This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

NASA Had To Release A Statement Explaining That Planet Nine 'Nibiru' Won't Kill Us

The planet might destroy Earth -- it'll just take around 7 billion years.
This wasn't the first time NASA had to deny the conspiracy theory.
Getty Images
This wasn't the first time NASA had to deny the conspiracy theory.

NASA has released a statement providing evidence of a ninth plane that might be 10 times the mass of Earth, and 20 times more distant from the sun than Neptune.

But the premier space organisation also had to take time to debunk myths that the planet, dubbed 'Nibiru' by doomsayers, will cause the end of the world.

"If a planet is there, it's extremely distant and will stay that way (with no chance -- in case you're wondering -- of ever colliding with Earth, or bringing 'days of darkness')".

This follows an earlier press release where denied the planet existed at all.

"The planet in question, Nibiru, doesn't exist, so there will be no collision".

"The story of Nibiru has been around for years (as has the 'days of darkness' tale) and is periodically recycled into new apocalyptic fables."

Online discussion about Nibiru may have started as early as 1995, when the conspiracy website ZetaTalk was created, according to the Telegraph.

Many believed that the end of the world would start on September 23 of this year.

While NASA originally denied the presence of the planet, they are now making the case that the planet almost certainly exists.

"There are now five different lines of observational evidence pointing to the existence of Planet Nine," explained Konstantin Batygin, who is a planetary astrophysicist at Caltech.

"If you were to remove this explanation and imagine Planet Nine does not exist, then you generate more problems than you solve. All of a sudden, you have five different puzzles, and you must come up with five different theories to explain them."

But the conspiracy theorists could be onto something when it comes to Planet Nine.

A 2016 study from the University of Warwick warns that when the planet hurtles into the solar system on its orbit around the sun, it might throw planets out into space in a pinball effect.

But don't go hide in your bunker just yet -- it should take another 7 billion years before there's a chance of that happening.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.