UPDATE No.2: Philip’s wife, Kathleen McGowan, also confirmed the news on her Facebook page. “My eternal beloved, my grail knight, my poet prince has made his transition. He is in the arms of the angels. In his last words he asked that I thank you all for loving him so much,” she wrote. A fundraiser page set up at GiveForward (to raise money for his cancer treatments) also confirmed that Philip Coppens is dead. There are other updates of a personal nature available on the website. You can view it for yourself here.

UPDATE: We can now confirm that Philip Coppens has indeed passed away. Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, friend, colleague, and fellow Ancient Aliens commentator, confirmed the sad news on his official Facebook fan page hours ago. “Philip Coppens has moved on to the next level. The transitionary period between this life and the reincarnation of the next IS heaven,” Tsoukalos wrote.

Philip Coppens, commentator on The History Channel’s Ancient Aliens: The Series, has reportedly died.

Hundreds of “RIP” messages have poured in on the official Facebook page of Philip Coppens, the author and investigative journalist best known for his work in the fields of ancient history and paranormal sciences.

News of Coppens’ death has yet to be confirmed by major news outlets, and our own emails to the author and his colleagues have yet to be returned. 2012 saw a number of death hoaxes started on social media websites like Facebook, so we must stress that Coppens’ death is an unconfirmed report at this time.

However, his declining health in recent months lends some credibility to the potential of his untimely death. Coppens regularly uses his Twitter and Facebook accounts, though has done so less and less in recent weeks, primarily updating fans on his condition. “My fourth week in hospital is here today. Please keep praying for my recovery,” he wrote on December 22.

According to Coppens’ Facebook, he has been hospitalized in Los Angeles since November 25, and was diagnosed on December 13 with angiosarcoma, a rare cancer that is often fatal especially if it manifests in the liver.

On December 24, Coppens wrote: “My in-laws found me a copy of the British Museum crystal skull. His name is Vin. A lovely new companion,” on his Facebook, along with a photo which shows that he was still hospitalized at that time:

This would turn out to be his final Facebook post.

On December 26, Coppens posted this tweet in response to a fan query, showing that his spirits were still high, and that he was still planning on continuing his work when he got out of the hospital:

“@cougabait: @philipcoppens Where can I find your Roswell documentary?Hurry up and get better!” It is not out yet. Spring 2013 likely. — Philip Coppens (@philipcoppens) December 27, 2012

That was his final tweet.

Coppens remained positive to the end, his final blog post on December 16 reflecting his characteristic thirst for arcane knowledge, gratitude to his loved ones, and his simple, overall philosophy regarding the meaning of life:

“Over the last few weeks, I have come to realize you have to be very specific about picking such mottos, for in my case, I remain convinced that this knowledge will indeed give me MY future. And insights into life, its value and especially its magical qualities, in the hope that with only a few days before December 21, people, through choice, will embrace a positive change in their life and travel onwards to the next level of their mission, which is the only reason why we have chosen to incarnate here on this lovely, blue water planet.”

Philip Coppens’ death is still unconfirmed, so don’t start hashtagging just yet. We will update this post as soon as we know more.