Scientists released a James Webb Space Telescope image of the "Cosmic Vine", a line of galaxies linked together in a helix.
Spread on: Facebook and X, March 2026
The real story
Researchers did use the James Webb Space Telescope to discover a group of galaxies they named the Cosmic Vine. But they did not release the viral picture, and no one has found galaxies physically strung together like that. The image was credited to space agencies to make it look official.
The fact-checker's verdict: “False”. Our label never goes further than theirs.
Compare viral space pictures with the official telescope image gallery; many 'Webb images' are not from Webb at all.
The receipts
Did scientists release this image allegedly showing 'Cosmic Vine' of galaxies? We unearthed the evidence ↗
Snopes · 2026-03-23
