Claim:

A photograph shared on social media in early November 2024 was taken by NASA and showed the planet Jupiter.

Rating:

Context:

Although the photo shows Jupiter, its colors have been digitally enhanced.

In early November 2024, a photograph purportedly released by NASA showing a detailed view of Jupiter circulated on social media.

“NASA just released some of the sharpest images of Jupiter yet,” said one Reddit user. said (archive) of the image.

(Reddit and/Correct_Presence_936)

The picture propagated on social networks, on, Reddit, 9GAG, TopicsRussian language social media platform V.K. and Polish-language websites such as Demotywatory And Obrazkowo.

People were quick to make comparisons to Vincent van Gogh’s paintings, with one 9GAG user adage“Van Gogh approves” and a Reddit user addition“My first thought was ‘Planet Van Gogh’.”

In short, although the colors in the photo were digitally enhanced to make them stand out, we judged this claim to be true because the image was authentic, originally released by NASA, and accurately depicted Jupiter.

An example of the image was available on NASA’s Juno mission website, which “explores Jupiter, seeking to unlock the secrets of the giant planet and our solar system.” The caption of the photograph read: “Northern Circumpolar Cyclones”:

(NASA / JPL / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt)

A NASA spokesperson said by email that the image above, which appeared on the agency’s website, was not the original, but “a version with more subtle colors made by the prolific image processor Gerald Eichstädt”.

The detailed description of the Eichstädt image read:

According to Juno Mission websitehe shares raw footage of JunoCam and encourages people to do their own image processing: “The types of image processing we would like to see range from simply cropping an image, to highlighting a particular atmospheric element, to adding your own color enhancements, creating collages and adding advanced color reconstruction.

The website also says it invites “citizen scientists to explore new ways to process these images to continue bringing out the beauty and mysteries of Jupiter and its moons.”

Therefore, the image of Jupiter circulating on social media was a real photograph taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, but it was edited to improve its colors and contrast, as encouraged by NASA.

The NASA spokesperson added:

Below is a comparison between Eichstädt’s image (left) and the enhanced color version (right).

(NASA / JPL / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt, Reddit u/Correct_Presence_936)

For further reading, we studied similar photographs purportedly showing celestial bodies, such as:

Sources:

Hardinges, Nick. “Real image of the dwarf planet Pluto?” Snopes, May 27, 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/pluto-photo-dwarf-planet/.

—. “Real image of the dwarf planet Pluto?” Snopes, May 27, 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/pluto-photo-dwarf-planet/.

“JunoCam: Processing.” Mission Juno, https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing. Accessed November 7, 2024.

“Media Gallery: Juno’s Instruments.” Mission Juno, https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/media-gallery/instruments?show=fig_562e2fa248b496f704cf3f8a&m=179. Accessed November 7, 2024.

“‘PJ66, #31, Northern Circumpolar Cyclones’ |.” Mission Juno, https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing. Accessed November 7, 2024.

Wrona, Alexander. “The clearest image ever taken of Venus? Snopes, August 1, 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/clearest-image-ever-taken-of-venus/.