As the highly anticipated total solar eclipse approaches on August 12, 2026, an old rumor has resurfaced on social media claiming that the Earth will lose its gravity for about 7 seconds, in a catastrophic event that will cause humans, cars, animals, and objects to float above the planet's surface, before gravity suddenly returns, causing these objects to fall and resulting in tens of millions of victims.
The publications link this narrative to what they call "Project Anchor," an alleged secret program of the US space agency NASA, about which a leaked document reportedly appeared in November 2024, and which includes a budget of $89 billion in preparation for what the publications described as the expected "gravitational disturbance".
But there is no evidence of the existence of this project or the alleged document, and NASA has explicitly denied that the Earth will lose its gravity on that day.
Snopes traced the story back to an Instagram post that appeared on December 31, 2025, posted by an account that became unavailable days later. The post claimed that NASA knew in advance that Earth would experience a gravitational disturbance lasting 7.3 seconds, and that it was secretly preparing for the event.
As the story spread, more exciting details were added, including that people, cars, and unsecured objects would rise to a height of between 15 and 20 meters, and that their fall after gravity returned would kill between 40 and 60 million people, as well as destroy infrastructure and cause a long-term economic collapse.
But a search of available government and scientific sources and records has not revealed any trace of the “Project Anker” document, a budget of this size, or a secret NASA plan related to loss of gravity.
NASA denies: Gravity cannot be stopped
When Snopes contacted NASA to verify the claim, the agency denied any loss of gravity on August 12. NASA explained that Earth's gravity, or the planet's total gravitational force, is related to its mass, and for gravity to disappear in the way the rumor describes, the Earth system would have to lose mass, including the core, mantle, crust, oceans, water, and atmosphere.
This means that gravity is not a system that can be switched on and off temporarily, and there is no known mechanism in physics that allows it to be canceled for several seconds and then returned to its normal state. It is not subject to the will of humans or institutions, and no one can control it except the Creator, may He be glorified and exalted.
When two black holes or two neutron stars collide, spacetime vibrates around them, generating gravitational waves that are detected by highly sensitive telescopes designed for this purpose.
When two black holes or two neutron stars collide, spacetime vibrates around them, generating gravitational waves that are detected by very sensitive telescopes designed for this purpose (Getty).
Some versions of the rumor are based on a more bizarre claim, namely that gravitational waves resulting from the collision of black holes will interfere at a certain point and cause Earth's gravity to "disrupt".
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