'Heaven' image has circulated for years, and it's not from NASA | Fact check
The claim: Image is 'just leaked' photo of heaven taken by NASA
A Feb. 6 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a person talking about a purported NASA discovery.
"People were shocked after video footage and images were just leaked of NASA finding heaven," she says.
The video shows an image of what appears to be a blurry city set against a backdrop of stars. At one point when the image is being shown, text above it reads: "IMAGE CAUGHT BY NASA IN THE 90s & HIDDEN FROM THE PUBLIC."
The video garnered more than 2,000 likes in two days.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
Our rating: False
The image has been circulating online for years. It is not a NASA image, according to an agency spokesperson.
Image published online years ago
The image was not captured by NASA, Claire Andreoli, a NASA spokesperson, told Paste BN. She said the image is "artwork."
While the video claims the image was "just leaked," it has circulated online since at least 2009, when it was published by Weekly World News, a tabloid that famously invented the pop-culture icon Bat Boy.
Fact check: Photo shows underwater NASA training center, not International Space Station
Paste BN reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
- Claire Andreoli, Feb. 8, Email exchange with Paste BN
- Weekly World News, Sept. 10, 2009, New Hubble Images
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
Paste BN is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.