For months, weird stories have circulated on the Internet predicting the close passage by Earth this month of a Planet X sometimes called "Niburu", or in some versions a giant comet. I have even seen it linked to both Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) and Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), although why either of these is relevant is not clear to me. This news note is for those who may have heard such rumors and wondered if there was any reality to them. The simple answer is that these are lies. There is no such object. Also, there have been no unusual levels of earthquakes or solar flares or any other of the supposed precursors of terrestrial calamity. Contrary to what you see on some of these websites, nothing unusual is happening and scientists are not worried by such supposed events. Even more to the point, it is already evident that there is no large comet or looming planet bearing down on the Earth. [For those who might want to see this nonsense, try Google searches on "Niburu" or "Nancy Leider"] If you want the real story on Nibiru or Planet X, check out the following website http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/index.html.
I wonder how long this fiction can be sustained in the face of clear evidence that it is not true? The absence of the May apparition of a planet or giant comet looming large in the world's skies should be pretty obvious, and the usual story about a government cover-up would not seem to apply. I suppose, however, that the people who are expounding this nonsense will find some excuses to explain why their predictions did not materialize. |
