The claim: image shows ‘poinsettia’ captured by the Hubble telescope
Jupiter and Saturn are aligned in the night sky this week, with the two planets appearing closer together than they have been since the Middle Ages, and many called it the “Christmas Star.”
Social media users have shared photos of the phenomenon online, and a viral image widely shared on Facebook claims to show the poinsettia captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
“Star of Bethlehem Taken by Hubble – WOW !!” a user wrote in a post with more than 4,000 shares.
“Recently taken with the Hubble telescope,” wrote another user, accompanied by the alleged photo of a large bright star surrounded by smaller stars.
A user shared the same image, writing, “Hubble Poinsettia Telescope. Amazingly, it doesn’t begin to describe yet.”
USA TODAY reached out to the users behind the claims for comment.
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Image is an illustration
A Google search in reverse of the photo reveals that the image is an illustration and was not captured by the Hubble telescope.
The image, which can be viewed on Getty Images, is titled “Glowing Star Stock Vector Space Background – Stock Vector.”
The image caption reads: “This stock vector illustration has space with a bright star slightly at the top. It is a combination of small distant stars with intersecting light refractions in bright colors, including vibrant blues and whites. The use of reflection and tone gives a sense of depth. The image has a bleached, colorful tone. “
The same image can also be seen on iStock Photo, stating that the artwork was uploaded to the site on June 1, 2015, further revealing that the image was not taken recently.
Actual photos of the rare “poinsettia” phenomenon show Jupiter and Saturn close together with two points of light in the dark sky, with Saturn, which is further from Earth, the fainter, USA TODAY reported.
Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan told the US TODAY “people will have to work a little bit” to witness the conjunction and that the two planets “will not suddenly look like a beautiful ‘poinsettia’.”
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Our rating: False
An image claiming to show the “poinsettia” taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is FALSE, based on our research. The image is an illustration from 2015 and does not resemble actual photos of the recent close alignment of Jupiter and Saturn.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact Check: Viral Christmas Star illustration not a Hubble photo