What is "nibiru"

Nibiru (also transliterated Neberu, Nebiru) is a term in the Akkadian language, translating to "crossing" or "point of transition", especially of rivers, i.e. river crossings or ferry-boats. In Babylonian astronomy, Nibiru (in cuneiform spelled né-bé-ru or ni-bi-rum) is a term of the equinox and its associated astronomical object(s).

Nibiru was considered the seat of the summus deus who shepherds the stars like sheep, in Babylon identified with Marduk. The establishment of the nibiru point is described in tablet 5 of the creation epic Enûma Eliš: “When Marduk fixed the locations (manzazu) of Nibiru, Enlil and Ea in the sky". The Enûma Eliš states: This interpretation of Marduk as the ruler of the cosmos has been suggested by some authors to imply an early monotheist tendency in Babylonian religion.

Nibiru is described more closely on a complete cuneiform tablet: Böhl calls the text "objectively the most difficult passage, although it has been handed down in its entirety. The Nibiru tablet does not provide any essential help for the clarification."

In the enumerations, Nibiru is mentioned at different astronomical locations in conjunction with the positions of stars and planets, mostly as the "star of Marduk", however, the various stars or planets were not subject to any fixed interpretation. For example, the "star of Ea" was described at various "revelation spots" including Vela, Fomalhaut, and Venus. Similar interpretations were made for the other "stars of the gods", so multiple celestial coordinates must be considered. Nibiru has been associated with the area of Libra: The Nibiru constellation rose in the month of Tišritum, around autumnal equinox, however Nibiru was also a name for the planet Jupiter when observed in the month of Tišritum. In the MUL.APIN, Nibiru is identified as Jupiter: Conversely, Tablets K.6174:9’ and K.12769:6’ refer to it as Mercury: "If Mercury (UDU.IDIM.GU) divides the sky and stands there, [its name] is Nibiru."

In a 2015 report for the Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin, Immanuel Freedman analyzed the extant cuneiform evidence and concluded that the hypothesis that the name Nēbiru may be assigned to any visible astronomical object that marks an equinox is supported by cuneiform evidence.

Nibiru may refer to:

• Nibiru (Babylonian astronomy), a term in Babylonian astronomy for the equinox
• Nibiru Sociedad Astronomica (Nibiru Astronomical Society), the astronomy group at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
• "Land of Nibiru", a song from Aminata Savadogo's 2015 album Inner Voice

Fiction:

• Nibiru: Age of Secrets, a computer adventure game released in 2005
• Nibiru, a planet from the film Star Trek Into Darkness

Fringe or unverified astronomical theories:

• Nibiru, a pseudoscientific proposed outer planet within our solar system, described by Zecharia Sitchin
• Nibiru cataclysm, a supposed impending disastrous encounter between Earth and a large astronomical object