NASA confirms Planet X EXISTS but could mythical Nibiru really DESTROY earth next month?
Prophecies say the upcoming solar eclipse on August 21 is a sign of the impending doom brought by Planet X, also known as Nibiru in September.
The Nibiru Cataclysm myth dates back to 1976, when writer Zecharia Sitchin claimed that two ancient Middle Eastern cultures – the Babylonians and Sumerians – told of the giant Nibiru which orbited the Sun every 3,600 years.
Self-proclaimed extraterrestrial psychic Nancy Lieder then warned Nibiru would crash into Earth or pass it causing huge earthquakes and tidal waves from the gravitation pull.
Various alleged dates for a strike with Earth have come and gone.
So what is the truth?
NASA confirmed the existence of a hypothetical new Planet X deep in space in the solar system.
Scientists have evidence of the Neptune-sized mystery planet orbiting our sun in a highly elongated orbit far beyond Pluto.
NASA says there is no threat from Nibiru or Planet X
The Nibiru/Planet X conspiracy theory has been gaining momentum for years.
They said it could have a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbit about 20 times further from the sun than Neptune, taking a whopping 10,000 and 20,000 Earth years to make one full orbit around the sun.
So were the Nibiru conspiracy theorists right all along?
Well, NASA did nothing to quell the conspiracy theories by calling it "Planet X" as well as "Planet 9".
However, the space agency says if it does exist it poses no risk to us.
A section about the alleged threat posed by Nibiru on the NASA website says: "Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat."
Previous dates given that had come and gone in 2003 and 2012.
The report adds: "The story started with claims Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth.
"This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003 but, when nothing happened, the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 - hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.
"Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims."
The agency said if Nibiru were headed for an encounter with the Earth, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye.
Yet, NASA's official debunking has done little to quell the fears being peddled online.
The upcoming solar eclipse on August 21 is a sign from above of the impending doom, claim fanatical Christian conspiracy theorists.
More than half the planet will witness a once-in-a-lifetime event – dubbed the Great American Total Solar Eclipse - when the moon covers the sun and it causes a sudden drop in temperature, plunging the Earth into darkness.