The idea of floating in zero gravity is rather enticing to many people, and some actually believed they would finally get the chance to do so this coming Sunday. On Earth.
A tweet sent out by what appeared to be the official NASA Twitter account suggested this coming Sunday, January 4th, would be known as “Zero Gravity Day.” Supposedly, the day marks a time when a long-awaited planetary alignment was said to occur, allowing everyone on Earth to experience a time of partial weightlessness like what astronauts experience whilst in space.
The fake posting is now appearing on Facebook and plenty of other websites are reporting on it, too. But that doesn’t stop it from being a complete hoax.
The original post, from the fake NASA account, reads:
“Jan. 4th, 9:47 a.m. PST, the long-awaited planetary alignment will cause a gravitational fluctuation that will leave you weightless for a short period of time #beready”
Apparently, this planetary alignment was said to offer a full five minutes of zero gravity, causing partial weightlessness, and allowing people to float about slightly. The report was thorough, even attributing many details about the forthcoming Zero Gravity Day to British astronomer Patrick Moore, who supposedly said, “At exactly 9:47 PST a.m. on Jan. 4, Pluto will pass directly behind Jupiter, in relation to Earth. This rare alignment will mean that the combined gravitational force of the two planets would exert a stronger tidal pull, temporarily counteracting the Earth’s own gravity and making people virtually weightless,” according to Space.
However, Moore unfortunately passed away in 2012, making it impossible for him to predict this type of calculation this year. That did not stop him from making the same claims 39 years ago, albeit as a complete joke.
The citizens of Earth were said to be able to jump into the air at the specific time mentioned and would experience a “strange floating sensation.” This, of course, is completely false, as the gravity on Earth won’t change due to a planetary alignment anytime soon.
However, if you still feel ever so inclined to jump into the air at the specified time this Sunday, feel free to. But you may be the only one doing so.
