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Millions of lives will be at risk if wacky premonitions of a monstrous wave of radiation smashing into Earth on Boxing Day come true.

Doomsayers are convinced that a colossal explosion on the surface of a neutron star thousands of lightyears away poses a chilling threat to humanity.

Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions are predicted to rip the world apart as the holiday season kicks off on December 24.

The flood of deadly gamma and X-rays are said to have been unleashed by an explosion on the surface of a magnetar.

Magnetars are incredibly dense stars with masses up to twice that of the sun and extremely powerful magnetic fields.

(Image: GETTY)

Starquakes occur when the crust on the surface of a magnetar cracks, causing an eruption of energy equivalent to a 23 magnitude earthquake on Earth.

As a result the blast of energy is sent hurtling through the galaxy at the speed of light.

According to space weather conspiracy theory blog BPEarthWatch, such a violent mass of energy is currently on a collision course with Earth.

A post on its blog reads: “It is being reported that a megnetar starquake has occurred and the first weak wave arrived on 10/15/16 and a more powerful wave, that has the potential to cause large devastation to the earth, is due to arrive on 12/26/2016.”

But don’t cancel Christmas just yet.

(Image: GETTY)

Daily Star Online spoke to experts who have studied magnetars and the link between space weather and natural disasters.

Dr Bryan Gaensler, of Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, led a report into the most powerful space quake to reach Earth ever recorded.

Speaking of the 2004 giant flare 11 years ago, he described the next biggest starquake ever recorded as “peanuts” in comparison.

In just 200 milliseconds – a fifth of a second, literally the blink of an eye – the eruption gave off as much energy as the sun does in a quarter of a million years.

He added: “Had this happened within 10 light years of us, it would have severely damaged our atmosphere.

“Fortunately, all the magnetars we know of are much farther away than this."

(Image: GETTY) (Image: GETTY)

That magnetar was 50,000 lightyears away and yet it still fried satellites and had physical effects on Earth.

There are about a dozen or so known magnetars with the closest a relatively harmless 7,000 lightyears away, according to science blog Slate.

When asked if the 2016 Christmas starquake theory had any truth he described the claims as “complete rubbish”.

He told Daily Star Online: “We cannot predict in advance the occurrence of a magnetar flare.

“And although the energies involved are stupendous, these events are so far away that the intensity on Earth is about the same as a dental X-ray.

“Dental X-rays do not trigger natural disasters and neither would this.”

(Image: GETTY)

Ben Davidson, founder of natural disaster monitor Observatory Project, was similarly dismissive view of the theory.

He told Daily Star Online the claims have no credibility.

Thankfully it looks like Christmas is back on after all.

It comes after space boffins warned a deadly solar storm could wipe out life as we know it within three years.