Enterprise Mission Statement On The
Coming of Sitchin's "Nibiru" in Spring, 2003

Sitchin's "Nibiru," as depicted by Andy Loyd.

Due to the volume of email and other inquiries we have been receiving on the subject, the Enterprise Mission feels compelled to comment on an Internet rumor that is currently gaining steam. This rumor surrounds the portended arrival of Zechariah Sitchin's "12th Planet," the mythical Nibiru, in the Spring of 2003.

We wish to make it absolutely clear that we do not in any way, shape, or form buy into this spreading notion that "Nibiru" will return next spring. While we have the utmost respect for Sitchin and his work, we do not necessarily agree with all his conclusions concerning the data he has uncovered. In the coming months, we will describe just how we see Sitchin's work fitting into our own research, and make clear what we think the true source of the "Nibiru" legend is.

It should also be noted that the source of this prediction is not Sitchin himself, but another source of somewhat dubious quality. It appears to stem from predictions published on the popular web site "Zeta Talk." While we have previously cited some of "Zeta Talk's" postings in our stories, and been impressed by their ability to occasionally nail issues we have only discussed in private, on some other matters they have been well wide of the mark.

For instance, "Zeta Talk" has alleged, in 1995, among other things, that Hale-Bopp was "not a comet." This would come as quite a surprise to those of us that viewed it our night skies for several months in 1997. They've also claimed that Enterprise principal investigator Richard C. Hoagland once went on Art Bell to concur with this opinion by stating he "suspected Hale-Bopp of being not a comet but an intelligently driven star-like object." We of course never said any such thing. They've also charged that Hoagland did this at NASA's behest in return for a promise that NASA would re-photograph Cydonia. No such "quid-pro-quo" has ever taken place between these two parties on any matter.

Finally, Zeta Talk predicted several years ago that massive crop failures in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 would harbinger the coming of Nibiru in 2003, and this has flatly not occurred. Clearly, Zeta Talk's record on predictions is far from accurate, and we make no exception for this fabled return of Nibiru in 2003. It should also be noted for the record that Sitchin places the next passage of Nibiru some 1,600 years into the future.

We also do not dispute the sincerity of "Zeta Talk's" curator, Nancy Leider. Rather, we have deep reservations about the sincerity and reliability of the information she is receiving, whatever its source.

All of this can also mask another very important and wonderful celestial event that will take place next spring -- the closest approach in over 200 years of the planet Mars to Earth. It would be a shame if such an unfounded rumor, sprouting from a dubious source and disseminated by opportunists and alarmists, overshadowed such a fabulous opportunity to view our nearest planetary neighbor (in more ways than one) as close as we will ever see it our lifetimes. Perhaps, if the "Nibiru" rumor stirs a major interest in astronomy and a rise in sales of telescopes, some good will come of all this worry.

Which makes us wonder: Maybe that's the real point after all?

Remember, "Nibiru" -- the word itself -- merely refers to "the planet of (the) crossing." It is entirely possible that a literal interpretation of this "planet of (the) crossing" as the same object as Sitchin's pole-shifting, Nemesis-like planet killer is simply wrong. This does not mean that Nibiru does not exist, or that the 12th planet does not. We are simply pointing out that some of Sitchin's translations are open to interpretation. And as you might expect, we have a different interpretation than most. We're not even certain (for reasons we will make clear in the coming months) that Mars and Nibiru are not in fact the same object, just slightly confused in the ancient texts.

So relax. The "12th planet" is not coming -- certainly not next year -- just our old friend Mars.