The following case was submitted to The Black Vault. Although there was no formal investigation or conclusion posted, it is archived here for reference purposes.

The photograph was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on 29 December 2006. It was originally posted and profiled by Jean Ward on YouTube. According to Mr. Ward:

Here I feature an anomaly I discovered at a new site in Ceti Mensa in the region Valles Marineris. The anomaly looks like a disc-shaped object which hit the surface of Mars at a very low angle and left a trench behind it. The disc-shaped object measures approximately 12 to 15 metres in diameter. Apart from removing a few sand dunes to highlight the object I didn’t change anything else in the photograph. To see the anomaly for yourselves please download the original JP2 from the NASA link provided below and download HiVIEW to open the JP2 (the anomaly is right there for anyone to see).

Alternatives: Could this possibly be a ramp leading into an underground entrance or is this an incomplete Project Ice-Worm structure? Or are we seeing a strange arc-shaped dune?

As always, until we get to see these anomalies up close and personal, I can only speculate as to what these objects might be.

In December of 2021, the image gained a lot of traction and was profiled on various sites making extraordinary claims. However, as Mr. Ward said, it is pure speculation at this point.

The Black Vault will add additional information, should it be presented, but for now – you can download the uncompressed image below, along with a .gif

The Evidence

The RAW data

Below, I have archived a .zip file of both the ORIGINAL and UNCOMPRESSED .JP2 file. These do need special viewers, which in this case, I used IRFANVIEW. In addition, I created a .png (no compression) copy, for much easier viewing, as that is a more generic format.

The RAW Data .ZIP download, .JP2 and .PNG files [1.26GB]

(Original sources files distributed by the University of Arizona)

The Official Caption

The below was written by Chris Okubo (8 December 2008). It explains the scientific breakdown of what we are looking at (with no note of the anomaly):

This image shows spectacular layers exposed on the bottom of Candor Chasma, a large canyon in the Valles Marineris system.

The floor here is approximately 4 kilometers below the canyon rim. The layers are made of sand- and dust-sized particles that were transported here by either wind or water. This canyon may have been filled to its rim by these sedimentary layers, subsequently eroded away, most likely by the wind. The elongate hills may represent areas of rock that are stronger due to differences in the size of the sedimentary particles, chemical alteration, or both.

One of the most eye-catching aspects of this scene are the intricate swirls that these layers form. Sedimentary rock generally accumulates in horizontal layers. These layers, however, have been folded into the patterns that we see today. Folding of the layers that are exposed here may have occurred due to the weight of overlying sediments.

Understanding the geologic history of this region may provide clues into the history of water on Mars, because these layers may have accumulated in shallow lakes and may have undergone chemical reactions with this water. The presence of certain kinds of chemical reactions between water and rock can release energy that could have sustained habitable oases in these areas.

The Analysis

Information Case Only; No Formal Investigation by The Black Vault.

The original discoverer did make a video analyzing the footage (there is no endorsement by The Black Vault on the speculation/conclusions/etc.). You can view that here:

Conclusion

Information Case Only; No Formal Investigation by The Black Vault.

The post Appearance of Crashed Disc-Shaped Object Appears In NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Photo, Taken 29 December 2006 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

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Background

The following case file report was written by TBV Investigations’ researcher Jim Kerr.

On October 28^th, 2018, at approx 4:23 am, Esteban Zavala posted a live video to Instagram showing what he stated to be 5 UFO’s hovering over the city of Rosarito, Baja California. It was a foggy early morning in Rosarita with multiple illuminated objects that appeared to be hovering approx 100 ft above the ground. Later that day Zavala posted the same Instagram video titled, “UFO’s Hovering in Rosarito 2018”, to his YouTube channel named Esteban Zavala, (refer to the link below under credits). Within hours, Zavala’s video footage went viral worldwide across the internet, re-posted on UFO YouTube channels, UFO Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and more.

On November 6, 2018, John Greenewald, creator of “The Black Vault,” shared with his team of UFO Investigators an article titled, “One of the best UFO sightings filmed lately” which included Zavala’s video footage. We all viewed the video and came to the unanimous conclusion that what Zavala videoed were in fact street lights.

Even though the objects in Zavala’s video had already been solved and determined as street lights, we at TBV Investigations are publishing this information not only to educate the public but for necessary archival reference material.  Our report is important documentation regarding how easy one can mistake street lights in foggy weather conditions for Flying Saucers, especially newly designed and installed circular LED street lights.

The Evidence

Witness Zavala’s written statement from his YouTube Channel.

“Today October 28, 2018, I witness 5 UFOs hovering over Rosarito, Baja California MX. At around 4:23 am I was driving back to San Diego, California with my grandmother. We were having a normal conversation when she suddenly went mute and all she could do was point at the sky. I look up and see 5 of these things hovering over homes and the beach. I pulled over and immediately went live on Instagram to avoid speculations of video editing and such. Share your thoughts.”

Investigative journalist, Ales Backman, is credited for determining these alleged Flying Saucers were new circular LED street lights recently installed for illuminating a recently constructed highway interchange along highway 1D.

Backman drove to Rosarito and videoed the location of the lights.

Backman’s video posted to YouTube Channel  concienciaradio.

Below you will find screenshots from Backman’s video showing the circular LED street lights. Note the lens flare of the light fixture in the first photo.

Conclusion

After watching Zavala’s complete unedited video on his YouTube Channel, I truly believe he and his mother believed they witnessed multiple UFO’s over the town of Rosarito, Baja California. It is important to note that they were not traveling on the main highway 1D but a side road in foggy weather conditions. Had they been driving along highway 1D, I believe they would have seen that the lights were in fact highway lights.

I find it very sad that so many so-called UFO researchers and individuals on social media capitalized and exploited this video footage claiming the objects were real Flying Saucers. The aforementioned is a real problem in Ufology today and casts s a bad light on legitimate researchers. It is our goal at TBV Investigations to inform and educate the public and to reduce the exploitation of misidentified UFO sightings.

Credits / Special Thanks

Investigative journalist, Ales Backman. Thank you for taking the time to drive to Rosarito, video the sighting location and reveal the truth.

https://concienciaradio.com/

The post “Flying Saucers” Sighted and Videoed Over Rosarito, Baja California – October 28, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post “Flying Saucers” Sighted and Videoed Over Rosarito, Baja California – October 28, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

On October 26, 2018, this case was submitted to The Black Vault. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ research Jeremy Enfinger for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The witness/photographer submitted the following information:

I was picking my grandchildren up from elementary school when I noticed everybody looking up in the sky I too looked up there and saw what I saw on the photos. The sighting date listed above (in the initial report) is wrong it was in 2014 I believe it was April. I couldn’t change sighting date on your program.

The sighting was reported to have occurred near the intersection of Thornton Rd. and Estate Dr. in Stockton, California around (or near) April of 2014. Four photos were submitted of an anomaly in the sky witnessed by multiple people (appearing in some of the photos).

The Evidence

The Analysis

Metadata analysis indicates the images are the original files, and EXIF metadata was able to be extracted. The image was taken from a Samsung SGH-T599N (5 MP) at a resolution of 1920 x 2560 pixels, using automatic exposure control with ISO 50, an exposure time of 1/2915 sec and an F-stop of 2.7. With the jpeg quality being 97%, there is no indication that the image file has been compressed. The flash was not utilized.

The time stamp on the metadata indicates it was taken May 9, 2014 at 14:14 hours. Due to initial research, no photo manipulation techniques were employed.

Initial impressions indicated the photo was not manipulated, and no evidence of motion was present when comparing images. There were, however, subtle changes in appearance around the periphery of the anomaly which caused me to consider some sort of meteorological or atmospheric disturbance.

After retrieving the metadata, multiple Google searches for “UFO Stockton, California, 2014” and “Clouds in Stockton, California, 2014” for the months of April and May of that year yielded several results. Image results were found that matched the appearance in these images and multiple news article links varied in headlines from May 9 to include “UFO sightings” to descriptions of cloud formations that can cause this kind of appearance.

Conclusion

After consulting the numerous articles citing this phenomenon, it can be summarized as a “Hole Punch Cloud”, which appears as a large, circular gap that usually appears in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds. Also called a “fallstreak hole”, it can happen when moisture in a cloud is at a temperature that’s below freezing, but the moisture itself is isn’t actually frozen. According to the Huffington Post, these formations can also be caused by aircraft passing through certain types of clouds.

References

Here was a FOX 40 submitted photograph from the same timeframe:

The Huffington Post also ran a story about it:

Also CBS Sacramento was another resource that covered it:

YouTube user MrPhath posted a video of it as well:

Original Metadata Information

Each photo was submitted to Fotoforensics, but for the purpose of this report, I will only include the link to one as the JPEG quality and metadata are corroborated in comparison.

Photo #1 Metadata (from FotoForensics): http://fotoforensics.com/analysis.php?id=d6040af2eb054b5764d749de34163b5000b459b0.1704869

JPEG last saved at 97% quality (estimated).

Quality determined from the quantization tables that encoded the JPEG:

JPEG Q0: Luminance

JPEG Q1: Chrominance

The post UFO Photographed in the Clouds over Stockton, California first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Photographed in the Clouds over Stockton, California appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on May 19, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following report:

“At approximately 19:30 on May 17, 2018 I saw something extremely bright horizontal to the setting sun. I’ve seen sundogs before and have many photographs of them. This was no sundog. It hung in the air. It was huge. It had a shape. I ran inside and grabbed my phone and snapped a few shots. I also manipulated a couple of them and brought out what looks like a glowing cigar shape object of some kind. I took a few close ups and a couple of wide angles. I have to say I was amazed. I also caught a secondary object that looks geometrical with antennae protruding from the corners when you zoom in on one of the frames. Look at the photographs and you tell me what that is in the sky. Feel free to download and examine them for yourselves.”

The Evidence

The witness also submitted many photographs of the event in question. This took place over Jacksonville, NC. 

The Analysis

The image was examined using several filters, settings, and adjustments in Photoshop. The object appears to be part of the sky, and has its own brightness, equal to the sunlight. To the left of the large shape is a small, geometric object hanging in the sky. The pixelated nature of the image makes it impossible to tell for sure what we are looking at. The witness stated that the object was not noticed until examining the images later. The witness further states that the cloud shape hung there as the ones around it moved, dissipated. Some swirling can be seen in the image, but again, not definitive shapes. The event lasted ten minutes.

