Nibiru cataclysm facts for kids
V838 Monocerotis, a variable star accompanied by a light echo, has been erroneously portrayed as an approaching planet or brown dwarf on a collision course with Earth.
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| Claims | Earth's imminent collision or near miss with a giant planetoid |
|---|---|
| Related scientific disciplines | Astronomy, archaeology |
| Year proposed | 1995 |
| Original proponents | Nancy Lieder |
| Subsequent proponents | Marshall Masters, Jaysen Rand, Pana Wave, David Meade, Terral Croft, Paul Begley, Matt Rogers |
| Pseudoscientific concepts | |
The Nibiru cataclysm is a made-up story about a giant planet or object called Nibiru or Planet X. Some people believed it would crash into Earth or pass very close to it in the early 2000s. This event was supposed to cause huge disasters.
The idea started in 1995 with a woman named Nancy Lieder. She claimed that aliens from the Zeta Reticuli star system spoke to her. She said these aliens warned her that Nibiru would come into our Solar System in May 2003. This would cause Earth's poles to flip, destroying most of humanity.
Even though the 2003 date passed without anything happening, the Nibiru idea kept spreading. It became linked to the 2012 phenomenon, which was another belief about the end of the world. Later, people connected Nibiru to real space objects like Comet ISON or Planet Nine.
The name "Nibiru" comes from writer Zecharia Sitchin. He wrote about ancient Babylonian and Sumerian myths. However, Sitchin himself said his work had nothing to do with a coming apocalypse. Scientists say there is no evidence for Nibiru. They call it a fake science and an Internet hoax.
Contents
The Story of Nibiru
How the Idea Started with Nancy Lieder
The Nibiru story began with Nancy Lieder from Wisconsin. She claimed that gray aliens called Zetans contacted her when she was a girl. She said they put a device in her brain to communicate. In 1995, she started a website called ZetaTalk to share her ideas.
Lieder first got attention in 1997 when Comet Hale–Bopp was visible. She claimed the comet was fake and a trick to hide the arrival of "Planet X." She said Planet X would soon pass Earth and destroy civilization. But Hale–Bopp turned out to be a very bright and real comet. Lieder later removed her false claims from her website.
Lieder described Planet X as being about four times bigger than Earth. She said it would come closest on May 27, 2003. This would make Earth stop spinning for almost six days. Then, Earth's poles would physically shift, causing huge disasters. When May 27, 2003, passed with no problems, Lieder said she had told a "white lie" to trick powerful people. She refused to give a new date.
Zecharia Sitchin and Ancient Myths
Even though Nancy Lieder first called it "Planet X," the object became known as "Nibiru." This name comes from the books of Zecharia Sitchin. He wrote about ancient Mesopotamian texts. Sitchin believed a giant planet called Nibiru (or Marduk) passed Earth every 3,600 years. He thought its smart inhabitants, the Anunnaki, interacted with humans. Lieder connected her Planet X to Sitchin's Nibiru in 1996.
Sitchin, who passed away in 2010, said his work had no link to Lieder's claims. He even wrote a book in 2007 saying Nibiru's last pass was in 556 BC. This would mean it would return around 2900 AD.
People who believe in the Nibiru cataclysm often say the "winged sun" symbol from ancient times actually shows Nibiru. They think it would look like a "winged star."
The 2012 Connection
Many groups linked the Nibiru idea to December 21, 2012. This date was special because it marked the end of a cycle in the ancient Maya calendar. Several writers wrote books connecting Nibiru to 2012. Even after 2012 passed, some websites still claimed Nibiru was on its way.
After 2012, Lieder claimed that world leaders planned to announce Nibiru's presence in October 2014. When that didn't happen, she said it was because powerful groups stopped the announcement.
The 2017 Revival
In 2017, a person named David Meade brought the Nibiru story back. He called himself a "Christian numerologist." Meade said he found secret codes in the Bible that showed when Nibiru would arrive. He also used the Giza Pyramids for his predictions.
Meade first said Nibiru would arrive in October 2017, then changed it to September 23. He focused on a special alignment of the Sun, Moon, and planets in the constellation Virgo. He also pointed to the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 as a sign.
Meade's claims got a lot of media attention. Fake news stories spread online, saying NASA had confirmed Nibiru. But NASA has always said Nibiru does not exist. Other Christians also criticized Meade. After his predictions failed, Meade changed the date again to October 5, 2017. Then he predicted more disasters, including a nuclear attack and huge earthquakes.
Later, another writer, Terral Croft, predicted Nibiru for November 19, 2017. He described Nibiru as a "black star" that would cause massive earthquakes. However, the United States Geological Survey showed that earthquakes had actually decreased. A YouTube personality and pastor named Paul Begley also predicted Nibiru's appearance in 2017.
Why Scientists Say Nibiru Isn't Real
Astronomers completely reject the idea of Nibiru. They have tried to tell the public that there is no threat to Earth.
- It would be visible: If such a large object were close to Earth, we would easily see it with our eyes.
- It would affect other planets: Its gravity would mess up the orbits of other planets, and we would have noticed this already.
- It doesn't fit physics: An object like Nibiru could not have an orbit that brings it close to Earth without causing huge changes to our planet and its Moon.
- It would be gone: If Nibiru were a "brown dwarf" (a type of failed star), it would be very massive. It would have been thrown out of our Solar System long ago by Jupiter's gravity.
- No effect on Earth's spin: Claims that Nibiru could stop Earth's rotation or shift its axis go against the laws of physics. Stopping Earth's spin would release so much energy that the oceans would boil!
NASA space scientist David Morrison explained that if Nibiru had passed Earth before, our planet would not be in its current orbit. Also, if such a giant planet existed beyond Pluto, amateur astronomers would easily see it.
Conspiracy Theories About Nibiru
Many people who believe in Nibiru think that NASA is hiding its existence. They believe NASA gets a huge amount of money, like the military, to keep this secret. However, NASA's budget is actually very small compared to the US government's total spending.
The IRAS Satellite Story
One claim involves the IRAS infrared space observatory, launched in 1983. A newspaper article briefly mentioned an "unknown object" that was "possibly as large as the giant planet Jupiter." Nibiru believers, including Nancy Lieder, used this as "proof." But later analysis showed these objects were distant galaxies or clouds of dust, not a planet in our Solar System.
The South Pole Telescope Claim
Another claim is that the US government built the South Pole Telescope (SPT) to track Nibiru. They said it had taken pictures of Nibiru. But the SPT is a radio telescope, which means it cannot take optical pictures like a camera. Its location at the South Pole is for scientific reasons, not to hide a planet. The "picture" of Nibiru shared online was actually an image from the Hubble Space Telescope of a star called V838 Monocerotis, which is very far away.
Google Sky and Missing Data
Some people claim that a missing patch of data in Google Sky near the constellation Orion is proof that Nibiru was hidden. But this area can be seen by many amateur astronomers. A Google scientist said it was just a software error when putting images together.
Other Space Objects Confused with Nibiru
People who believe in Planet X/Nibiru have often mixed it up with other real or made-up objects in space.
Planet X (The Original)
Lieder got the name "Planet X" from a hypothetical planet astronomers once looked for. They thought it was pulling on the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. In 1894, astronomer Percival Lowell believed another planet was out there. However, later research showed that the supposed pulls on Uranus's orbit were due to scientists overestimating Neptune's mass. Today, astronomers agree that the original Planet X does not exist.
Hercolubus
In 1999, a writer named V. M. Rabolú wrote that Barnard's star was a planet called Hercolubus. He claimed it came dangerously close to Earth in the past and would do so again. Nancy Lieder used his ideas. However, Barnard's Star is a real star, but it is very far away (about 5.98 light years). It will not come close to Earth until around 11,700 AD, and even then, it will still be far away.
Nemesis
Some Nibiru believers confuse it with Nemesis, a hypothetical star. In 1984, a physicist named Richard A. Muller suggested that mass extinctions on Earth happened in a pattern. He thought a hidden companion star to our Sun, called Nemesis, caused this. He believed Nemesis would pass through the Oort cloud (a shell of icy objects far from the Sun) every 26 million years. This would send comets toward Earth, causing disasters. But no evidence for Nemesis has been found. Nemesis, if real, would have an orbit thousands of times longer than Nibiru's and would never come near Earth.
Sedna or Eris
People also confuse Nibiru with Sedna or Eris. These are real objects discovered by astronomer Mike Brown. Eris is a dwarf planet slightly bigger than Pluto. Sedna is slightly smaller than Pluto. Both have orbits that keep them very far from Earth.
Tyche
Others have linked Nibiru to Tyche, a name proposed for an object believed to influence comets in the Oort cloud. Scientists said evidence for Tyche would be found from a telescope survey. But in 2014, NASA announced that the survey ruled out Tyche's existence. Like Nemesis, Tyche would also be very far away and not a threat to Earth.
Comet Elenin
Some people associated Nibiru with Comet Elenin, a comet discovered in 2010. Even though it was very small (about 3–4 km wide), claims spread that it was a giant brown dwarf on a collision course. Scientists explained that comets are too small to cause earthquakes or affect planets. Comet Elenin actually broke apart in 2011 before its closest approach.
Comet ISON
In 2012, Comet ISON was discovered. It was expected to pass close to Earth in December 2013. Believers linked it to Nibiru, claiming it would hit Earth or break into pieces that would hit Earth. Images of "fragments" were just camera errors. Comet ISON also broke apart as it passed the Sun.
Planet Nine
In 2014 and 2016, astronomers found evidence that a large, distant planet, called "Planet Nine," might exist beyond Neptune. This planet would be about ten times the mass of Earth. Nibiru believers immediately claimed this was proof for their ideas. However, astronomers pointed out that Planet Nine, if real, would always be very far from the Sun and Earth. It would never come close enough to cause any problems.
How People Reacted
The fear of the Nibiru cataclysm has greatly affected astronomers. Mike Brown said Nibiru was the most common fake science topic he was asked about.
Before he retired, NASA scientist David Morrison received many emails about Nibiru. Some people were scared, others were angry and accused him of being part of a cover-up. Some even asked if they should harm themselves or their families.
Scientists often wonder if they should respond to such claims. They weigh the benefit of calming the public against the risk of giving more attention to a non-scientific idea. Morrison hoped that when Nibiru didn't arrive, it would teach people to think logically. But he doubted it would happen. He noted that many people online believed in Nibiru, while most scientists had never even heard of it.
Nibiru in Pop Culture
- A marketing campaign for the 2009 movie 2012 mentioned Planet X as a doomsday scenario. This led to more worried calls and emails to scientists.
- The 2011 film Melancholia was inspired by the Nibiru idea.
- A planet named "Nibiru" appeared in the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness.
- In the cartoon Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Nibiru was a storyline. It was a planetary alignment that allowed aliens to cross over to Earth.
- The Yu-Gi-Oh! card "Nibiru, the Primal Being" shows a huge asteroid-like object heading for a planet like Earth.
See also
In Spanish: Cataclismo de Nibiru para niños
