The spot stayed near the center of the display, then lost its shape when the sensor changed modes.
A phone video shows a prominent spot on a sensor display aboard an aircraft over the Gulf of Oman. The sensor changed modes twice, and the spot blurred into the background. What created it is unknown.
A prominent spot on a sensor display. After the sensor switches modes twice, the spot blurs into the background.
No. The video shows a recording of a display, and the source does not identify what created the spot.
A prominent spot appeared on a display inside a military aircraft over the Gulf of Oman. It stayed near the center of the screen for most of the roughly 13-second video, which was filmed on a phone.
U.S. Central Command circulated a report about an unidentified phenomenon. The footage shows not the view through the sensor itself, but a recording of its display. Even so, the change is clear: the spot stays near the center, then blends into the background.
The display comes from an infrared sensor, which shows differences in heat. At the start of the video, a prominent spot stays near the center of the sensor’s field of view. Other parts of the display move in and out of frame as the video continues.
An accompanying report described the phenomena as “cold spheres” about four feet in diameter. That is the report’s description, not something clearly identifiable in the video itself. The recording shows a spot on a display, not a clear, direct image of anything outside the aircraft.
Near the end of the video, the sensor switched modes twice, changing how it displayed the image. Afterward, the prominent spot lost its clear shape and blended into the background. The video shows the spot changing in appearance, but not what caused the change.
The mode changes matter because they alter what appears on the screen. Before them, the spot stands out and stays near the center. Afterward, its boundaries are harder to make out. The video records that difference but does not explain what the spot was in the first place.
It is unknown what created the prominent spot, and the source offers no conventional explanation. Because the footage is a phone recording of a display, the image may be blurry or flicker, and its quality is limited. The video shows how the display changed, but cannot establish what appeared beyond it.
The spot stayed near the center, then nearly disappeared into the background.