Image Analysis

Conclusion

It is impossible to draw a conclusion for the geometric shape hanging in the air to the left of the elliptical shape as the image is not clear enough. The elliptical shape could be described on first look as a Fallstreak hole (hole punch cloud), but the cloud type is not right for this phenomenon since Fallstreak holes occur in cirro and alto cumulus clouds. A search of images on Google turned up this example of a similar sky effect. This cloud feature is the only conclusion that can be drawn at this time as there is no discernible anomaly in the image.

The post UFO over Jacksonville, North Carolina – May 17, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Jacksonville, North Carolina – May 17, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

On June 3, 2018, a post appeared on Facebook that went viral. It was posted by Ashley Choney, the earliest post I could find when this case file was written, and it shows a photograph of a “UFO” or saucer-like craft on the back of a semi, followed by “20 police cars” as indicated by the witness.

The case was investigated by the creator of The Black Vault, John Greenewald, Jr.

Witness Testimony

The original Facebook posting, as published on June 3, 2018:

The Evidence

The only evidence was the photo updated. Here is the highest resolution available:

The Analysis

by John Greenewald, Jr., Founder of The Black Vault / Creator of TBV Investigations

There was something eerily familiar when I saw this photograph making it’s rounds. When I am writing this report, the post has had just about 20,000 shares, more than 7,000 likes and more than 3,000 comments. I recalled seeing a post nearly identical to this a few years back, and dug up a December 2011 video from YouTuber Alex Dieguez in the the same exact location as this new posting — specifically, Ponca City, Oklahoma.

In 2011, when this story and video first circulated, it too went viral. With thousands of shares and likes, it was unknown what was seen that day, but it sparked various news stories and newspaper articles.  That is, until Brooks McKinney, senior manager of public relations at Northrop Grumman, closed the mystery. He told Life’s Little Mysteries, a project by the popular LiveScience.com website, that the craft was a transport of the X-47B. According to Northrop Grumman:

“The X-47B is a tailless, strike fighter-sized unmanned aircraft developed by Northrop Grumman as part of the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) Carrier Demonstration program. Under a contract awarded in 2007, the company designed, produced and is currently flight testing two X-47B aircraft. In 2013, these aircraft were used to demonstrate the first ever carrier-based launches and recoveries by an autonomous, low-observable relevant unmanned aircraft. In April of 2015, the X-47B once again made aviation history by successfully conducting the first ever Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) of an unmanned aircraft. AAR unlocks the full potential of what an unmanned surveillance, strike and reconnaissance system can do in support of the Navy. These historical demonstrations solidify the concept of future unmanned aircraft and proved that the X-47B can perform standard missions like aerial refueling and operate seamlessly with manned aircraft as part of the Carrier Air Wing.”

The source of this, was published on December 20, 2011, on the LiveScience.com website.

With the 2011 mystery solved, now we have the post again, or a similar one, in 2018.

What is interesting to note, is the fact that the truck transporting the craft, is nearly identical (or IS identical) in both make, model and color as the 2011 video.

I put a side by side comparison:

It is likely, that this is the X-47  being transported again by the same transport company using a nearly identical vehicle. Oddly, it is seen and photographed in the same exact city of Ponca City, Oklahoma.  Northrop does have facilities in Oklahoma City and an address in Ponca City, so the locale in relation to the “sighting” makes sense.

It should also be noted, that on June 3, 2018, the same day as the original post of this “saucer” craft, the following was posted by Trevor Macy, a reporter with KWCH Channel 12 in Witchita, Kansas:

Just spotted this South of Ark City. Any ideas what it is? pic.twitter.com/pH99h6q7tv

— Trevor Macy (@KWCHTrevor) June 3, 2018

Hard to tell if it is the same craft/truck, but again, you have a near identical make, model and color of the transport vehicle.

Others have also referenced an “orb” in the photograph. I believe this can also be explained fairly easily. Here is a screen shot of the orb, along with what should also be noted — power lines.

To the left of the photograph, you will see the “orb” referenced by many others posting and re-posting this photograph. This is touted as further proof this is some kind of alien spacecraft, as it has its own buddy following along.

However, I also pointed out power poles in the photograph. I believe by these, we can safely assume there are power lines running from pole to pole, and going off camera frame.  This ‘sphere’ is not a craft, but rather, is a visibility marker ball. These are often put on power lines to indicate to passing aircraft and helicopters, where the danger is if you fly too low. They mark the power lines not easily visible when flying an aircraft.

Here is a clear photograph of these markers:

Conclusion

Based on the evidence, this is likely simply a transport of the X-47B (or similar shaped craft) as talked about in 2011 by Northrop Grumman’s Public Relations Senior Manager.

This is aside from the fact that if it was anything involving a massive amount of secrecy, like an alien craft or back engineered technology, it would not be transported in the open on public highways in it’s actual form — but rather, it would be disguised, transported under the cover of darkness, or even transported in an open vehicle at all.

The “orb” that is often also cited as being in the photograph, is likely a visibility marking ball.

The post UFO Type Craft Seen Hauled on Large Semi Truck in Ponca City, Oklahoma first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

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Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations.  The witness submitted the following testimony:

Witness Testimony

“I was randomly shooting the moon with my Canon SX60HS which can zoom into craters on the moon. I had it on auto, no particular settings other than 3 shot burst.

I did not see the object when I clicked the shutter, it was only later when looking over the images of the day. What I captured I kept to myself, a few friends and family. Posted it to fb twice for some opinions later on.
It was only recently that I decided to throw it out there and get some real ideas on what, who and where this came from.

