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© NTVLeonid Elenin
The following video is a full interview in the Russian language on NTV with the discoverer of Comet C/2010 X1 aka 'Elenin', astronomer Leonid Elenin. Below is the translation of the original interview's transcript available on the Russian TV website.


Today rumors about the imminent end of the world, which have recently appeared more frequently and spread around the world much faster, are demonstrating their power to influence minds.

Thousands of residents of Rome gathered everything of value and fled the city, scared by the prophecy of a terrible earthquake. 100 years ago, an Italian self-taught astronomer allegedly announced that on May 11th, 2011 the "eternal city" would be wiped from the face of the Earth.

The source of global hysteria became Comet Elenin, currently flying towards Earth, and the first to be discovered by a Russian astronomer in 20 years. There's a massive discussion about it on the Internet, that alien spaceships are hiding behind it and are approaching the Earth. The governments supposedly know about this, but hide the information from the public. According to another version, the planet faces a collision with the comet.

NTV correspondent Sergei Malozemoff was able to confirm that the rumors are so widespread, the scientific community decided to issue its own response.

The panic on the Internet began with a genuine snapshot, published by one of the Argentine astronomers, and few people bothered to pay attention to the date - April 1st. In the center - a comet with a symbol C 2010 X1 Elenin, and on each side, wrote the scientist, - something that looks very much like two alien spacecraft. They are on their way! - the Internet exploded and started to await the end of the world.

Roman Chelyuskin, chief editor of the blog service said: "This issue continues to gain momentum. For instance, during the first week of May, the number of posts about comet Elenin was 30 times higher than the number of posts that were made in April.

The name of the comet discoverer - Russia's Leonid Elenin - was immediately transcribed as "a catastrophe of total annihilation", and also "aliens from the planet Nibiru in November." Some even recalled that Leo is also the name of the protagonist from the catastrophe movie about a comet, Deep Impact. Basically, all these 'signs' were pointed out to suggest that Elenin the person doesn't actually exist. Even though Platon Elenin is the second name of [Russian billionaire] Boris Berezovsky. And world governments are apparently hiding the horror that awaits us.

A simple search on the open scientific sources led NTV Group to the Institute of Applied Mathematics (named after M. B. Keldysh), the workplace of the very same Leonid Elenin. NTV correspondent called him and was convinced that he is indeed real.

After a strong handshake and no signs of deceit, we discovered that Leonid Elenin is 29 years old, he studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute, then worked as a property agent, and after the crisis has returned to his beloved science. To everyone who doesn't believe him, he shows his institute's pass. He complains: someone already registered under his name on Facebook, and promotes a cult that offers the only salvation.

Leonid Elenin, researcher in the Institute of Applied Mathematics says: "I receive letters that ask me to present a passport."

Interviewer: "Where the letters are coming from?"

Leonid Elenin: "Well, most of them come from the U.S.. Right now, during the last week, I was 'buried' by letters from Russia. From U.S. also came: 'We don't believe you. Show your passport.' To which I replied: Why do I have to show you anything?"

It happened in December. Leonid was watching the sky on a remote connection using telescope of American colleagues in New Mexico, and - score! - he noticed an unrecorded object. This was a new comet with a diameter of about three kilometers. According to international rules, the comet was immediately assigned his name. And notorious alien ships in the picture, alas, have a much more prosaic explanation.

Leonid Elenin: "These are actually stars. What happens is, that during a certain process of adding several frames in relation to the velocity of the comet, these stars stretch into tracks. In principle, any astronomer should know this."

Elenin photo
© Leonid EleninSpeedN-NM Comet Elenin (C/2010 X1) appears as a tiny, faint smudge in this stack of four 240-second exposures taken on the morning of December 10, 2010, with a remote-controlled telescope in New Mexico. (The quadrupled stars are due to the comet's motion between exposures.)
Interviewer: "It is similar to a bright spot being smeared on the picture taken at night."

Leonid Elenin: "Yes, of course. And the discovery of a comet was my dream, a childhood dream. And it was accomplished. Of course, I was happy and so on. But now, all this is happening around my comet. There are, for example, the following letters: 'Leonid, tell us the truth. I am selling my house. And my family and I are heading for the mountains.' It's nothing but hysteria. More so, the comet is absolutely safe for the Earth. It will pass at a distance of 34 million kilometers from the planet."

According to Elenin's calculations, X-1 will pass the Earth in October. It will be seen with binoculars or even with the naked eye. Then the comet will touch the orbit of Mercury, and if it does not dissipate, it will rush away from the solar system. And we will not see it again for another 12 thousand years.

Supporters of doomsday, as the astronomer assured us, will have to invent a new theory.