Hoax Alert: No 8 days of darkness in June

After the failed 15 days of darkness hoax story on Jan 20 due to the alleged five-planet alignment, another hoax came out on the internet on Facebook. This time the warning is the Sun would not come out for eight days on June 10 through June 17.

The warning was posted on April 26 by Ralfh Johnfred Ramos Ecle who claims the story was confirmed by NASA. He says the National Aeronautics and Space Administration confirmed, in a press conference at the NASA in Menlo Park, California, that the Sun will not rise.

He was referring to the Ames Research Center, tasked with conducting world-class research and development in aeronautics, exploration technology and science aligned with its core expertise. Established in 1939, the 10 core areas of expertise it listed has no reference to the Sun, but it includes Lunar science, described as “Rediscovering our moon.”

Its list of news briefings also excludes any reference to the Sun, while the main NASA website last news release about the Sun was dated April 6, 2012, an announcement about five videos explaining the mysteries of the Sun. Besides NASA, Ramos Ecle claims BBC, Reuters and CNN also reported the NASA warning, which he says is a rare event for the first time in 10 million years.

Citing the alleged press release, Ramos Ecle claims during the first two or three nights, people would be annoyed by the lack of Sun which would start the incidence of various diseases. But it would also lead to an electricity crisis globally, while sales of different types of light would boom. On the fifth day, he says there would be an increase in suicides.

Ramos Ecle, who played it safe by saying he did not create the news but only reposted it, says Charles Frank Bolden, NASA spokesman, allegedly did not react when contacted. He says the blockage of the Sun’s light would be due to a solar storm which would cause dust and space debris to block 90 percent of the Sun.

Wafflesatnoon, a website which debunks hoaxes and rumours, points out that a solar storm “would not plunge the earth into darkness, although it could cause regional blackouts from damaged electrical transformers.” It adds that NASA could not predict a solar storm months in advance. Since it takes about 18 hours for a solar storm to reach Earth once ejected from the Sun, predicting a solar storm before it happens is impossible.

Interestingly, Ramos Ecle’s list of Facebook friends of almost 5,000 includes several people surnamed Ecle and a Hazel Ecleo, linking him to the Ecleo clan from Surigao del Norte, which is known for establishing a cult called the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association.