Outer Space

Does an image of the sun posted on X show two black holes pointed directly at Earth? No, that's not true: The dark areas in the image are coronal holes made visible with a Solar Ultraviolet Imager on the GOES-16 satellite, and they are not "black holes." Coronal holes do have the potential to produce geomagnetic storms, rated from one…

Does a video of Mars filmed with a Nikon p1000 camera prove that Hubble Space Telescope images of Mars are fake, and that Mars is not really a planet but a shining star that looks like "light shimmering in water"? No, that's not true: Images of Mars can vary considerably depending on the equipment, settings and atmospheric conditions. The resulting…

Is the International Space Station (ISS) in a swimming pool? No, that's not true: The ISS is in space, orbiting Earth, contrary to images on social media referring to the ISS as "International Swimming Station". The images show NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory with a full-size mock-up of the space station. It includes a large pool with technology used for training…

Does this video show a real asteroid crashing into the moon, prompting an explosion following the collision? No, that's not true: Lead Stories determined through a reverse image search that the footage in question was first posted by a YouTube creator in February 2023 and was later shared by an account on Instagram that confirmed the clip was created using…

Did "Science Guy" Bill Nye state that there was "no place to go" in reference to space exploration, seeming to support claims that NASA, the International Space Station (ISS) and related space exploration programs were a hoax? No, that's not true: In a 2015 interview, Nye responded to a question involving the concept of whether trash should be sent to…

Do jumpy cuts in the asparagus-eating video recorded by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield while in the zero-gravity environment in 2013 prove it was shot in a "Hollywood basement," outer space does not exist and Earth is flat? No, that's not true: In 2015, Hadfield, who became known not only as a space explorer but also as a space video blogger,…

Is Mount Meru, a magnetic mountain, located at or under the North Pole at the center of a flat Earth -- and is this mountain the reason why all compasses point to the magnetic north? No, that's not true: In Hindu and Buddhist mythology, Mount Meru is the central axis of the world where gods live and the sun and…

Can the Alaska-based HAARP project, a former military research facility for studying the ionosphere, remotely initiate natural disasters such as earthquakes anywhere on Earth? No, that's not true: An "explanation" of its purported capabilities to manufacture disasters, posted on social media, contradicts well-established scientific facts. The manager of the HAARP project told Lead Stories that the facility "cannot create or…

Does a NASA photograph show a "perfectly built" pyramid located on the surface of Mars? No, that's not true: A photo shared on Facebook in December 2022 said to show a pyramid on Mars is a digitally altered image using actual NASA photos, with an Egyptian pyramid added. An Egyptologist told Lead Stories that the top image in the post…

Does a map showing "Terra-Infinita" show a real place composed of 178 worlds that exist beyond the domed territory of the "Known Lands" of Earth, ringed by a giant wall of ice and guarded by "custodians"? No, that's not true: This detailed map is an illustration from a science fiction series written and published by Claudio Nocelli, also known by…