With beliefs swirling about that the world is coming to an end on Dec. 21, 2012, or before year's end, the U.S. Government has taken action to help dispel rumors of the Apocalypse.
"False rumors about the end of the world in 2012 have been commonplace on the Internet for some time. Many of these rumors involve the Mayan calendar ending in 2012 (it won’t), a comet causing catastrophic effects (definitely not), a hidden planet sneaking up and colliding with us (no and no), and many others," according to a Dec. 3 blog post on the USA.gov website.
"The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012," reads the post.
The post goes on to address how the rumors have left many frightened, especially children. NASA has received thousands of letters concerned about the end of the world.
David Morrison, a planetary astronomer and senior scientist for NASA who answers questions from the public about astrobiology said the rumors have pushed some to consider drastic measures.
“At least a once a week I get a message from a young person ― as young as 11 ― who says they are ill and/or contemplating suicide because of the coming doomsday,” Morrison said.
According to NASA, the old mystery-planet-collision rumor year was 2003, but when 2004 arrived safely, the rumors changed to 2012.
"The greatest threat to Earth in 2012, at the end of this year and in the future, is just from the human race itself," heliophysicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Mitzi Adams told LiveScience.
NASA has published the following videos to debunk the end-of-the-world rumors:
