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What is the possibility of life other planets?

In order for life (in the form that is most familiar to us) to evolve on a planet, scientists believe that the planet must be warm enough to contain at least some liquid water, but not so hot that all of the water turns to vapor, as appears to be... More

Why is water so important for life?

Every known form of life on earth, from the largest mammals to the smallest microbes, relies on water. Why? Because water is an extraordinarily versatile molecule - it's the perfect liquid medium in which to dissolve nutrients for ingestion or wastes for excretion, to transport important chemicals or... More

I have something that may sound ridiculous to write to you but I need to ask you. My friends and I were talking today and they told me that on May 15th, there will be a comet passing the earth, not hitting it, but its gravitational pull will stop the earth from spinning cause all these things to happen and the earth will flood and there will be earthquakes and stuff. This may sound ridiculous but it would be appretiated to get a responce back.

Don't worry, these rumors of catastrophe are not true. For months, weird stories have circulated on the Internet predicting the close passage by Earth this month of a Planet X sometimes called Niburu, or in some versions it is a giant comet or asteroid. The simple answer is that these... More

What is the temperature of Europa (one of Jupiter's moons)?

Like any planet or moon, the temperature depends on where you are. On Europa this can range from as low as -200 C at the surface near the poles to a high in the deep interior that may approach the melting temperature of rocks (above 1000 C). Within its large... More

How long have humans existed on Earth?

Human have existed for roughly half a million years, but this answer depends on the exact definition of "human". Fossil evidence shows that several human-like lineages developed during the past million years or so. >From fossils, the appearance of Homo sapiens is dated at about half a million years, and... More

Is area 51 hiding u.f.o ?

No. Area 51 is an obsolete designation for a U.S. Air Force airfield near Las Vegas, Nevada. It is located adjacent to the Nevada Test Range, which was once used for nuclear weapon tests. This area has been used for testing experimental aircraft, which may have been interpreted as UFOs,... More

Have you heard about NIBIRU? Is NIBURU approaching Planet Earth ?

Nibiru is a hoax. There is no such planet. The are a lot of hoaxes on the Internet, but this one is especially strange, because there is no evidence whatever for its existence, and past predictions about it hitting the Earth several years ago were obviously wrong. David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist

How canb you call Nibiru a hoax when your own IRAS detected it and you issued a press release in 1982 which made it to 8 major newspapers?

I'm afraid you have fallen for a classic hoax. When looking into this sort of thing, you need to read past the first paragraph, since new data are always coming along in science. There is a good discussion from Caltech to be found at http://spider.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/tchester/iras/no_tenth_planet_yet.html. Briefly, IRAS (the first infrared... More

What is Planet Nibiru/Eris ? Is it going to flyby Earth in 2012 ? Are we going to survive the flyby ?

You seem to have fallen for the "Nibiru hoax". Eris is a dwarf planet in the outer solar system, a bit larger than Pluto, discovered in 2003 (see Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet)). Nibiru does not exist; it is a hoax, and certainly it has nothing to do with Eris. Wikipedia... More

II was on the NASA home page and searched Planet Niburu. Come to find out there actually is a planet beyond Pluto and they are calling it Niburu.Some said Planet Niburu didnt exist but now we know it does! There havent been many straight answers on this subject so I dont really expect to get the total truth,but here I go. Is there ANY chance of a Niburu flyby in 2012? And if there is why dont the public have a right to know so that we can prepare ourselves?

I’m sorry if the NASA webpage confused you. I just checked, and there is no mention of Nibiru other than the various statements that it does not exist and is a hoax. There is a 2005 news story on the discovery of one of the transneptunian dwarf planets, 2003UB313. UB313... More

Is there a planet Nibiru that will pretty much destroy earth in 2012? I watched a video about it last night and I freaked out so bad i was shaking and crying. Is our world coming to an end in 2012? If so... why cant we just blow the thing up and call it a day?

