Oh hey look, Jupiter is getting brighter! Or at least it was, it's going to be getting dimmer unless Nibiru actually exists (so let's watch it get dimmer while we wait for an excuse to why Nibiru still cannot be found), and it's all thanks to apparent magnitude, the way we see and measure bright objects in our skies. No matter what Nibiru is called, a brown dwarf for example, it must obey the laws of physics, and while it may be hard to see such an object, it is not impossible. Not only is it not impossible, but thanks to apparent magnitude it's also highly likely that it would be seen looong before any End of the World scenario calls for it to arrive. In the video I use the example of DENIS 0255-4700, a brown dwarf on its own 16 light years away. It's incredibly hard to see with your eyes, in fact it's impossible. But if it got closer to us, it would appear to get brighter, it would become easier to see, not just in visible wavelengths, but near infrared too. Now, if little DENIS were to arrive within 1 AU of the Sun on December 21st 2012 (that is to say if it were on a collision course with Earth), and were traveling at 220km/s, the same speed as that of the Sun around the Galaxy, it would have been on the limit of naked eye visibility 8 years and 8 months ago, and so it would be an awful lot closer and brighter now, and that's if we completely ignore every other effect that comes with a brown dwarf being 100 AU and getting closer (gravity, anyone?) So maybe DENIS would try a faster, surprise approach. Traveling as fast as RX J0822-4300, one of the fastest stars yet discovered at 1500km/s, it would start to be visible in around 6 months time, April 2011. But that's not good enough, DENIS want's to surprise us by turning up really fast, as fast as the Universe allows. If, somehow, DENIS were to be traveling at the speed of light, we'd first get a sight around December 19th 2012. DENIS would need to be moving faster than the speed of light to arrive completely undetected from every professional and amateur astronomer on this planet. I don't need to tell you that's impossible... Whatever speed DENIS or indeed Nibiru would be traveling at, from whichever direction you could name, and however bright their absolute magnitude is (remembering that as they got closer to us, their apparent magnitude makes them appear brighter and brighter), we would see it and be aware of it. No such object has been found to fit, and therefore prove these claims. Oh, and proponents, it's your lucky day. I'm giving you a free answer to this pop-quiz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE3w0WtgUkw Does Venus appear to change in brightness over time? Yes, yes it does. All you need to do is answer the rest of the questions, perhaps explain those answers where needed, and many more people will have that bit more respect for what you have to say. Have any thoughts, questions, suggestions or corrections? Leave a message in the comments.

• published: 11 Oct 2010
• views: 4396