Viewing the UFO in MUFON case 53207

The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) case 53207 includes a possibly-authentic video recording: Oregon witness videotapes fast moving UFO. This document summarizes my frame-by-frame analysis of that video. I've used open-source software to:

1. Select interesting frames from the UFO video.
2. Extract (crop and interpolate) UFO closeups (enlargements) from the frames.
3. Create an online slideshow of UFO closeups.
4. Examine the UFO's features, including its components and activities.

Note: To view this video in slow motion or frame-by-frame, you can use RowVid. For more information, please see How to analyze UFO videos.

UFO video

At approximately 10:05 PM on August 15, 2013, in LaGrande, Oregon, a witness made a video recording of a UFO as it moved quickly through the sky, rapidly changed shape and size, and then flew away suddenly. The witness and his wife reported their UFO sighting to MUFON. For more information, please see MUFON case 53207.

UFO closeups

I've extracted interpolated closeups from various frames of the MUFON case 53207 UFO video. I identify each closeup according to the time at which its frame had been recorded after the start of the video, at 00.00 seconds. For example, as I show in the caption for Figure 1, its frame had been recorded at 58.06 seconds after the start of the video.

Figure 1 - UFO at 58.06 seconds. Above its brightest light,
a dome seems visible. The witnesses reported that this UFO
seemed to be "disk-shaped and had windows and a dome."

Note: Each uninterpolated UFO closeup has relatively few pixels, typically between 200 and 2500. Therefore, we cannot see details as clearly as we prefer because each pixel appears as a relatively-large square. However, graphics software uses interpolation to calculate many new pixels among the uninterpolated pixels, which smooths out the squares. While not perfect, an interpolated closeup helps us see general shapes more clearly than would the patchwork of pixels in an uninterpolated closeup.

Figures 2 through 7 are six sequential closeups from the MUFON case 53207 video that show the UFO changing shape. Assuming that the video camera recorded at approximately 25 frames per second, this six-closeup sequence has five 0.04-second intervals that start at video time 51.78 seconds and end at 51.98 seconds. Therefore, these six closeups consist of images recorded for a total of 0.20 seconds (5 X 0.04 = 0.20).

Figure 2 - UFO at 51.78 seconds. At this instant, the object is relatively dim.

Figure 3 - UFO at 51.82 seconds. The object begins to brighten.

Figure 4 - UFO at 51.86 seconds. The object begins to grow.

Figure 5 - UFO at 51.90 seconds. Not much change in this interval.

Figure 6 - UFO at 51.94 seconds. The object becomes
more complex as it grows many columns vertically.

Figure 7 - UFO at 51.98 seconds. Components at the left begin to dim.

Important: For more sequential images, please see my slideshow, Closeups of the UFO in MUFON case 53207. To create the slideshow, I've extracted 25 sequential closeups from the MUFON case 53207 video. By scrolling through the slideshow, you can watch the UFO make multiple interesting changes to its shape and size.

UFO characteristics
In my opinion, if the MUFON case 53207 video is authentic, the UFO is an object of unknown origin. Although I know neither the size of the object nor the distance between it and the video camera, I think this UFO demonstrates unusual capabilities by rapidly changing shape, size, color, and brightness.