I am really sorry that these crazy Nibiru claims have upset you. I don't want to keep answering these questions about Nibiru, but let me say once more as clearly as I can, for you and the other questioners: Nibiru does not exist. NASA has never discovered or detected Nibiru... More

Nibiru Redux: Six recent questions about Nibiru: (1) I have found a lot of stuff about a so called planet. Planet x or nibiru. It anything they say possible like revolving around the sun clockwise and it has been said that its orbit is way far out past Pluto. Also there are statements that it has a 3600 year orbit around the sun an that is is supposed to return in the near future. Is this possible at all? It sounds fishy to me, but there are supposed pics of it and a lot of scientist talk about it. I even wikipedia searched it. I would just like to find out some info please. (2) Nibiru does exist and I can prove it. Nibiru is in the old testament Exodus 6:4. and you are watching Nibiru from a lab on the south pole. also I have images from a telescope of Nibiru. and people from the southern hemisphere can see Nibiru in the daytime. is that proof enough for you? (3) many signs tell that something big is out there coming and why wouldn't it be true about nibiru / planet x there is a lot of fact historical and scientific but i do understand your awnser but why build a telescope at the south pole an photos and such with this redish dwarf star moving fast in 1983 it was 50 billion miles away and 10 years later it is alot closer is it hiding behind the sun i know you all dont want to start a world wide panic. (4) I read were you said that Nibiru is a hoax. My question to you is why would anyone let the american population know about such a catastrophy? Isnt it the governments job to keep the population at ease? (5) You say Nibiru is a hoax, and no such planet exists, but is Nibiru not Eris? (6) What is this a picture of? http://www.greatdreams.com/nibiru-possible.jpg It's said to be Nibiru, but as you say Nibiru is a hoax. so what is this really a photo of?

I hope this is my last comment on the Nibiru hoax, but questions like the above six keep coming in. Most of the entries on the Internet about Nibiru are false. Wikipedia has it correct when they write that "Nibiru is a name in Sumerian, Babylonian astrology associated with the... More

Now if the Nibiru topic is a hoax, then what are the infrared images of the alleged Nibiru??? And i also heard that NASA saw it with IRAS and reported it and all that. Why does NASA deny anything about it instead of telling the public so (if Nibiru is in fact a hoax) they dont take durastic measures such as my family was planning on doing.I need more proof that Nibiru is a hoax because the government and NASA are keeping to much from us for us to make full judgement on it....

I really am sorry that you have taken the Nibiru hoax seriously, and that this hoax is causing you and your family distress. This Nibiru stuff is all pure fiction, without any core of fact or truth. Specifically (1) The are no infrared images of Nibiru -- period. (2) IRAS... More

Ok, im pretty sure youve got about a million quesitons about this. But I find something fishy about Nibiru and 2012. It all started off with the Maya Calendar which in fact doesnt end in 2012, it ends in 4770+. People are saying the maya predicted the end of the world in 2012, WHICH THEY DIDNT! Now IT JUST SO HAPPENS that some big planet is going to kill us all in that same exact year and date? What are the odds of that!? I think that is nearly impossible. But i have mixed feelings about this. Im hearing that NASA infact did find Nibiru and is hiding it from the population along with the government. I know NASA and the Gov. is possible of doing such things, they dont want to cause mass hysteria. Doesnt the Norweigan Seed Vault make you curious? I mean it was dubbed the 'doomsday vault' And if Nibiru were to pass within 4 years wouldnt we have seen it by now? For god sake its supposedly 5 times the size of Jupiter. I know I might get an answer that tells me Nibiru is a hoax but how do I know I can believe you? Your obviously not going to say ''Yeah Planet-X is coming in 2012 and were all screwed' what sort of scientific proof can you lead me to? Put yourself in my shoes, im a 16 year old teen, I cant conduct my own studies, you are my only real source of proof. I appreciate your answer. Thanks

You will have to make your own judgment as to who you can believe. While the government does not have a perfect record of telling the truth, it seems to me that the government is a much better source of accurate information than either commercial advertising or the thousands of serve-serving... More

When most of the planets align in 2012 and planet earth is in the center of the milky way,what will the effects of this be on planet earth? could it cause a pole shift,if so what could we expect.