Thanks for your help,
NAME REMOVED

** I have added all of the pictured captured in the 3 burst. The times in exif data reflect this.
– image with object IMG_6440
– images without objects IMG_6441, IMG_6442

** I have added the photo to a video and blown it up here

Note from The Black Vault: The video was removed to withhold the witnesses identity. It only was a blow up of the below photographs, so all REAL evidence is maintained in this case file. For reference, here is a blow up of the object (with is a screen shot from the video).

The Evidence

The following photographs were submitted for analysis:

The Analysis

by Michael Kelly, TBV Investigations

After conducting a series of thorough photo forensic methods, a number of discrepancies were found in the photographs submitted by the witness.

We list only a few of the examples, though more can be found in the metadata using sophisticated photography software. These examples are sufficient to support our conclusion, and we feel that adding even more additional (and technical) evidence would only assist future digital manipulation of a “UFO” photograph.

Problem #1

The 3-shot burst mode is not indicated in the time stamp nor the metadata which indicates each shot was separated by a few seconds and not fractions of a second as would be the case in burst mode.

Image time stamps

• 19:15:09
• 19:15:12
• 19:15:20

It is noted that when the witness was asked about this, they submitted the following, and changed the original submission:

“Yep you are right in that they possibly weren’t the pictures I snapped in the burst, I have always assumed they were as I was going from memory out shooting. They were certainly part of the same group of images which I had shot in the burst, however they may have been just straight shots as well.”

Problem #2

The changing position of the moon in the photographs indicates that the camera was being held or pointed in different directions on a tripod. The witness confirmed in follow-up communications that the camera was being held.

When comparing all three images pixel for pixel, the moon in each image is identical.

With a change of position of the camera, the moon should have slight variations in each photograph. The fact that it does not suggests that the images were digitally modified, copying the same image of the moon into all three photographs.

Problem #3

Camera sensors create a high frequency noise pattern over an entire image.

In this photograph the moon and sky have this pattern, but the dot does not.

The fact that the dot does not have this pattern suggests that it was digitally inserted into the image.

Problem #4

Through investigation, the witness was found on Facebook using only publicly available information. Recent (public) posts include one of his own Photoshop works with a hidden “easter egg” that he inserted, wherein he invites his friends to attempt to find it.

Other posts highlight his Photoshop skills, along with his web  and graphics design career.

It is for this (and other) reasons we decided to strip the name of the “witness” off this report, and post it as Anonymous.

Conclusion

These photographs do not stand up to digital scrutiny and therefore must be labeled fraudulent.

There is additional information which TBV Investigations has left off this report.  We feel the above information is more than enough to support this conclusion, and we do not aim to enhance digital manipulation techniques.

Witness Responds to Digital Manipulation Claim

Note from The Black Vault: In the interest of fairness, the witness responded to our report prior to it being published. They felt the need to respond, and we offered to post their responses here, unedited.

This is what they submitted:

Let me address your points as we go.

TBV Investigations Final Response

In addition to the above statement, the witness submitted a video.  We assume by their description, they did not want it shared publicly, so we respect that and have not published it. However, we are going to respond, and ultimately leave it for all of the readers of this case to decide.

The following is from a third party consultant to TBV Investigations. Their ability for image analysis is highly credible.  We have withheld their identity (unless they give us permission later) to thwart future hoax submissions on who we call upon for help.  Their information below is very detailed, and can speak for itself.  Also, the analyst below did view the video (per the witnesses request to show to our analysts). The time codes referenced are irrelevant since the original response video by the witness is not show, but the analysis is self explanatory.

Regarding his video:
1. At 2:40, he correctly interprets the ELA result as being uniform. However, he draws an incorrect conclusion at 2:40 when he says that a resave would have removed the white noise. The white noise only gets removed if the picture is a low quality. His picture, as I previously noted, does not appear to be low quality.

2. At 5:15, he shows his camera roll.
This does not identify the pictures as being original — only that he has them in the same directory.

There’s also something interesting:
At 5:25, the camera roll shows many moon pictures: 6440-6448, but we only have 6440-6442.
Picture 6444, 6445, 6446, and 6447 were visibly altered:
6444 was cropped to a square (his canon doesn’t do that), recolored to a teal, and strong vignetting was added. 4665 had different color alterations. Similarly, 6446, 6447, and 6448 were all visibly altered. And this is easy to see from the thumbnail images.

This means that the known moon pictures (6440-6442) are sitting in a directory next to other pictures that were definitely altered.

3. At 5:38: Viewing metadata from Windows Properties literally proves nothing. In particular, Windows metadata viewer displays fields that do not exist in the file, and omits fields that do exist. See: http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/index.php?%2Farchives%2F712-Metadata-Tools-of-the-Trade.html 

By the same means, at 6:35, he claims that the Microsoft property tab for “Previous Versions” says it was never resaved. However, that only applies to using Microsoft to edit pictures and retain revisioning. Again, it literally proves nothing.

4. At 6:55, he zooms in to show no photo manipulation. But again, this proves nothing.

5. At 7:20, he shows that the Microsoft properties for the created and modified dates match his claim and have not been edited. However, this just shows the metadata fields. (And it is my claim that the metadata was replaced.)

Now, let’s compare his counter-argument with my original findings:

Finding #1: Burst mode — alright, he admits he was wrong. We can look past this part.

