Viewing a UFO over Luxembourg City

This document summarizes how I've examined a possibly-authentic video recording of a UFO over Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. 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: The UFOID website provides free UFO Detector software through which you can set up your computer and a webcam as a skycam system. If your computer records a UFO video clip (typically 10 seconds), you can submit it to the UFOID community for collective analysis. The UFOID website also includes video recordings posted by participants who use UFO Detector. For more information, please see Sharing UFO videos through UFOID.

UFO video
On 05/02/2016, a UFOID participant used a UFO Detector skycam system to record a UFO over Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. This participant's skycam system recorded the video through a 950nm infrared filter.

Note: To view this video frame-by-frame, you can download it from UFOID, and then use a VLC media player.

UFO closeups

Using procedures in Sharing UFO videos through UFOID, I've extracted interpolated closeups (enlargements) from various frames of the Luxembourg video.

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.

UFO slideshow

I've created an online slideshow, Closeups of a UFO over Luxembourg, which lets you see clear, large, sequential images. As you scroll through the slideshow, you can see how the object changes over time. This slideshow consists of closeups extracted from 20 sequential frames. According to my measurements through a VLC media player, this skycam system recorded at approximately eight frames per second (0.125 seconds per frame). Therefore, this 19-interval slideshow, presents images recorded for a total of approximately 2.375 seconds (19 X 0.125 ≈ 2.375).

Note: My UFO slideshows are central to these analyses. I initiate each UFO-analysis project by creating a slideshow. Multiple, sequential images are more informative. No single image can show whether an object is making changes.

Here are a few images from my slideshow, Closeups of a UFO over Luxembourg:

Figure 1 - slide 09 - The dark spots around the bright object
add complexity. Are these spots part of the object? They
might be distortions caused by the 950nm infrared filter.

Figure 2 - slide 15 - Has the object split momentarily?
The top portion seems to have its own set of dark spots.

Figure 3 - slide 18 - Four small dark spots seem to form a square pattern.

UFO features

I've tried examining this UFO's features (components and activities), after extracting its interpolated closeups and creating its slideshow. In my opinion, if the Luxembourg video is authentic (not a hoax), this UFO is probably an object of unknown origin.

UFO components - This UFO seems to have a central white component. Various dark spots might be separate components.

UFO activities -  As I scroll through my slideshow, starting at slide 1, I think I see the object rotating anticlockwise.

Sharing UFOs through UFOID

If you wish to study UFOs seriously, and share what you learn, you might find the UFOID website quite useful. After you register with the UFOID community, you can do you can either, or both, of the following:

• Download the free UFO Detector software through which your computer can record possible UFOs automatically through a webcam as shown in Figure 1, which is the UFOID logo. If your computer records a UFO video clip (typically 10 seconds), you can submit it to the UFOID community for collective analysis. Essentially, you computer can serve as a skywatch camera. For more information, please see UFO Detector - How it works.
• Help the UFOID community analyze videos submitted by other participants. To analyze a specific video on the UFOID website, you need only indicate whether you think the video shows a UFO, and then write a comment.

  

  Figure 1 - The UFOID logo cleverly shows how a computer
  and webcam can capture UFO videos through a window.

This document explains how to analyze UFO videos that UFO Detector users submit to the UFOID community. To participate in the community, you need not record any UFO videos; you can simply analyze videos submitted by others. The sections below contain procedures through which you can:

1. Select a UFOID video to analyze. 
2. Download the UFOID video.
3. Find a usable frame.
4. Extract a closeup.
5. Submit your opinion.

Selecting a UFOID video to analyze
After you register with (sign up to) UFOID, you can help the community analyze videos submitted by participants who use the UFO Detector software. To select a video for analysis, do the following:

1. Log into UFOID.net.
2. Click Videos to display a page similar to Figure 2.
3. Click any video, such as TWO FAST OBJECTS, to display its page.
4. Start the video by clicking it right-arrow button. Note: In this example, the objects are hard to see, which is typical.
5. Proceed according to the section below, Downloading the UFOID video.

Figure 2 - The Videos page lets you select any video
that any participant has submitted to UFOID.

Downloading the UFOID video
Videos download from UFOID as AVI files. To download a UFOID video, do the following:

1. Select a video according to the section above, Selecting a UFOID video to analyze.
2. Click Download source video to display a Save File window.
3. Rename the file as something meaningful, such as TwoFastObjects.avi.
4. Choose a target folder, such as Desktop, and then click Save.
5. Find a frame that is usable for analysis according the section below, Finding a usable frame. 

Finding a usable frame
To find a frame usable for analysis, do the following:

1. Download an AVI file according to the section above, Downloading a UFOID video.
2. Open the AVI video with a VLC media player, start the video, and then pause it at any frame that shows a good view of the UFO.
3. Click Tools, and then click Effects and Filters to display a dialog.
4. Click Video Effects, select Sharpen, and then adjust the Sigma level until you see a clear image. IMPORTANT: This step is vital for the best possible image resolution.
5. Toggle the play-and-pause button to find an interesting video segment, and then, as shown in Figure 3, click the Frame by frame icon repeatedly until you find the exact frame you want to copy. Note: You might need to restart your downloaded AVI video several times before it behaves correctly. (I don't know whether this is a VLC bug or a compatibility issue; I'm running VLC through Linux Mint.) If any particular AVI file gives you too much trouble, simply convert it to an MP4 file. You can use a free, online tool, such as ONLINE-CONVERT.

   

   Figure 3 - In VLC, click the frame-by-frame icon to advance by one frame.

