Minority Christian groups have predicted the world will end later this month – when they say a ‘blood moon’ will bring about an apocalyptic meteor strike.

Scientists say a ‘blood moon’ will occur on September 28, when the moon passes into the shadow of the earth cast by the Sun (a lunar eclipse) and appears dim and reddish.

Some religious leaders believe that because this is the fourth consecutive lunar eclipse since April 2014, it is part of a "tertrad" - which foretells a meteorite destroying earth and the end of time.

Experts at Nasa remain unconvinced.

The organisation monitors the heavens constantly for asteroids and none are on course to collide with Earth for several hundred years. However, the fears are widespread enough for it to have issued an official statement on the topic.

In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon A lunar eclipse is seen in Tokyo In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon A lunar eclipse appears above City Park in Casper, USA In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon The moon turns orange during a total lunar eclipse behind the CN Tower and the skyline during moonset in Toronto In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon The Earth's shadow renders the moon during a total lunar eclipse over Milwaukee, USA In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon A total lunar eclipse is seen behind a ferris wheel in Tokyo In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon The Blood Moon, created by the full moon passing into the shadow of the earth during a total lunar eclipse, as seen from Monterey Park, California In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon A total lunar eclipse, also known as a "blood moon", is pictured from Encinitas, California In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon A man and a woman look at the moon as they ride a Ferris wheel, while a total lunar eclipse begins in Tokyo In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon The Earth's shadow renders the moon as a person in Ferris wheel observes it during a total lunar eclipse in Tokyo In pictures: Blood Moon October 2014 Blood Moon A plane flies before the moon at the beginning of a total lunar eclipse in Yokkaichi, central Japan

The Blood Moon theory has its roots in a passage in the Bible in Joel 2:31 which reads: "And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come."

Similarly, in Acts 2:20: "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord."

And again in Revelation 6:12: "[...] and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood".

That a "tetrad" of lunar eclipses, with six full moons in between them, will coincide with an asteroid hitting earth was popularised by US pastors Mark Biltz and John Hagee. They each noted that previous tetrads in history had coincided with noteworthy, tragic and triumphant events in Jewish history.

Mr Hagee's book on the topic, called Four Blood Moons, was the ninth best-selling paperback in the US in March last year.

Present day biblical theorists who follow the teachings have been worried that in a period somewhere between September 22 to 28 2015, the world will end.

And although sources are vague there has been enough speculation on social media and elsewhere for NASA, which has an automated collision monitoring system, to issue the following statement:

"NASA knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite small," said a spokesperson in comments reported by Yahoo News.