Finding #2: The pictures show the same moon at the exact same orientation relative to the camera. Yet, the moon’s position changed relative to the camera. So he somehow managed to change the angle of the view of the moon, repositioning the moon in the frame, and still kept the exact same moon orientation.

This is a fun experiment to try at home: Hold the camera and take 3 pictures of a distant object — each 3 seconds apart. Then align the pictures on the object. The orientation should change. A very small object (only a few pixels in the frame) may appear to keep the orientation. A very large object, like the moon taking up 20% of the frame, should change orientation a little. Even though it is only a little different, this should be a visible difference when you overlay the two pictures and view the difference.

Then try the same experiment using a tripod — be sure the move the camera on the tripod a little so the object is not in the same relative location between frames. Again, it will change orientation.

And yet, he someone managed to take 3 pictures that all have the moon with the exact same orientation.

Here’s a difference-overlay of 6440 and 6442 (11 seconds apart): http://fotoforensics.com/analysis.php?id=4a3d92dcda18e048a36bea4871c2b34948246585.2346289&fmt=orig
– There is blue sky that exists in 6442 and not 6440 — visible due to aligning the moons.
– The UFO stands out because it doesn’t exist in 6442.
– There’s a tiny fraction of misalignment along one edge of the moon — likely due to scaling.
However, if the moon were rotated even one degree, then we should start seeing that reddish difference edge over most of the moon’s edge and most of the moon’s high-contrast features. We’re just not seeing that.

Even more interesting: Save the difference picture, bring it up in Gimp or Photoshop, and apply a histogram equalization to it. If you apply a histogram equalization to the difference picture, then you can see (1) moon features stand out along JPEG compression differences (expected), and (2) there is a dark swath through the moon that goes through both pictures. That dark swath should be a lighting artifact (like a lens flare), but it is in the same place in both pictures, even though the camera “moved” relative to the moon.

There’s one other thing that bothers me (and makes me chuckle):
In 6440, there is no motion blur. So the object is traveling slower than the shutter speed.
A few seconds later, in 6441, it is gone. So a UFO flew into view, sat still for a photo, and then vanished. In order to vanish, it would have to travel more than half the width of the frame in 3 seconds. Assuming it is far away and not in front of the lens, that would require a very fast speed.

Now, I’m not claiming that a real extra terrestrial UFO couldn’t travel really fast, but this seems like an amazing coincidence that he photographed it at the brief moment that it came to a stop.

Or maybe cloaking? Again — amazing coincidence that he photographed it right at the moment when it was about to put up the cloak.

Of course, if it were a blur from an insect that this close the the camera, then that would explain the really fast relative movement.

Regarding his written comments:

Accepted by MUFON? Good for him. MUFON didn’t contact me about this picture. Had they contacted me, I would have told them the same things I told you.

“#4 – The fact I post Graphics on social media is kind of moot, I am a web designer…”
Note: You hadn’t told me his name, but I got it from his youtube video.
This goes toward skillset. He clearly is capable of doing photo manipulation. This is evident in many of his pubic galleries. For example, his art gallery (LINK REMOVED TO WITHHOLD IDENTITY OF WITNESS) includes a collection of real, altered, and edited photos.

What do you think? Post your comments below! 

Special Thanks

TBV Investigations team members Jeremy Enfinger, Jim Kerr, and James Clarkson all contributed to this report and analysis.

Raw Metadata

Image 2

Image 3

The post UFO Appears Over Cornwall, Ontario Canada, While Witness Photographs Moon first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Appears Over Cornwall, Ontario Canada, While Witness Photographs Moon appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

The following UFO report was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on December 19, 2017. 

Due to the age of the sighting, and lack of visual evidence, the case is added here without scrutiny, and used for reference and archival purposes.  

Witness Testimony

Large circular object. No rotation of object noted.

Moving very slowly at perhaps 10 mph.

Grayish in color with large highly illuminated enclosed circular deck on bottom of craft.

No nighttime running lights, no noise or other sounds noted. Very impressive.

One other witness who has since died.

Sighting lasted about 2 minutes at best.

Conclusion

Due to the amount of time that has elapsed since the event, and the lack of visual evidence, this case holds no “conclusion” and is archived here for reference or for possible future corroborating witness testimony.

The post UFO over Albuquerque, New Mexico – June 21, 1967 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

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Background

The following report came in to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on December 17, 2017. It was assigned to TBV Investigations team member Michael Kelly for investigation.

Witness Testimony

“I was driving West on I-90 at 75 MPH somewhere West of Mitchell, SD. The sky was clear and the moon almost full. About a mile ahead off to the right, I spotted 3 radio towers and began scrutinizing them waiting for the flashing red light required to alert small aircraft of their presence. After a few seconds (5 or less) I noticed a sudden bright yellowish light strobe on and off quickly (1/10 of a second duration or less; probably hundredths of a second). I quickly realized that it was not directly on top of the towers, but closer to me than were the towers.

I wondered why I didn’t see a red pulsating light, but rather this strobing topaz light. About 3 seconds after the first “flash”, it strobed again but was much closer, moving almost exactly opposite the direction I was travelling, but slightly angled towards the highway. About 3 seconds later, it flashed again. I very briefly looked at the highway to ensure I was pointed well in my lane then looked directly to my right through the passenger window of the full-size pick-up truck I was driving hoping that I would see it one more time before I passed it.

