The spot crossed the frame, blurred when the imaging mode changed, then appeared again.
A spot crossed the screen in a military video, and a sensor tracked it. When the sensor switched to a different imaging mode, the spot blurred into the background. When it returned to the previous mode, the spot reappeared.
It shows an area that stands out from the background, with the sensor tracking it. The area’s identity is unknown.
It blurred when the sensor switched to a different imaging mode and reappeared when the sensor returned to the previous mode.
The department estimates that it came from a sensor aboard a military vehicle operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
A spot appears in the upper-right corner of the screen in a military video. It crosses the frame and exits on the left. The sensor turns to follow it.
The video runs for about five minutes, but it doesn’t reveal what the spot shows. What it does show is an odd change: when the sensor switches to a different imaging mode, the spot nearly disappears into the background. When the sensor returns to the previous mode, the spot is visible again.
After a stretch with nothing on screen, the area appears in a corner of the frame. It moves from right to left and disappears out of view. A short time later, the sensor turns to track it.
The sensor moves closer to the area and then farther away several times. When it pulls back, the area appears in the lower-right part of the screen. When it moves closer, it points toward the area again. That’s what the video shows: the sensor’s movement and changes in distance. It offers no explanation of what the area itself shows.
Toward the end of the video, the sensor switches imaging modes. Sensors like this can capture images in visible light or infrared, which shows heat. The video’s description doesn’t specify which mode was selected at that moment.
After the switch, the area loses its contrast with the background and becomes nearly impossible to make out. A few moments later, the sensor returns to visible-light imaging, and the area is visible again near the center of the screen. At the end, as the sensor moves closer and farther away, the area briefly appears in the upper-left corner.
The U.S. Department of War estimates that the video probably came from a sensor aboard a military vehicle operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. A user uploaded it to a closed military network in February 2020. The record was made public as part of a collection of materials identified after members of Congress requested access to records that might be related to unexplained phenomena.
It’s not known what appears in the video or what the area is. The department notes that some of the collected materials lack complete documentation showing where they came from.
The sensor found the spot again, but not the answer: What passed across the screen?