This image is being shared by flat earthers, often with the claim that it is an official NASA image, presented as a real view of the Earth from space. Clearly, it's not a real image, as it has repeated and mirrored cloud formations, and the lighting and shadow directions are all wrong.
![upload_2016-9-14_12-24-54.png upload_2016-9-14_12-24-54.png](https://www.metabunk.org/attachments/upload_2016-9-14_12-24-54-png.21393/)
But I thought I'd try to find out where it actually comes from.
A search on Tineye finds hundreds of hits on wallpaper and stock photo sites, and none whatsoever on NASA sites.
![upload_2016-9-14_12-26-53.png upload_2016-9-14_12-26-53.png](https://www.metabunk.org/attachments/upload_2016-9-14_12-26-53-png.21394/)
I then tried searching for just half of the image, to see if I could find the unflipped original, but with no success.
So then I tried an image search for "hurricane from space", and found this, which is clearly the source of the manipulated image:
![upload_2016-9-14_12-28-23.png upload_2016-9-14_12-28-23.png](https://www.metabunk.org/attachments/upload_2016-9-14_12-28-23-png.21395/)
This eventually led to this Getty Images photo:
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/earth-from-space-royalty-free-image/ST000349
![](https://www.metabunk.org/data/MetaMirrorCache/375fef5e200d8fdf4a8dedc7eb13fad1._.jpg)
Which is a Stocktrek Images photo: http://www.stocktrekimages.com/results.asp?image=STK200656S&itemw=4&itemf=0007&itemstep=61&itemx=61
However I haven't been able to find the ultimate source of the image, or even whether it is a real photograph.
But I thought I'd try to find out where it actually comes from.
A search on Tineye finds hundreds of hits on wallpaper and stock photo sites, and none whatsoever on NASA sites.
I then tried searching for just half of the image, to see if I could find the unflipped original, but with no success.
So then I tried an image search for "hurricane from space", and found this, which is clearly the source of the manipulated image:
This eventually led to this Getty Images photo:
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/earth-from-space-royalty-free-image/ST000349
![](https://www.metabunk.org/data/MetaMirrorCache/375fef5e200d8fdf4a8dedc7eb13fad1._.jpg)
Which is a Stocktrek Images photo: http://www.stocktrekimages.com/results.asp?image=STK200656S&itemw=4&itemf=0007&itemstep=61&itemx=61
However I haven't been able to find the ultimate source of the image, or even whether it is a real photograph.