It flashed one more time with a light of incredibly intensity with “crystals” of brilliant light that were gem-like; topaz in color and luminosity on the bottom. The light on the top was also of a crystalline structure and brilliance, but was pure white. The white light was only the upper portion of the object and the “crystals” were shorter than the topaz ones that constituted most of the light phenomenon. 

The structure was only observed as an emanation of light. It was not symmetric vertically, but appeared to have most of its mass on the bottom or larger half in a vertical sense. The upper part that was white did not extend to the front or back of the largest horizontal dimension; the direction of travel. It was only this last (4th) flash where it appeared closest to me that I could see that there were two different colors of light. There was no sound then or a sound wake that followed. Based on the distance travelled in the space of time required, it must have been travelling at least 150-300 mph if not a little more.

It wasn’t until after the last flash that I did the “math” in my head and realized that a small plane would have displayed a red light at the tip of the port wing and a green at the tip of the opposite/starboard wing. I lived less than a mile from a major airport for several years and observed many small aircraft and helicopters approach and depart at a close distance. 

The phenomenon being reported here was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, heard described, or have seen in pictures, videos, or depicted in drawings. In just these immediate few seconds that followed the last flash, I realized that this was not something I know to be man-made; hence this report.”

Witness Sketch

The witness submitted the following sketch to further describe the object that he saw.

The Analysis

There are seven airports within a 40 mile radius of the location of the sighting, and many more within a 100 mile radius. The simplest explanation is that this sighting was of an unusual aircraft operating out of one of these airports.

However, given the witness’s description of the object’s speed, lack of sound, unusual shape, lack of signal lights, and general odd appearance, the simple explanation does not fit the witness’s observation.

There have been a number of sightings in the Mitchell, SD area over the years reported in various UFO databases, so it does appear there is a lot of activity in the area.

Conclusion

Without further evidence to examine, this case is difficult to draw any conclusions from. It is documented here to compare with other cases in the region, and hopefully determine what may be going on in the area.

The post UFO Sighting over South Dakota – November 15, 2013 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Sighting over South Dakota – November 15, 2013 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

On social media, this particular photograph has been passed around in various Facebook groups and websites.

It depicts NASA engineers at Dryden, posing with an unidentified craft in the shape of a flying saucer.

The Photograph

The Analysis

The investigation on this, is very simple, and was easy to conduct.

The hoaxer who created the image, did not even bother to change the photograph identification number. On the photograph in question, you will note it says: E49-059 as a Photo Identification number.

A quick search of the NASA Dryden Photo archives, reveals to real photograph with this ID number, and the buildings, engineers, etc. are identical. 

The hoaxer simply did some fancy Photoshop work – and inserted in a flying saucer to the original photograph, after deleting the actual aircraft.

The Original Photograph

SOURCE at NASA Dryden

Conclusion

With the above evidence, this is clearly, a hoax. 

The post NASA Dryden Photo Depicts Personnel Standing with Flying Saucer / UFO first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post NASA Dryden Photo Depicts Personnel Standing with Flying Saucer / UFO appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

by Michael Kelly, TBV Investigations

On December 19, 2017, Ronald Male submitted the following UFO sighting to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations, which he witnessed from his driveway in Cazenovia, New York. The event occurred on July 19, 2006 at 10:30am:

I brought my breakfast (bowl of cereal) outdoors to eat while sitting in my spring chair to be in the sun in the driveway on a very nice morning. As usual, the chair took a moment to stabilize, and when it stopped the back and forth rocking motion I was able to eat without a problem. As I leaned back slightly my eyes were able to notice an object in the sky that did not look normal. There was no sound, no evidence of flight control surfaces, and after a few seconds it seemed to linger in place. But it was actually slowely moving due east in the direction of Cazenovia Lake, which was half mile from my driveway. Its movement was regular…..no stops or starts……and appeared to be shaped round like a saucer with a shiny metalic surface. As the object transitioned from about 45° arc from the horizon to almost directly overhead, it was appearant that it did not rotate on its own axis, but the sun reflected off its surface in such a way that I could see the “skin” of the craft which looked to be paneled as individual panels reflected light in sequence as it slowely moved. Its size was hard to interupt since the blue sky offered no reference points, but from where I sat my best estimate was it was the size as a tennis ball held at arms length.

I was considering getting my digital camera, but then I might loose sight of it should it make a move.

As it reached a point over my head it suddenly went straight up so fast that there was little or no shrinking perspective that is evident when an aircraft, for instance, flies away and its appearant size gets smaller with distance traveled. That final sudden and unexpected disappearance was not associated with any noise, flash of light, or any other indication …..it simply disappeared. There were no other witnesses and the entire observation lasted for 4 or 5 minutes.

The Analysis

Aspects of this sighting fit classic UFO reports: disc shaped object, no sound, metallic surface with no flight control surfaces, almost instantaneous departure, etc. There have been sightings from the Cazenovia, NY area reported on other UFO sites, but none that match this description. The size of the object is difficult to determine without knowing the altitude.

It is possible that this aircraft is connected to Deer Run Airfield about 5 miles from site of the observation.

Conclusion

Without further information it is difficult to determine what was seen in the sky on this day. A pedestrian explanation is that this was merely an unusual aircraft operating out of the Deer Run Airfield at 4051 Argos Rd, Cazenovia, NY, 13035, which is a little over 5 miles from the driveway of the witness. This case should remain open without further evidence.

