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:
Continue readingI 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
If you’re looking for some real scientific answers to questions about Nibiru, 2012, and the end of the world, here’s a great NASA website in which NASA Space Scientist David Morrison answers questions such as the following. Check it out, there’s also a video.
Continue reading6. There are many photos and videos of Nibiru on the Internet. Isn’t that proof that it exists?
The great majority of the photos and videos on the Internet are of some feature near the Sun (apparently supporting the claim that Nibiru has been hiding behind the Sun for the past several years.) These are actually false images of the Sun caused by internal reflections in the lens, often called lens flare. You can identify them easily by the fact that they appear diametrically opposite the real solar image, as if reflected across the center of the image. This is especially obvious in videos, where as the camera moves, the false image dances about always exactly opposite the real image. Similar lens flare is a source of many UFO photos taken at night with strong light sources such as streetlights in the frame. I am surprised that people don’t recognize this common photo artifact. I am also amazed that these photos showing something nearly as large and bright as the Sun (a “second sun”) are accepted together with claims made on some of the same websites that Nibiru is too faint to be seen or photographed except with large telescopes.