Picture of 2017 eclipse misrepresented as 'high-resolution' 2024 NASA photo | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Post shows 2024 eclipse image from James Webb Space Telescope

An April 8 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows streaks of light shining behind the moon.

"Check out this high resolution Solar Eclipse image from the NASA James Webb Space Telescope," reads the post's caption, which includes the hashtag #solareclipse2024.

The post garnered more than 300 shares in three days. Other versions of the claim were shared on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: False

The post shows an edited version of a photo captured by an independent photographer during the 2017 solar eclipse. The James Webb Space Telescope is incapable of photographing the sun, according to NASA.

Post shows photo of 2017 eclipse

The image doesn't show the April 8 total solar eclipse, which was witnessed by millions of people across the U.S.

The image originated with a picture shared on Flickr by a photographer named Sebastian Voltmer in 2017. He captured the photo in Pavillion, Wyoming, during the 2017 "Great American Eclipse," according to the picture's caption. Using a technique called high dynamic range, Voltmer said he combined 35 photos with different exposures to create the detailed picture of the eclipse.

Voltmer told USA TODAY in an email that the Facebook image is a "flipped and edited" version of his 2017 photo. The two pictures are identical aside from some differences in line definition and several streaks of light.

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NASA explained in an April 3 X post that the James Webb Space Telescope would not be capturing photos of the eclipse because of its sensitivity to light and heat.

"Webb's infrared optics detect extremely faint heat signals, and the Earth, moon and sun are *all* much too bright and hot for us to ever look their way," the post reads. "It's why we have a sunshield."

The "5-layer, tennis court-sized" sunshield acts as a parasol for the telescope, protecting it from external heat emitted from objects like the sun and the moon, as well as heat emitted from the observatory itself, according to NASA's website.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories and Snopes also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

  • Sebastian Voltmer, Sept. 5, 2017, Flickr post

  • Sebastian Voltmer, April 12, Email exchange with USA TODAY

  • NASA Webb Telescope, April 3, X post

  • James Webb Space Telescope, accessed April 11, About the Sunshield

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2017 photo falsely linked to 2024 eclipse, NASA telescope | Fact check