The post UFO over Cazenovia, New York – July 19, 2006 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Cazenovia, New York – July 19, 2006 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

On December 6, 2017, the witness submitting the following information to The Black Vault:

Hello John

About myself:

I am sound mind and body. I am 63, and just retired. Moved to Las Vegas in February of 2016. Goal was to go to Area 51, photograph mountains, and UFOs. Yea right!

I am ex Navy 15 years, and X Military Police for 3 years of those 15. I been shooting photography my entire life. I used a Sony A350. It’s 14 years old or so. But in good working condition. I just bought a Nikon D750 2 days ago. Lord knows how that thing works.

This report was shot with the Sony A350 a first generation DSLR. 

I am a good photographer, who likes to take pictures of weather and jets. So as you can guess I am always looking in the air. But not every day, to much of one thing is never good.

I have 2 separate incidents where I capture a UFO on digital film. But could you clarify what I saw??

The first time I saw a bright white ball of light leave the clouds at 230 in the afternoon,, while shooting airplanes at Nellis AFB.

I shot a series of 10 images until I no longer could see the object.

It came from behind a clouds, jetted down at a 45 degree decent and vanish, time elapse was probably 10 seconds… time enough for the card to write.

About 18 aircraft had landed, and there was a pause in the recovery. I think it thought recovery was done, but I knew there were more aircraft to be recovery, just because I was there for 4 hours.

Then it jetted out of the clouds… I just kept shooting until it was no longer… so I have 10 images of white spot. When I blew it up to 200x, it just looks like nothing, a cloud shifter.. but when I saw it, it had direction and speed.

The case was assigned to TBV Investigations team member Christopher Connelly.

The Analysis

by Christopher Connelly, TBV Investigations

From a subjective perspective, it is hard to determine the shape of the object in the photographs due to the distance and the possible changes in position of the object. I am able to see in one photograph, that the object appears to be disc shaped but in the others, it becomes hard to discern. The color appears to be silver or metallic, as it seems to be reflective of natural light. The witness described the object as “being of an irregular shape and a bright white ball of light,” which is fairly accurate of what I see within his photographs. I see no color changes within the photographs given to me, nor do I see any signs of other light sources on the object.

From the objective perspective, the witness stated that incident occurred around 1430 while he was viewing the return on aircraft to the Nellis Air Force Base, located in Nevada. Witness states that there were about 22 aircraft in total that were returning from a possible exercise and around when the 18th aircraft touched down, he turned to face North, when he spotted the said “object.” He stated that a white ball of light came out from behind the clouds and sped through the sky at a speed that did not match any of the active aircraft. He was able to get the pictures but eventually he lost sight of the object. He states that the object did not appear to be metallic but due to the distance of the object, he states that “it was hard to tell.” No return of object.

I contacted Nellis AFB in regards to getting their flight logs or past exercises in hopes of seeing what aircraft were in the air at that time, just in case they were visiting squadrons.  Note: This portion of the investigation is still pending as no response from Nellis has yet been given. 

Visiting squadrons may be different aircraft. Nellis is home to many different aircraft including the Thunderbirds, who are known to perform death defying maneuvers, F-22 Raptors, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-15 Strike Eagles. It is impossible to determine if the object that is seen in the first encounter, is one of these due to the quality of the photographs.

This is not due to the photographers skills as it may be due to the crafts speed or maneuvering.

It does appear to be metallic, but like the witness stated, due to the distance, it is too difficult to judge.

Possible Explanations

The witnesses descriptions were helpful but they don’t give any leads to the source of this object, unfortunately. I went over the photographs of the first encounter that he provided but I am unable to match them to any aircraft that I know of or that I could find. The witness states that this could have been a lens flare, but I am unable to determine that. 

Another possibility was that it was a UFO, which I cannot conclude due to the lack of evidence.

Michael Andrew McLimans, a fellow TBV Investigations team member, offered another possible theory for consideration.

Party City, Balloon Planet and other party supply stores offer a large balloon in the shape of a “6”. The shape could definitely match the object in the photos, and the question now, would be the size.

It is very hard to tell exactly how far the object is away from the camera. The largest “6” balloon found was about 3′ tall.  The question would be, how far would a 3′ tall balloon in this shape be discernible? 

Photo Gallery

The post UFO Appears Over Las Vegas, Nevada, May 15, 2017 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Appears Over Las Vegas, Nevada, May 15, 2017 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Date of Sighting: October, 1990 (Exact Date Unknown)
Time of Sighting: Around 8 PM EDT
Date Sighting Reported: August 30, 2007
Duration of Sighting: Unknown
Location of Sighting: Almont, Michigan
Latitude: 42.89 Degrees North
Longitude: 83.03 Degrees West
Number of Witnesses: Two
Number of Witnesses Interviewed: One
Weather: Clear Skies. Stars Visible. (Per Witness Observation.)

