No, Earth will not lose gravity for seven seconds

No, the Earth will not lose gravity on Wednesday. It sounds obvious but needs to be said, according to NASA officials, as viral conspiracy theories spread.

NASA officials made the statement earlier this week amid viral “Project Anchor” conspiracy claims that have been circulating on social media.

The conspiracy theory claims that a leaked NASA document reveals that Earth would lose gravity for roughly seven seconds on Aug. 12, 2026, supposedly because of “intersecting gravitational waves” from black holes.

Conspiracy theorists allege NASA knew about the event, and secretly funded an $89 billion “Project Anchor” to build bunkers and protect selected people, while thousands die when floating objects crash back down to earth.

The conspiracy theory has been around for a while now, but apparently has gained steam in recent days as the Aug. 12 date approached.

And the social media conspiracies have become so widespread that NASA officials officially spoke up to debunk the outlandish claims.

“Earth’s gravity, or total gravitational force, is determined by its mass,” NASA officials told Snopes, reminding the U.S. of lessons taught in elementary school.

“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,” NASA officials said. “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.”

Other events of astronomical significance

The Earth will not lose gravity Wednesday, but there are a couple of other things happening Wednesday of astronomical significance.

Millions of Americans will be able to see a rare partial solar eclipse this week.

The partial eclipse will be visible across parts of the northern U.S. Wednesday, stretching from Alaska to North Carolina, according to NASA. How much of the sun is blocked by the moon will depend on location. About 37% of the sun will be covered in Fairbanks, Alaska, compared with 24% in Bangor, Maine, and 9% in New York City. You can read more on the solar eclipse here.

Additionally, the Perseid meteor shower — one of the brightest light shows of the year — peaks Wednesday night.

At peak, you may be able to see up to 50-100 meteors per hour and even a few fireball meteors, according to NASA. You can read more on the meteor shower here.