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Topics: Earth, NASA, Science, Space, Social Media, Conspiracy Theories, Twitter, Weird, Instagram
Callum Jones
Topics: Earth, NASA, Science, Space, Social Media, Conspiracy Theories, Twitter, Weird, Instagram
NASA has responded to a theory claiming planet Earth will lose gravity for seven seconds later this year.
An alleged document from the space agency known as 'Project Anchor', originally leaked in November 2024, with it claiming NASA believed Earth would 'lose gravity' for seven seconds on August 12, 2026.
Speculation got a bit out of hand earlier this month after it was claimed '40 million deaths from falls' would come because of the loss of gravity.
But you'll be pleased to know, NASA has since debunked the wild online theory and there's absolutely nothing to worry about.
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The space agency told Snopes: "The Earth will not lose gravity on Aug. 12, 2026. Earth's gravity, or total gravitational force, is determined by its mass. The only way for the Earth to lose gravity would be for the Earth system, the combined mass of its core, mantle, crust, ocean, terrestrial water, and atmosphere, to lose mass. A total solar eclipse has no unusual impact on Earth's gravity.
"The gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth, which doesn't impact Earth's total gravity, but does impact tidal forces, is well understood and is predictable decades in advance."
Multiple social media accounts discussed the theory until NASA cleared it all up, including one from a now-deleted Instagram account that gained a lot of traction.
A caption to the post read: "On August 12, 2026, the world will lose gravity for 7 seconds. NASA knows. They're preparing but won't tell us why. In November 2024, a secret NASA document titled 'Project Anchor' leaked online.
"The project's budget is $89 billion, and its goal is to survive a 7-second gravitational anomaly expected on August 12, 2026, at 14:33 UTC."
The wild internet theory went on to claim 'infrastructure destruction', 'mass panic' occurring and 'economic collapse lasting over ten years'.
As per Snopes, the theory was explained step-by-step with another social media post. It stated: "What will happen:1-2 seconds: Everything not secured will rise (people, vehicles, animals).3-4 seconds: Objects will continue to rise to 15-20 meters.5-6 seconds: Panic and chaos will ensue as people hit ceilings.7 seconds: Gravity returns, and everything falls from height."
Thankfully, the whole internet theory is a load of nonsense, with NASA dismissing the claims and Snopes doing their investigative work to rule out any possibility the suggestion has any truth to it.