step
pyramids, the Mayans were able to
calculate the precession of the earth.

9. • They then determined through extensive
calculations that the May 20, 2012 the
Pleiades and the sun would be aligned
due to the precession of the earth and will
rise at the same time to their Zenith, with
the moon reaching it’s zenith on that day
as well.

10. • By December 21, 2012 the Sun will be in
alignment with the dark rift in the milky
way which happens to be the Galactic
center.
• This moment signifies then end of the
would According to the Mayans.