Planet Nibiru should be here by now
I love this quote from NASA astrobiologist David Morrison. He is referring to allegations that there is a conspiracy to keep secret from the public that: 1. a rogue planet is heading for earth (since 2003 but strangely, it hasn’t got here yet), 2. This rogue planet has a 3,600 year orbit and was discovered by the ancient Mesopotamians who called it Nibiru, 3. The ancient Maya knew about this planet and associated it with the end of the world in 2012. Evidently many people believe the information is being kept secret from the public. These people believe that Nibiru would be visible with the naked eye in 2009 (and should therefore now in 2012 be really visible with the naked eye but is not) and even before that time, the earth’s axis would be tilting (I assume more than it is tilted presently) causing a change in the length of the day. Morrison’s answer to those to accuse astronomers of keeping this information secret is:
I was introduced to this conspiracy theory in December 2007, when I began to receive questions about Nibiru submitted to NASA’s “Ask an Astrobiologist” Web site. I normally receive about a dozen questions per week from the public dealing mostly with life in the universe, but sometimes they include UFOs and visiting aliens. Nibiru seemed different, since it was claimed to be an actual planet that was being tracked by astronomers but hidden from the public. Knowing that the astronomers of the world, both professional and amateur, are a free-spirited group who couldn’t keep a secret even if ordered to, I assumed that Nibiru was the sort of Internet rumor that would quickly pass.
~ The Myth of Nibiru and the End of the World in 2012