Comet Elenin is also known as C/2010 X1, and was discovered in December 2010 by an amateur astronomer from Russia named Leo Elenin. It came closest to the Sun on September 10th and will reach it's closest orbit to the Earth on October 16th.
So should we be afraid of Comet Elenin? It depends on who you talk to.
Several mainstream media articles appear in recent weeks which minimized the danger of Comet Elenin including 'Doomsday' comet fades away (MSNBC), Comet Elenin Won't Kill Us Says NASA (Discovery), and The Curious Case of Comet Elenin: A Weird Skywatching Tale (Space.com).
Comets are made out of ice, and as Elenin approached the sun, a few scientists hypothesized that Elenin was in the process of disintegrating. A video surfaced on YouTube demonstrating how Elenin broke apart when it was bombarded by a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun on August 19th.
Comet Elenin has been swimming in controversy since its discovery last December. It's a mystery for sure. The scientific community insists that it is not dangerous, while a small group of naysayers insist that Elenin is doomsday comet that will cause devastating earthquakes, or alter the Earth's magnetic poles.
Believers in the Hopi Prophecy feel a strong connection Comet Elenin is just a precursor to Nibiru (otherwise known as Planet X or the Destroyer). Elenin has also been linked to Mayan 2012 prophecy.
In alien disclosure circles, there's a theory that Elenin is actually an armada of spaceships. Fitting into that train of thought, Elenin thwarted the effects of the late-August CME by deflected the CME with an energy shield.
Conspiracy theorists are convinced that Elenin is a doomsday comet because of the first three letter of its name -- ELEnin -- the ELE is an acronym for "Event Level Extinction", which is what was used to describe the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Here's a few important links about Elenin: