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Could Image Artefacts Explain the Smooth Silvery Object?

Lens glare, out-of-focus material and compression artefacts can create symmetrical, seamless forms that resemble solid craft in degraded images.

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On this page

  • How reflections create bright geometric forms
  • What compression does to edges and contours
  • Why low colour rendering compounds both effects

Introduction

One of the most debated aspects of Gary McKinnon’s account is his description of a smooth, silvery, cigar-shaped object in a NASA image viewed over a slow remote connection. Because no copy of the image survives, the appearance itself cannot be independently analysed. That makes it important to consider whether ordinary optical and digital effects could plausibly have produced the impression of a seamless metallic craft. This does not prove that McKinnon misidentified the image, but it establishes that the visual characteristics he described are not unique to an extraordinary object. In space photography, reflections, limited colour depth, heavy image compression and low-resolution display can all transform complex scenes into simplified, symmetrical forms that appear more artificial than the original data.[nasa.gov]science.nasa.govScience Artifacts and Other Imaging Anomalies Taken by NASA’s Solar ImagersNASA ScienceArtifacts and Other Imaging Anomalies Taken by NASA’s Solar Imagers - NASA ScienceFebruary 8, 2019…Published: February 8, 2019

Image Artefacts illustration 1

Could reflections produce a smooth metallic-looking object?

Bright reflections are among the most common sources of misleading shapes in spacecraft imagery. Cameras operating in space often image extremely high-contrast scenes, with brilliant sunlight only a short distance from very dark regions. Under these conditions, light can reflect between lens elements or other optical components, creating ghost images, bright streaks or softly bounded geometric forms that do not correspond to physical objects in space. NASA has documented numerous examples in images from solar observatories where internal reflections create rings, bubbles and apparently solid structures that disappear once the optical geometry changes.[NASA Science]science.nasa.govScience Artifacts and Other Imaging Anomalies Taken by NASA’s Solar ImagersNASA ScienceArtifacts and Other Imaging Anomalies Taken by NASA’s Solar Imagers - NASA ScienceFebruary 8, 2019…Published: February 8, 2019

Several characteristics of optical reflections are relevant to McKinnon’s description:

  • They often appear unusually smooth because they are produced by the camera optics rather than by detailed surface features.
  • Strong specular highlights can overwhelm fine texture, making an object appear seamless or polished.
  • Reflections frequently exhibit bilateral or radial symmetry, encouraging the eye to interpret them as engineered structures.
  • Their apparent shape can change dramatically with viewing angle, cropping or image scaling.[STEREO Science Center]stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.govSTEREO Science Center

Space photography also contains genuine reflections from highly reflective surfaces. Sunlight striking spacecraft insulation, solar panels or metallic hardware can saturate parts of an image, obscuring joints, rivets and structural detail. A saturated highlight often appears as a continuous silver region rather than a textured engineering surface. NASA’s Earth-observing imagery demonstrates a similar effect in sunglint, where mirror-like reflections produce bright silver patches with little visible detail.[NASA Science]science.nasa.govScience Sunglint Around Milos and AntimilosNASA ScienceSunglint Around Milos and Antimilos - NASA ScienceSeptember 12, 2022…Published: September 12, 2022

How JPEG shrinks a photo by deleting detail you can't see (image compression)

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What compression does to edges and contours

Digital compression reduces image size by discarding information that is judged visually unimportant. While this is efficient for transmitting large files, it can smooth subtle boundaries, merge neighbouring tones and eliminate fine structural detail.

NASA missions routinely employ image compression because spacecraft have limited storage and communication bandwidth. NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory note that compressed imagery may exhibit blockiness, pixelation and loss of fine detail as a trade-off for transmitting more images.[NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)]jpl.nasa.govNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)Image Compression | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)…

When compression is combined with enlargement or repeated re-encoding, several visual effects become more pronounced:

  • Thin structural elements may disappear completely.
  • Rivets, seams and panel lines can merge into uniform grey regions.
  • Curved edges become simplified into cleaner outlines.
  • Local contrast can increase around boundaries, making silhouettes appear sharper than the underlying object really is.

These effects are especially misleading when the observer is already searching for unusual shapes. A complex satellite, spacecraft component or photographic artefact can lose the visual cues that normally identify it, leaving only a simplified elongated outline.

