ORLANDO, Fla. -- Concern over a doomsday scenario, fueled in part by the release of the movie "2012" and the Mayan calendar, has forced a NASA astrobiologist to separate fact from fiction on a Web site.

In the movie "2012," which is filled with explosions, crashing buildings and tidal waves of crumbling concrete, concerns arise that the world will come to an end on Dec. 21, 2012.

David Morrison, a senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute in California, said although the movie is fiction, the end-of-world fears are real for many people.

"I get questions from many people who are really scared. Even some young people who say they're contemplating suicide, and it's really sad," Morrison said. "All the talk about a doomsday is a big hoax perpetuated by the Internet and people trying to make money."

Morrison said the promotion of "2012" is fanning the flames by providing a Web site that contains fake scientific findings. The site also offers a place to register for a "global survival lottery."

Morrison combats three myths portrayed in the movie.

The first myth is that there is a planet beyond Pluto called Nibiru and it's on a crash course with Earth.

"If Nibiru or planet X were going to come into the Earth's orbit in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for the last decade," he said. "It would be visible to the naked eye. It's not, it's a no show."

Myth two deals with the Mayan calendar.

Morrison said that Mayan astronomers did develop a very complex calendar, but they don't predict the future.

Myth three centers around a galactic alignment, a moment in time when all the planets in our solar system will line up.

"In December of every year the sun is roughly in the direction of the galactic center as it is seen from Earth," Morrison said. "This happens every year it really doesn't mean anything and there's nothing special about 2012."

Morrison also discounts claims of a magnetic shift in the Earth's poles in 2012. He said the shift does happen every several thousand years, but it does not cause destruction on Earth.

Morrison said moviegoers should simply enjoy the film for what it is -- entertainment.

"Don't worry about 2012 and enjoy 2013 when it comes," he said.

For more information about Morrison's information, visit this Web site.