Astronomers say the sun and moon cannot appear brightly side by side on the horizon, with social media posts claiming that the phenomenon was seen in Thailand in February 2025.
” #unbelievableStronomicalphenomenon! The sun and moon meet on the horizon,” a Thai Facebook post posted on February 17, 2025.
The title continues: “This scene was captured at Phadong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, where two celestial bodies appear side by side on the horizon.”
The post shares an image showing two bright objects slightly above the horizon at the same time.
Screenshot of fake posts, taken on February 25, 2025
Social media users in Thailand shared the same image, claiming it showed an “incredible phenomenon” seen on the popular beaches in the Kingdom.
But astronomers told AFP that real-life claims are impossible.
“In astronomy, it is impossible for the sun and the full moon to meet on Padon Beach,” Matipon Tangmatitham, an astrophysicist at the National Institute of Astronomy (NARIT) to tell AFP on February 25.
Matipon, who is also director of the UNESCO International Training Centre for Astronomy, explained that the moon only reflects the sun and does not shine on its own.
He went on to say that if the sun and the moon appeared together, the moon would be a thin crescent shape or completely invisible.
As the image shows, this contradicts the bright full moon – only happens if it is located opposite the sun in the sky.
“Because of Thailand’s position near the Earth’s equator, it is impossible for the sun and the moon to be parallel to each other on the horizon.”
Matipon also pointed out that while the image does not appear to be generated, the two objects in the photo may not be the sun and the moon.
“These two bright objects are not bright enough to be the sun and the moon, and can actually be light sources of another origin, such as a ship, a lighthouse or other artificial lighting,” Matipon said.
Narit addressed the viral claim in a Facebook post on February 24 – pointing out that this celestial manifestation is impossible (archived link).
Google reverse image search has found the same photo circulating online since at least January 2022, when it was wrongly claimed to have depicted the sun and the moon in the Strait of Magellan.
José Luis Hormaechea, chief astronomer at the Río Grande astronomical station in Argentina, told AFP at the time that the full moon could only be seen when it was located opposite the sun in the sky.
“The sun and the moon are almost the opposite, which is a necessary condition for the sun to fully illuminate the moon toward the earth. There is no other possibility,” Hormaechea said. “When one rises, the other set.”
