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TikTok trend fools users with claim NASA discovered ‘city lights’ on another planet Credits: Social Media
By Ellissa Bain

TikTok trend fools users with claim NASA discovered ‘city lights’ on another planet

By Ellissa Bain

Videos are flooding TikTok this week claiming that NASA found city lights on another planet and everyone has gone crazy.

However, the remarkable discovery isnt actually true. NASA hasnt found a distant city, but the James Webb Telescope can detect infrared light.

Digital illustration of the Solar system. Sun, Earth and planetary Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the dwarf Pluto
Digital illustration of the Solar system. Sun, Earth and planetary Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the dwarf Pluto. A row of planets and a stellar nebula in outer space. Clipping path included for the foreground objects. Opacity and bump textures for the earth and other planets map prepared via images from www.nasa.gov. Earth texture: images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss040e016389/iss040e016389~orig.jpg. Credit: rbkomar (Getty Images)

Fake claim NASA discovered city lights

NASA JUST DISCOVERED CITY LIGHTS ON ANOTHER PLANET!!! One viral video which has had more than 9.2 million views says.

The TikTok clip claims a grand revelation is all set to change everything as the James Webb Telescope has detected lights from another civilization.

It claims the planet, called WASP-96B, is 7 trillion miles from Earth and says scientists are positive it may host extraterrestrial life.

However, the entire thing is fake news and the voiceover appears to have been created using artificial intelligence.

Clips from multiple unrelated videos have been muddled together to made the news seem real, and its fooled many people online.

https://www.tiktok.com/@pickles_n_chocolate_milk/video/7321137169400155434?_r=1&_t=8iyDz5J6VEX

TikTok trend fools internet users

One social media user commented: This is so exciting to me, I hope they are all living good lives over there.

This is crazy,” said another.

A third person wrote on Twitter/X: “NASA discovered city lights???? Like 7 trillion miles away???”

I just wanna interrupt everyones day to bring you some cool news I heard. NASA JUST DISCOVERED CITY LIGHTS ON ANOTHER PLANET 7 TRILLION MILES AWAY,” someone else exclaimed.

WASP-96b is a real planet located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth which orbits its star every 3.4 days and has a sodium-rich atmosphere.

It has a mass around half the size of Jupiter and was announced in 2014. However, the planet has a temperature greater than 1000�F, and city lights certainly weren’t discovered there.

James Webb Telescope can detect light

The whole thing might be fake, but the James Webb Telescope can detect a type of light called infrared which is beyond the red end of the visible spectrum.

“Infrared light reveals new details in images, deepening our understanding of celestial objects,” the telescope’s website says.

This light holds clues to mysteries from the beginning of everything, including the first stars and galaxies in the early universe.

In 2023, the telescope detected light from a small, Earth-like planet called TRAPPIST-1b and found that it is too hot for humans.

The planet is a scorching 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 degrees Celsius) and likely has no atmosphere, but it was a great discovery for the telescope.