CONSPIRACY nuts are claiming the world will end on the Winter Solstice — while others insist black people will mysteriously "gain superpowers" on this day. 

These wacky claims have been fuelled by the Mayan calendar plus a rare celestial event due next week.

Why do people think the world will end on December 21?

Wacky Christian evangelist Pastor Paul Begley earlier this year predicted that doomsday would strike on December 21, 2020.

He cited the Mayan calendar and the alignment of two planets on that date — which happens to be his birthday— as proof for his baseless claims.

The orbits of Jupiter and Saturn will take them so close together on December 21 they'll form a "double planet" phenomenon.

It will mark the first "conjunction" of the two planets, forming what some are branding a "Christmas star", for several centuries.

What will happen on black superpower day?

It's one of a flurry of conspiracy theories that have cropped up in recent weeks linking supernatural events to December 21.

On that day, Saturn and Jupiter will form a bright "double star" phenomenon in the sky.

One Twitter user explained the tongue-in-cheek theory.

They said: "As black people, genetically we are stronger and smarter than everyone else, we are more creative, on December 21 our Real DNA will be unlocked and the majority will be able to do things that we thought were fiction.

"Learn who you are as a people. They wanna make us average."

People have also started to debate whether they'd want to be a superhero or a villain.

Heated discussions have also broken out on whether you'd rather belong to a DC or Marvel universe?

The trend has led to funny memes all over Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

What is the Winter Solstice?

It marks the day of the year with the fewest sunlight hours, or put simply the shortest day in the year.

The word solstice literally means, in Latin, that the sun is standing still.

That's because it marks the point when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun.

What is the 'Christmas star' visible on December 21?

The superpower idea may be made to believe but the Jupiter Saturn phenomenon is guaranteed to take place.

The "Christmas star" is when two astronomical bodies meet in a celestial dome called the Great Conjunction.

How rare is the Great Conjunction?

The Great conjunction occurs every twenty years or so and is when both Jupiter and Saturn align at the same degree of the zodiac.

Next week's Great Conjunction will not be matched until March 15, 2080, so this might just be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

A Great Conjunction similar to the one we will see on Monday has not been seen for 800 years.

On December 21, the Christmas Star will dip below the horizon by 6.30 pm GMT.

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