Three points form a triangle in the lunar sky. A preliminary review suggests they may have been caused by a real object in the scene.
Three points arranged in a triangle appear in an Apollo 17 photograph. The government is examining the original film, but what caused them remains unknown.
NASA-UAP-VM6 is a color still photograph from the Apollo 17 mission (December 1972), released by the Department of War as part of the PURSUE review of historical UAP materials. The frame depicts a daylit lunar surface panorama with rolling hills on the horizon and the standard Hasselblad reseau cross-hair fiducial marks across the foreground; the released JPEG additionally carries a yellow rectangular callout in the upper portion that magnifies a small region originating from the lower-right quadrant of the lunar sky. Inside the magnified inset I do observe three small bluish point sources arranged in a roughly triangular configuration against the dark sky, consistent with the manifest's description of 'three dots in a triangular formation.' The manifest states that preliminary US government analysis suggests the feature is potentially a physical object in the scene and that the Department of War has obtained the original Apollo 17 film for full NASA/DOW analysis pending release. The image carries no embedded narrative, witness statement, or analytic conclusion beyond the catalog description and the visible callout overlay.
Apollo 17 surface photograph in which three small point-light features appear in a roughly triangular arrangement in the lower-right quadrant of the lunar sky. The released image carries an overlaid yellow callout box magnifying that region, in which the three dots are visible against the dark lunar sky. Per the catalog description, there is no public consensus about the nature of the anomaly; preliminary US government analysis suggests it may be a physical object in the scene, and the original Apollo 17 film has been obtained for further joint NASA/DOW analysis.
"The image contains three "dots" in a triangular formation in the lower right quadrant of the lunar sky that is clearly visible upon magnification of the image."
Why it matters: Catalog description of the anomalous feature in the released photograph.
"While this photo has been previously released and discussed by keen observers, there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly."
Why it matters: Acknowledges prior public circulation of the image and unresolved interpretation.
"New preliminary US government analysis suggests the image feature is potentially the result of a physical object in the scene."
Why it matters: Government characterization that the triangular dot formation may correspond to a physical object rather than an artifact.
"Additionally, as part of this investigation, the government has obtained the original film from the Apollo 17 mission and the results of the full NASA and DOW analysis will be released when completed."
Why it matters: Indicates DOW retrieval of the original Apollo 17 film and a forthcoming joint NASA/DOW analysis.
Eugene A. Cernan
Apollo 17 Commander · NASA
Ronald E. Evans
Apollo 17 Command Module Pilot · NASA
Harrison H. Schmitt
Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot · NASA
Moon
Apollo 17
spacecraft
Document is an image file (IMG type, 4400x4600 px, ~1.78 MB JPEG, RGB). The release version of the image already contains an editorial overlay: a yellow rectangular callout in the upper region that magnifies a small source square located in the lower-right quadrant of the lunar sky, plus a thin yellow line connecting the source square to the callout. Inside the callout, three small bluish point sources are directly visible in a rough triangle against the dark sky, matching the manifest's 'three dots in a triangular formation' claim. Standard Hasselblad reseau cross-hair fiducial marks are visible across the lunar foreground. No embedded text, caption, frame number, or MET/GET timestamp is present on the artifact. All narrative content (mission, year, 'potentially a physical object', original film obtained) is drawn from the war.gov manifest catalog description. Strongly cross-references the Apollo 17 transcript (139) and Apollo 17 debriefs (142, 143) since those concern the same mission and crew (Cernan/Evans/Schmitt). Confidence held at 0.6 because the visual feature is independently confirmable in the released JPEG, but all attribution language ('physical object', 'original film obtained') derives from the manifest rather than from an analyzable document body.
No. The preliminary analysis raises the possibility that they were caused by a real object, but it has not identified what that object was.
NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense will publish them after the full review is complete. No date has been given.
Three points appear in the lunar sky in a photograph from the Apollo 17 mission. They form a triangle and are clearly visible when the image is enlarged. The photograph was taken in December 1972.
The U.S. government is taking another look at the image. A preliminary review suggests the points may be evidence of a real object captured in the photograph. To continue the investigation, the government obtained the original film from the mission.
The photograph has been published before, and people interested in it have discussed the points. Even so, no consensus has emerged about what they show. According to the record, they appear in the lower-right part of the lunar sky, forming a triangle.
The points are small, but clearly visible when enlarged. The image itself does not explain what caused them, and their appearance alone has not solved the mystery. The government is reexamining the photograph as part of a review of historical materials related to unexplained phenomena.
The current review concerns a NASA photograph from the Apollo 17 mission. As part of the process, the government obtained the original film, which contains the mission’s original images. Investigators now have the original photographic material, not just the image that was previously published.
The U.S. government’s preliminary analysis suggests the points may have been caused by a real object in the scene. That is a possibility raised by the review, not an identification of the object. The old photograph still offers no answer, and the full review is ongoing.
It is not known what caused the three points, and the record does not say who first found the photograph. Nor does it give a date for the release of the results: NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense will publish them after the full review is complete.
Three tiny points remain in the lunar sky in the photograph. The question now is what the original film will show.