Conspiracy or Lens Flare?

It is not unusual to find unusual satellite images on various websites that seem to get conspiracy theories started. Those conspiracy theories then make an appearance in the comments on our AccuWeather Astronomy Facebook posts. Often, when an image from one of the solar imaging satellites shows a lens flare or something else unexpected, or a few images are missing from the normal schedule for a given satellite, the conspiracy theories really get going. “NASA is hiding 'the truth'” about what is showing on an image, or “NASA is suppressing photos that show something 'they don't want us to know.'” To be honest, we get a good laugh at this kind of thing but are also frustrated that people want to latch on to a conspiracy theory, rather than look for a simple explanation for what they are seeing, or not seeing.

A series of images from the SECCHI Overview imaging equipment on one of the STEREO satellites showed a circular “artifact,” a term used in imaging, on several images on Nov. 28, 2013.

The following image is one of the first images where the artifact appears.

This unexplained artifact showed up on a handful of consecutive images, then disappeared on later images. Shortly thereafter, conspiracy theories started popping up that it was “Nibiru,” “Planet X” and any number of other crazy possibilities. That the artifact disappeared completely from the next image was “proof” that NASA was hiding evidence of something and doctoring images.

We were intrigued to find out exactly what was in the images, not because we believed that it was anything shocking or some great new discovery, but because we are curious, and figured that there was probably a simple explanation, not a fantastic one. Daniel Vogler of the AccuWeather Astronomy team put together a GIF loop of the images to see how the images looked in sequence and started to do some research to find out what might be causing the interesting artifact.

You can see his GIF loop by clicking here.

After a short time, he was able to determine that a particular star cluster, the Pleiades, was causing the artifact. Because it is so bright, the star cluster can create lens flares on the STEREO satellite images, a very normal occurrence with any bright light source traveling through the view of a lens. You'll often see lens flares when you take a photo on any camera. They show up in photos as bright spots, circles or objects in places where you saw no such thing with your eyes. The next several images show how he was able to determine that the artifact was caused by the Pleiades.

The next image shows the relative positions of the STEREO A satellite, Mercury, Earth and the Pleiades. The red lines show that the Pleiades, Mercury and Earth will appear from left to right respectively in the STEREO A images, as seen in the subsequent image. From our perspective on the Earth, the Pleiades are almost 180 degrees away from the Sun right now, which is also consistent with what appears in this image.

Here is an image showing more of the Pleiades cluster. The Pleiades appear as a dark spot, essentially a negative, inside the artifact.

Here is a view of the Pleiades on Nov. 30, 2013, in a position which does not cause a lens flare for this camera. Mercury appeared just above the Earth from the perspective of the STEREO satellite on that date. Note that lens flares do not necessarily occur in every image when a bright object is in view. It is often the result of a light source outside the view or just at the edge of the view shown by the camera. Light shining on a lens from the side will often cause a lens flare. I have run into this in my own photography, and shading the lens from the side will sometimes minimize or eliminate a lens flare. Lens flares can also show up in an overexposed image, or when an exposure isn't adjusted to account for a bright light source.

The next satellite view, a different one than the others, shows the Pleiades with a little more clarity. Note how much the Pleiades stand out in the image compared to the rest of the stars. This image is not from the last few days. It is only intended to be a clearer image that shows how much the Pleiades can stand out from the background. Because they stand out so much, it is not unusual for them to create a lens flare, with the appropriate angle and exposure. This is a well-known and common problem in satellite imaging. As I have said, bright objects can cause lens flares, and that is no different for satellite imagery.

The moral of the story is that doing a little bit of research, and not latching on to conspiracy theories will, more often than not, lead to an answer as simple as lens flare. Lens flares aren't exciting, like evidence of a NASA conspiracy or evidence of a Planet X or Nibiru, but they are a real phenomenon, unlike Planet X or Nibiru. The next time you see a conspiracy theory about an astronomy event or about NASA, we recommend that you also take the time to look for the simple answer, not the fantastic one. I will not be surprised if, among those who are looking for conspiracies, our effort to debunk a conspiracy theory will be enough to brand us as co-conspirators with NASA. We are happy to wear that eye-rolling title.

Note that we have chosen to not mention specific conspiracy theory web sites in this article, because we see no point in giving them any publicity. If you are curious about them and want to search for them, that is your choice, but we do not think that they are worth looking at for anything other than amusement.

Blog by AccuWeather Astronomy Content Creators Paul Adomshick and Daniel Vogler.

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