IN recent days, the internet and supposedly informed media outlets have got themselves into a lather over a prediction that a mysterious rogue planet is going to smash into the Earth and destroy all life here.

The planet’s name is Nibiru, or Planet X, and as various newspapers showed with graphic illustrations, it’s heading our way in October as part of a star system called Nemesis.

As yet no one in the Unionist media has attempted to blame the SNP Government for humanity’s annihilation by a rogue planet, so there’s a good chance the story is not true.

WHO STARTED THE NIBIRU STORY AND WHEN?

NANCY Lieder from Wisconsin in the USA claims to have become an emissary for an alien species called Zetas that she first met in the woods as a young girl.

She has a website, ZetaTalk, and it was there that she first predicted that Planet X would pass close to Earth in May, 2003, causing our planet’s rotation to cease for 5.9 days.

The Zetas had told her this, but after the rogue planet failed to arrive, Lieder explained that it had all been part of what she called the “White Lie”: “The Zetas declined to be more specific, citing in November 2001 that the elite and those in power would use such knowledge to their advantage, and to the disadvantage of the common man.”

Further predictions of Planet X’s arrival became involved in the so-called 2012 phenomenon when everything from Mayan civilisation to planetary and galactic alignments plus Nibiru’s arrival were cited as reasons for the world to cease existing in December of that year.

Nothing happened, though devotees of the phenomenon claim something did happen and was covered up by Nasa, the US Government and their allies.

WHO IS BEHIND THE LATEST SCARE?

DAVID Meade is the author of a book Planet X – the 2017 Arrival which claims that Nibiru will collide with Earth in ten months’ time. The planet is one of several which are attached to the Nemesis star system which, funnily enough, no one can find with a telescope.

Normally a star system and planet described as four times the size of Earth approaching this part of the Solar System would already be easily visible to the naked eye, but Meade ingeniously gets round this problem.

Writing a piece for Planet X News, Meade said: “This system is, of course, not aligned with our solar system’s ecliptic, but is coming to us from an oblique angle and toward our South Pole.

“This makes observations difficult, unless you’re flying at a high altitude over South America with an excellent camera.”

It should be noted that Meade is selling his book, not giving it away. It’s available on Amazon priced £9.99 for the paperback or £2.34 for the Kindle edition.

DOES ANYONE BELIEVE HIM?

APPARENTLY a lot of people do. Perhaps tellingly, an American entrepreneur Robert Vicino backs assertions that Nibiru might be on its way. On his website he states that people should be “be ready for the predicted planetary alignment, doomsday, the Rapture, the end times, or Armageddon. If you believe in the prophecies and predictions of the Bible, Nostradamus, the Third Secret of Fatima, the visions of Edgar Cayce, and all of the current signs of an economic collapse, future nuclear war, WW3, a pandemic, an EMP power outage, a Yellowstone eruption, a potential asteroid collision, Nibiru, Planet X, Fukushima’s eventual meltdown and widespread global radiation, the coming pole shift and/or major earth changes, it is time to prepare!”

He recently claimed Governments and rich people were building huge shelters deep underground linked by high-speed trains. He told one newspaper: “I believe they know something is coming which is epic and they have known about for decades when Nibiru was discovered by the IRAS telescope. It was announced then it was suppressed, no government agency was allowed to ever discuss it again.”

It should be noted that Vicino sells underground shelters under the trade name Vivos. Mmmm.

WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY?

NASA says Nibiru is an internet hoax, and astronomers and physicists seem to consider all the Planet X claims to be beneath their dignity to comment on.

As Professor Brian Cox tweeted in 2012: “If anyone else asks me about Nibiru the imaginary planet I will slap them around their irrational heads with Newton’s Principia.”

Paraphrasing the other scientific statements that have been made so far, The National can say the Nibiru conspiracy theories are a pile of unadulterated hogwash and piffle, and a complete load of utter tosh – though we reserve the right to withdraw that remark should we all be dead in October. Unlike the EU referendum, on this occasion it would be advisable to listen to the experts, especially if you have booked next winter’s ski holiday.

SHOULD WE NOT BE TAKING PRECAUTIONS ANYWAY?

NASA and every professional and amateur astronomer on the planet is always on the lookout for a space object coming too close – we know from Nasa that there are two sizeable “space rocks” on their way right now, but they will miss us by 30 million miles or so.

Anyway, the idea that we puny Earthlings could do anything to prevent a rogue planet or giant asteroid smashing into our little abode is risible. The National has its own conspiracy theory – on January 21, President Donald Trump will be in charge of the so-called ‘free’ world and he is no doubt even now concocting a plan to divert Nibiru, probably using hot air.