Launched in 2009, the Kepler space telescope is our first mission capable of identifying Earth-size planets around other stars. Source: NASA's Ames Research Center
Conspiracy theorists have sparked fresh fears that the end of the world is fast approaching.
On April 23, the sun, moon, and Jupiter will align in the constellation Virgo to bring on the start of the biblical Rapture, according to the latest claims.
And, that night, it's said the mysterious planet Nibiru will appear in the sky, followed by the onset of World War III, rise of the Antichrist, and seven years of Tribulation, according to the Daily Mail.
While the predictions are certainly alarming, you probably don't have to start bracing for the apocalypse just yet.
The world could be set to end in October this year, when a giant mysterious planet called Nibiru collides with our own - according to one conspiracy theorist. Photo / Getty Images
For one, NASA has repeatedly insisted that the so-called "death planet" does not exist at all – and, over the last few years, numerologists have rescheduled the end of days countless times.
Still, conspiracy theorists cited by the Express say the upcoming celestial phenomenon is linked to another alignment that appeared back in November, indicating the start of Rapture.
The claims center on passage 12:1–2 from the book of Revelation, which states: 'And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth.'
The woman in question, according to the theory, is Virgo.
While this alignment isn't all that rare, and is said to occur every 12 years, some claim an additional alignment representing "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" is unprecedented, and will spark the Rapture.
Notorious biblical doomsayer David Meade has supported the idea that the end of the world will begin with events occurring this month.
He's even referred to this spring as an "end of days convergence."
"By early April of 2018, the disappearance of the Church (all true Christians worldwide also known as the Rapture) will occur,' Meade wrote in an article earlier this year.
"This will be followed quickly by the rise of the Antichrist, the appearance of Planet X and World War III.
"Seven years of Tribulation will ensure. This is beyond any shadow of doubt."
Meade has previously predicted that Planet X (also known as Nibiru) will swing back around this October, passing by Earth to trigger violent volcanic eruptions.
But, Meade has been wrong on more than one occasion, as made clear by the fact that the world as we know it is, in fact, still here.
The conspiracy theorist predicted the end of days would hit in September 2017, for example, and later revised this to October of the same year.