6. When you find a video frame that best shows the UFO, take a screenshot of that frame.

   

   Figure 4 - So that the two example UFOs are large enough to be visible here,
   this figure shows only the lower-left corner of the screenshot.
   The two unknown objects are at the upper-left corner of this figure.

7. Continue according to the section below, Extracting a closeup.

Extracting a closeup

To look more closely at the UFO you can extract a closeup from the screenshot. To extract a closeup, do the following:

1. Find a usable frame and then take a screenshot of it according to the section above, Finding a usable frame.
2. Use image-editing software, such as GIMP, to zoom into the screenshot as closely as possible, typically 800%.
3. Crop the UFO screenshot to approximately 50 pixels wide. (In this example, I cropped the screenshot to 100 pixels wide because it has two unknown objects.)
4. Scale the image; resize it to 400 pixels wide, and use the best possible interpolation, such as Sinc (Lanczos3). This exhibits only the center portion of the image.
5. To see the entire image, zoom out to 100%.
6. Save (export) the interpolated UFO closeup into a separate working folder. Note: For each each interpolated closeup, you can use a filename associated with its screenshot. For example, I stored the interpolated UFO closeup in Figure 6 as filename fastObjectsCloseup.jpg in a working folder.
7. Help the UFOID community determine whether video shows a UFO or an ordinary object, continue according to the section below, Submitting your opinion.

Figure 6 - Interpolated closeup of the two unknown objects.
For reference, I've included the left edge of the screenshot.

Note: An uninterpolated UFO closeup has relatively few pixels, typically between 200 and 2500. Therefore, you cannot see details as clearly as you might prefer because each pixel appears as a relatively-large square. However, when you use graphics software, such as GIMP, to scale (resize) the closeup to a larger size, that software also uses interpolation to calculate many new pixels that smooth out the differences among the original pixels. Interpolation enhances the closeup and helps us see general shapes and features. While not perfect, an interpolated closeup shows more than it did prior to interpolation.

Submitting your opinion

To submit your opinion about a UFOID video, do the following:

1. Log into UFOID.net.
2. Click Videos to display a page similar to Figure 2 above.
3. Find the video, such as TWO FAST OBJECTS, that you have analyzed according to the sections above, and then click on it to display its page.
4. Scroll down to the question, Does the video show a UFO?, and then click either Yes or No.
5. Write a few words or sentences to explain why you think the object is an identified flying object (IFO); such as bird, balloon, plane, or swamp gas; or an unidentified flying object (UFO), such an object of unknown origin.
6. Click Add your opinion to submit it.

Viewing the UFO in MUFON case 59920

The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) case 59920 includes a possibly-authentic video recording: Case 59920 - UFO Caught on Sky Cam. This document summarizes my frame-by-frame analysis of part 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.

UFO video
At approximately 9:08 PM on September 16, 2014, in Newburgh, New York, a witness used an unattended Samsung SCB 2000 skywatch camera to record a UFO as it moved east to west directly overhead. After finding that his camera had recorded the UFO, the witness reported it to both MUFON and the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC).

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

UFO closeups

Using procedures in Analyzing UFO videos through interpolated closeups, I've extracted interpolated closeups (enlargements) from various frames of the video in MUFON case 59920.

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.

UFO slideshow

I've created an online slideshow, Closeups of the UFO in MUFON case 59920, which lets you see clear, large, sequential images. As you scroll through the slideshow, you can see how the object changes over time. I identify each closeup according to the approximate time at which its frame had been recorded after the start of the video, at 00.00 seconds. This slideshow consists of closeups extracted from 46 frames, recorded at 0.04- and 0.08-second intervals (averaging 0.067 seconds), starting at time 04.12 and ending at time 07.24. (The  0.067-second interval averaging resulted from the skywatch camera recording at 15 frames per second.)

Note: My UFO slideshows are central to these analyses. I initiate each UFO-analysis project by creating a slideshow. Multiple, sequential images are more informative. No single image can show whether an object is making changes.

This UFO was was so bright that it nearly overwhelmed the skywatch camera. To see more surface and edge details in each image, I needed to decrease brightness and increase contrast. My graphics software is the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP). The default brightness and contrast values in GIMP are both 0 (zero). To clarify all images of this UFO, I set brightness to -100 and contrast to 100. For example, as shown in figures 1 through 4, their low-contrast images are at the left, and their high-contrast images are at the right. In the slideshow, I've included only high-contrast images. 

Figure 1 - UFO at video time 04.20 seconds -
The high-contrast image (at right) indicates a waffle-like surface.

Figure 2 - UFO at 04.44 seconds - The high-contrast
image (at right) shows a pattern of surface ridges.

Figure 3 - UFO at 05.32 seconds - The high-contrast
image (at right) shows sharper features near the outer edge.

Figure 4 - UFO at 06.44 seconds - Again, the high-contrast
image (at right) shows a pattern of surface ridges.

UFO features

I've tried examining this UFO's features (components and activities), after extracting its interpolated closeups and creating its slideshow. Trying to understand this object is difficult because its apparent composition is inconsistent, even among its images that share similar outlines. In any case, if the video is authentic (not a hoax), these closeups indicate that this UFO is probably an object of unknown origin.

UFO components - I cannot determine whether this UFO has separate components other than circular pits (craters?) and, possibly, a few surface ridges.

UFO activities - This UFO is flying in or near a layer of thin clouds. Its motion seems to push some clouds from its path. I cannot tell whether this object is tumbling, rotating, changing shape, or all three. Also, if the UFO has separate components, some might be changing shape independently.