Description (In Witness’s Own Words): It was the fall of 1990. I was in my home in Almont, MI. That time of year it gets dark quite early. It must of been around 8:00 PM: “The times are now just an approximation.” My son, who at the time was around 12 came running in the house saying there was a UFO right outside our house. Let me add at this point I was not one who believed in UFOs. I went outside and my son pointed south and upwards and said look! The funny thing was at first I didn’t see anything, but I did notice it was unusually dark. Then I noticed a very dim light. I suddenly realized that the reason it was so dark was that there was a huge craft right over our driveway. It was at tree level and was moving north and a very slow pace, “approximately a slow walking speed.” There was a very distinct humming, exactly like a large transformer hums. There was a very dull light in the middle and as it traveled down or driveway I made out a row of windows around the craft. The windows looked very large. I remember walking down the driveway with my son. Then the next thing I remember is standing out in the field north of my house still looking at the UFO, when suddenly it went from approximately 90 or 100 ft straight up in the sky to where it was a pinpoint of light. It just looked like another star. This happened in under a second. We continued to watch it for quite awhile when it took off in a northwesterly direction like a meteor and was gone in a second. There are a lot of things I can describe if you are interested, but this is the basic part. I don’t feel like I was abducted, but I honestly do not remember how I got from my driveway and then in the field. I have asked my son about it and he remembers things the way I do, but what I find unusual is that:
1. I didn’t really focus on it that much after the initial day it happened until a few years ago.
2. My son doesn’t seem as interested as I am, even though he is a very intelligent guy. I was a flight simulator instructor in the air force and I have a lot of knowledge regarding aircraft. This will always go down as the most bizarre day in my life. By the way, it seemed like I was being watched by someone in the window, but it was like you could only make out a shadow. I am now fascinated by UFOs and I know that their out there. Please, if you have any more questions feel free to ask. Almont is about 20 SE of Brown City. I have never seen another unusual craft. This was definitely a UFO. There is no other explanation for it. I am the type of guy that checks his facts. There is nothing on our planet that I am aware of that could do what I saw! The pilots would be dead just from the G forces.

Investigator’s Notes: This sighting happened several years ago, but the witness still vividly recalls details and was able to construct an explicit drawing of the object that he sighted. (It is not known when the drawing was constructed.) The witness has a good background and should be qualified to ascertain whether or not an aircraft is of conventional type. This sighting falls into the unidentified category.

The post Man & Son See Huge, Slow Moving Object in Night Sky Over Driveway first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post Man & Son See Huge, Slow Moving Object in Night Sky Over Driveway appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Description: The witness stated he and his son saw the object in the above drawing that he submitted with his report.

Investigator’s Notes: A picture is worth a “thousand words.” Certainly the witness illustrated a “classic flying saucer” in his drawing.

The post Man and Son See Huge “Flying Saucer” Type Craft first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post Man and Son See Huge “Flying Saucer” Type Craft appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

On April 16, 2015, the following was published by The Mirror:

Authorities revealed that they do not recognize the strange object which was captured hovering in the skies

A UFO that was sighted in Chile is ‘not a known object made by man’, according to the country’s government.

Officials released the footage after completing a thorough investigation and have announced in a report that the mysterious object is not one they recognize.

They confirmed that the silver disc seen in the clip was approximately 10 metres in diameter and performed with vertical and horizontal movements that no other aircraft can do, according to Chilean media reports.

Scientists at the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Ariel Phenomena (CEFAA) confirmed: “It is not any weather phenomenon or any other known object made by man.”

The footage was originally shot in April 2013 by miners who were working at the Collahuasi copper mine in north Chile.

Initially, they chose to keep the clip under wraps, for fear of being ridiculed, but later showed the clip to one of their bosses who insisted on sending copies to the CEFAA in February 2014.

The witnesses, who have chosen to remain anonymous, revealed that the object hovered in the sky for over an hour, and did not make any sound.

According to reports published in July 2014, the Chilean Meterological Office confirmed that the sky was clear on the day in question and now lenticular clouds (saucer shaped cloud formations) were recorded.

José Lay, director of international affairs at CEFAA also excluded the possibility that the UFO could be a drone.

“People in that area are well aware of the existence of drones.

“Fishing companies use drones and [they]make much noise. This was definitely not a drone.”

Officials also ruled out experimental aircraft, weather balloons, or other military drills that could explain the incident.

The post Chile UFO: Government confirm mysterious object is NOT ‘made by man’ first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post Chile UFO: Government confirm mysterious object is NOT ‘made by man’ appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Official NASA Caption: Microscopic Imager Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 654 of Opportunity’s mission to Meridiani Planum at approximately at approximately 12:02:57 Mars local solar time, Microscopic Imager dust cover commanded to be CLOSED. NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS

Original NASA Source: Opportunity – All Raw Images Sol 654 (60 images)

What are we looking at? In this photo, there is, what appears to be, an unknown object hovering in the background. It does not appear to be a rock or other object connected to the rover.

Explanations:

Marc Dantontio, image analyst from MUFON, submitted the following explanation:

Marc Dantonio John, the object in question is not in the background because you cannot see the background in this image. If you look carefully you can see that what has been mistaken for Mars in the background is actually the surface of the vehicle itself to which the object is attached. The “Mars surface” ends to the left abruptly as the contour of the vehicle changes so you can see this is just a happenstance where being slightly out of focus made it appear to be a de focused Mars terrain. It is slightly out of focus because the micro imager is actually focused much closer on other parts of the vehicle at that moment. Mars is hopelessly out of focus.

After receiving this feedback, I was able to dig some more to determine what the actual “object was. It is, indeed, a screw on one of the arms of the rover. On Sol day 2 of the mission, the rover’s same camera captured this image:

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