We Indians are probably so enthusiastic about seeing a space picture of India on Diwali that we fall for anything that we are provided with, especially if it bears the NASA tag.
Just last week, European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli posted an image of India on Twitter wishing Indians a Happy Diwali.
Seeing the lights and the timing of the post, people assumed that it is a Diwali night sky picture and was widely shared.
However, turns out, this one isn’t a Diwali picture either!
The picture Paolo shared was indeed clicked by him, however, that was 20 days back on 29th September. As spotted by few Twitter users, the image is part of Nespoli’s Flickr album. It is clearly stated there that the image was taken on 29th September.
In reality, Diwali lights cannot even be seen from space and the lights in the picture are of the cluster of homes and cities lit up in Indian cities.
Previously, Indians have fallen for another doctored ‘Diwali night’ picture that has been doing the rounds for several years now.
Thus, I guess we will have to wait another year to see if someone actually shares a picture of India from space on Diwali!