Is the World Coming to An End?

Rumors that the world is coming to an end this month are greatly exaggerated, according to NASA officials.

Every year or two, there seems to be some sort of rumor that the world is coming to an end. The most recent myth gaining traction is based on the Mayan calendar, which ends on Dec. 21, 2012. Conspiracy theorists say that's the day the earth will end. However, the most recent fears have found a new audience: children. 

David Morrison, a planetary astronomer for NASA, answers questions online each week from the public about astrobiology. He says he's received more than 5,000 questions about the impending end of the world rumor including some from children. 

Morrison is an award-winning astrobiologist who has been a science investigator on NASA's Mariner, Voyager, and Galileo space missions. He took to the internet recently to assuage fears and definitively answer whether the world will end on Dec. 21. The answer: THE WORLD WILL NOT END ON DEC. 21 according to Morrison.