There is no planet alignment in 2012 or any other time in the next several decades. As to the Earth being in the center of the Milky Way, I don't know what this phrase means, If you are referring to the Milky Way Galaxy, we are rather far toward the... More

What do you make of this theory that the Earth will be in direct alignment with the center of the Milky Way in December of 2012? There are many websites which list a series of events in our solar system, leading up to the alignment which will cause a catastrophic change in the Earth¹s rotation. I went to your Solar System Simulator at http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/ (Which is really cool by the way) and typed in a bunch of these dates. It looked to me like the Earth was still intact. Is this alignment with the center of the galaxy even provable?

You are correct, there is no planetary alignment in December 2012. As to "alignment with the center of the Milky Way" that is a meaningless phrase. It may sound scientific, but it is devoid of content. To put it bluntly, these claims on the Internet of alignments and catastrophe in December... More

why does the Mayan calender say the world will end in 2012?i know you have answered the plant x question....however i have heard that they have been pretty accurate in the past with other planetary stuff ,did they use planets so much to date things? and does that make them better at understanding the solar system? so if they have predicted an end in 2012 will it happen ,how can you be sure you know more than they did?

Calendars exist for keeping track of the passage of time, not for predicting the future. The Mayan astronomers were clever, and they developed a very complex calendar. Ancient calendars are interesting to historians, but of course they cannot match the ability we have today to keep track of time, or the precision of the... More

If Nibiru is a hoax like you state consistently, then why did NASA admit to it on their own web page? Second off, Why did NASA build a Telescope on the southern pole of the earth to where supposively Nibiru will be heading from, if it actually exist.

I am sorry to still be answering questions about Nibiru, especially when the statements in the question are false. NASA has never discovered Nibiru or "admitted it" on their websites. As you can see from previous posted answers, NASA has been involved in discovering many new infrared sources, some initially unidentified, but none of... More

Hi, I just found this site by typing in 2012 myth on google. I have read multiple posts & it has helped quite alot. Is there any other sites you could refer me to to look at with other people such as yourself that are discussing this, that would give me further peace of mind so I can drop the mental worry on this matter & focus on my family? You mentioned in one post that newspapers & tv were not reporting on this, yet one of the scary sites I clicked on had multiple links to articles from major newspapers & links to short clips from msnbc & fox.

I can't think of any other web-sites that are discussing the 2012 and Nibiru issues from a scientific perspective. I can understand this, since the purveyors of doom are promoting a hoax, with no science behind it. When I was growing up many decades ago in Illinois, we called these fast-buck artists "snake oil... More

Can you please explain the polar shift theory? Supposedly the earth's crust does a 180 degree rotation around the core in a matter of days if not hours. Furthermore, this is stated to be a regular occurrence in Earth's geologic history and has to do with our solar system dipping beneath the galactic equator. Is there any merit to it?

I will try to explain. This is one of the craziest lies that is being promulgated by the 2012 conspiracy theorists -- worse in many ways than the Nibiru hoax. It is totally absurd, and completely untrue, but still the story spreads and is frightening people. First, on the matter of a sudden reversal... More

Confused about 2012 "Powerful Solar Storm Could Shut Down U.S. for Months" is a report on the Fox News website. They stated the report was commissioned and paid for by NASA. It was reported by The National Academy of Sciences and includes a comment by Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics division at NASA. If nothing is going to happen as a result of the event in 2012, why would NASA allow such nonsense to be reported.

There is nothing wrong with the National Research Council report on heliophysics, and NASA is very pleased with it. As you note, this report includes a worst-case analysis of what could happen today if there were a repetition of the biggest solar storm ever recorded (in 1859). The problem is... More

NASA has denied the existence of Aliens, and NASA claims that there is no proof that the aliens have ever visited the earth, my question will be regarding the egyptian pyramids, do you seriously think that people living thousands of yours BC have build the great pyramids? One more question is how does NASA explain the "face" and the "pyramids" found at Cydonia, in planet MARS.

Unfortunately, quite a few people have fallen for these alien-pseudoscience claims, so I will briefly answer your questions, even though they are not directly related to astrobiology. (1) NASA does not deny the existence of aliens. Most astrobiologists anticipate billions of inhabited planets, including many that are the home to... More

Question about Nibiru: I have made a lot of photos from digital web camera in Japan via Internet. What is the object near the sun as large as moon? Millions people around the world have seen this object. And the number of such people grows very quickly. It's often situated near the sun, and The NASA keeps dead silence in this case.

The images you sent (from a camera pointed at the Sun) show a bright false image of the Sun which you are thinking is a second object, namely Nibiru. Please use your common sense. Have you seen this bright, large companion to the Sun? If it were real, anyone in... More

I'm sorry if you received a lot of questions concerning 2012, but I must ask....Is there really a reason to be concerned about the safety of the earth in 2012 when the earth passes through the dark rift? as part of the galactic alignment? I am mostly interested in what 'the dark rift' is rather than whether the sun will centre the galaxy.

You are asking about one aspect of the 2012 hoax that I have not discussed, because I didn't think anyone would take it seriously. The “dark rift” is just a popular name for the broad and diffuse dust clouds in the inner arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, which block our view of... More

Following are recent comments (not questions) on the Nibiru/2012 hoax, sent to Ask an Astrobiologist.

(3/16) Thank you so much. NASA provides an excellent service to the community with this forum! (2/24) I've had so much fun looking through old questions and think it is great that NASA has someone so efficiant working on a project like this. Love the site. (2/16) If... More

I have a question concerning a comet that will pass by Earth in the year 2029. There has been speculation that the Earths gravity may alter its course and cause impact in the year 2036. Is this true? How is NASA tracking this, and what preparations are being made, if any.

The object you are asking about is not a comet; it is a small near-Earth asteroid named Apophis. It will come very close to the Earth in April 2029, and the Earth’s gravity will dramatically alter its orbit. There is a tiny possibility (less than one chance in 40,000) that... More

Last month i saw 3 meteorites in differents days here in Chile, in Atacama desert... when the meteorites reached the ground they still glowing a few seconds.. if a meteorite hit the ground close to me, and i want to get it, what precaution must i have?

Wow, that is an amazing claim. I have never heard of a person witnessing a meteorite fall near them, let alone three times within a month. I have also never heard of a meteorite landing hot; the evidence is that they are cold when they reach the ground (for example,... More

I have heard from a reliable source that NASA is covering up the 2012 doomsday. But due to a careless scientist, word leaked out. My question is could you give me proof? I want solid evidence. ALSO: If Nibiru is such a hoax on "the internet" then why was it on the History Channel and why don't you guys have censors for such "hoaxes" then? I have four little babies and I think all of the human race deserves to know the truth from you "experts". If it’s real then do the right thing; if not quit letting these hoaxes confuse true issues please.

It saddens me to keep getting questions about the Nibiru hoax. Other recent letters have even asserted that NASA has posted videos admitting the reality of Nibiru. This is nonsense and shows how little the con-men and conspiracy websites respect the truth. But you don’t need to take my word... More

If you claim that the nibiru planet is a hoax why are there actual footage from the nasa stateing that the planet exsits? ALSO if nibiru is fake then why did someone from nasa add a video and audeo on nasa.gov?

The only video I can find claiming that NASA confirms the existence of Nibiru is a summer 2008 posting on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDKtkWIx00A. Some guy standing in his kitchen is claiming that one of the objects discovered by NASA’s Spitzer x-ray telescope is Nibiru. What is his evidence? That since... More

Some say that Nibiru will be visible from May the 15th.

That is a welcome prediction. I get tired of websites that claim that Nibiru is somehow “hiding”. So everyone who is interested, please go out and look. Let me know if you see Nibiru.

For a good short reference on the Nibiru hoax, I recommend the entry under "Nibiru... More