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> RECORD OBS-0865 | status: DEBUNKED | filed 2026-07-31
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Great Moon Hoax of 1835

RecordOBS-0865
CategorySpace/Moon Landing
StatusDEBUNKED
SummaryThe Great Moon Hoax was a series of articles published in the New York Sun in 1835, falsely claiming that the astronomer John Herschel had discovered life on the Moon, including bat-like humanoids and vegetation. It was a deliberate fabrication that fooled many readers.
OriginThe hoax was published in August 1835 in the New York Sun, a newspaper, as a series of articles attributed to the Edinburgh Journal of Science.
Claimed
  • Sir John Herschel had discovered an advanced civilization on the Moon.
  • The Moon was inhabited by winged humanoids, bison, and other creatures.
  • The discoveries were made using a powerful new telescope.
Evidence / consensusThe articles were a hoax, likely written by Richard Adams Locke, to increase newspaper sales. There was no such discovery, and Herschel himself denied any involvement.
> OBSERVER NOTE:
An early example of fake news. The hoax exploited public fascination with astronomy and was eventually exposed, but it remains a cautionary tale.

Sources

  1. The 'Great Moon Hoax' that fooled the world

Sources are external and provided for verification. Listing does not imply the Observer endorses their claims.