"In fact, if anyone from the ancient Maya civilization were alive today, they would be celebrating the date just as we celebrate New Year's Eve." Al Hariri added: "If you are looking for an apocalypse, it's scientific theories about meteor strikes, supervolcanoes and
hypernovas that you should be worried about."
Hypernovas are essentially giant supernovas, or exploding stars.
They have christened these '
hypernovas' - stars 20 times larger than our sun undergoing their final death throes.
Some scientists believe these
Hypernovas are more than just exotic.
He suggests that both remnants represent material left over from the much more energetic outbursts called
hypernovas.
He argues that if supernovas mark the birth of neutron stars, then
hypernovas and gamma-ray bursts may mark the birth of black holes.