A new NASA photo which shows the moon crossing past Earth is so unbelievable that people are convinced it is fake.
The space agency shared an animation of the event, which they explained was used with ‘actual satellite images’.
The images were captured by a NASA camera that is aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite as the moon ‘moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth last month’.
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The images revealed a fully illuminated ‘dark side’ of the moon that is never visible from Earth.
On the NASA website, it explained: “The images were captured by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope on the DSCOVR satellite orbiting 1 million miles from Earth.
“From its position between the sun and Earth, DSCOVR conducts its primary mission of real-time solar wind monitoring for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).”
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The image has since been shared on social media which many have found to be so unbelievable that some are convinced it is actually fake.
One user took to X, formerly Twitter, to post the photo, adding a caption which read: “From a million miles away, NASA camera captured moon crossing face of Earth (Yes, it's real).”
This sparked a lot of responses from others, with many being quick to question whether the image was real or not.
Another user wrote: “FAAAKE NEWS.”
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A third commented: “Naw...this gotta be fake...whats up with the green on right side of moon...and how can we see the moon at all what flash works from a million miles away…”
However, a fourth responded with: “If it's fake they had to intentionally add the green, otherwise there's no way it would be there. So if you think it's fake what reason did they add the green there? why wouldn't they just leave it off?”
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The cause of this controversy appears to stem from a thin green line that is visible next to the moon.
However, the still image posted on X is from a moving animation created by NASA, which could explain the line.
On the NASA website, it continued: “These images were taken between 3:50 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. EDT on July 16, showing the moon moving over the Pacific Ocean near North America. The North Pole is in the upper left corner of the image. It is in the original orientation as taken by the spacecraft.”