Photo Shows Helix Nebula Captured by NASA’s Hubble Telescope?

Declare:

A photograph shared on social media authentically confirmed the Helix Nebula captured by NASA’s Hubble Area Telescope.

Ranking:

TinEye and Google reverse picture search outcomes confirmed the purported {photograph} had unfold on quite a few social media platforms, akin to Imgur, Threads, Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, Pinterest and Reddit. 

Although the image had appeared on-line as early as February and March 2024, its creator stays unknown. Reverse picture search outcomes indicated that the picture may need surfaced earlier; nonetheless, the associated posts have been deleted.

In brief, because the {photograph} doesn’t depict the Helix Nebula, was not shared on NASA’s official web site and was digitally created, now we have rated it as faux.

AI-detection instruments, akin to AI or Not, Is It AI? and TrueMedia.org concluded that the picture was possible created utilizing AI software program. One other such software, Hive Moderation, mentioned there was a 99.4% likelihood the picture was AI-generated.

(Hive Moderation)

The image couldn’t be discovered on any official NASA web site, the place the company mentioned, by way of electronic mail, that every one official NASA pictures could be discovered. Moreover, it doesn’t resemble genuine depictions of the Helix Nebula shared by NASA.

Snopes has reached out to NASA for additional clarification and we’ll replace this text if we obtain a response.

For comparability, the image under is an genuine composite photo of the Helix Nebula that’s out there on Getty Photographs.

(Getty Photographs)

Getty’s description of the picture learn: “This {photograph} of the coil-shaped Helix Nebula is among the largest and most detailed celestial pictures ever made. The composite image is a seamless mix of ultra-sharp pictures from NASA’s Hubble Area Telescope mixed with the extensive view of the Mosaic Digicam on the Nationwide Science Basis’s 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak Nationwide Observatory close to Tucson, Ariz.”

We’ve investigated different space-related pictures prior to now. For instance, in Could 2024, we examined a photograph that allegedly depicted the dwarf planet Pluto. In August 2024, we looked into claims a few image displaying the “clearest picture ever taken” of Venus.

Sources