Image Artefacts illustration 2

Why low-colour rendering amplifies the illusion

McKinnon has consistently said that he reduced the remote desktop to low resolution and four-bit colour to make the image load over a 56-kilobit dial-up connection. Four-bit colour allows only sixteen display colours, forcing many neighbouring shades to collapse into the same value. Contemporary accounts of his interview describe exactly this viewing configuration.[Boing Boing]boingboing.netBoing Boing Interview with "UFO Hacker" Gary Mc Kinnon: why'd he do it?Boing BoingInterview with "UFO Hacker" Gary McKinnon: why'd he do it? - Boing BoingJune 21, 2006…Published: June 21, 2006

Reducing colour depth affects perception in several important ways:

  • Gradual tonal transitions become abrupt bands.
  • Small shadows that reveal surface texture disappear.
  • Metallic reflections merge into broad uniform regions.
  • Rounded objects appear smoother because intermediate shading is lost.

The result is an image that contains less information than the original file. Even if the underlying NASA image contained recognisable engineering detail, a heavily reduced remote display could have concealed much of it before McKinnon ever saw the full-resolution version.

Image File Formats - JPEG, GIF, PNG

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The combined effect of remote viewing

The interaction of several degrading processes is more significant than any one process alone.

According to McKinnon’s own account, he was viewing:

  • a very large image,
  • across a slow remote desktop connection,
  • at deliberately reduced screen resolution,
  • using four-bit colour,
  • while the image was still loading.[Boing Boing]boingboing.netBoing Boing Interview with "UFO Hacker" Gary Mc Kinnon: why'd he do it?Boing BoingInterview with "UFO Hacker" Gary McKinnon: why'd he do it? - Boing BoingJune 21, 2006…Published: June 21, 2006

Each stage removes visual information. Instead of seeing the original scientific image, he would have been seeing a simplified rendering generated for remote display. Modern remote desktop software typically prioritises responsiveness by reducing colour precision, image detail and update frequency under limited bandwidth, making partial or blurred renderings common during transmission.

In such circumstances, smooth metallic forms become easier for the visual system to recognise because the brain naturally fills missing information using familiar patterns. Psychologists refer to this as perceptual completion: when detail is absent, observers unconsciously infer continuous surfaces and coherent objects from incomplete visual cues.

Image Artefacts illustration 3

Why this explanation remains plausible but unproven

The absence of the original image prevents any definitive reconstruction of what McKinnon observed. No investigator can compare the preserved file with the remembered description, analyse the imaging instrument or test how the scene appeared before remote display degradation.

What can be assessed is the plausibility of the mechanisms. NASA’s own documentation demonstrates that space imagery regularly contains optical artefacts produced by reflections, diffraction, detector saturation and other imaging effects. NASA also documents that compressed images lose detail and may display visible artefacts as part of normal transmission and storage.[nasa.gov]science.nasa.govScience Artifacts and Other Imaging Anomalies Taken by NASA’s Solar ImagersNASA ScienceArtifacts and Other Imaging Anomalies Taken by NASA’s Solar Imagers - NASA ScienceFebruary 8, 2019…Published: February 8, 2019

Consequently, the reported appearance of a smooth, seamless, silvery object is not, by itself, evidence of an unknown spacecraft. It is equally consistent with an ordinary object—or even a purely optical artefact—whose identifying features were obscured by reflection, limited colour rendering, compression and the degraded conditions of a slow remote viewing session. Without the original high-resolution image, those competing explanations cannot be separated with confidence.

The Man Who Hacked the U.S. Government

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Endnotes

1. Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: Science Artifacts and Other Imaging Anomalies Taken by NASA’s Solar Imagers
Link:https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/the-sun-spot/2019/02/08/artifacts-and-other-imaging-anomalies-taken-by-nasas-solar-imagers/

Source snippet

NASA ScienceArtifacts and Other Imaging Anomalies Taken by NASA’s Solar Imagers - NASA ScienceFebruary 8, 2019...

Published: February 8, 2019

2. Source: jpl.nasa.gov
Link:https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia07585-image-compression/

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NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)Image Compression | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)...

3. Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: Science Raw Images FAQ
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NASA ScienceRaw Images FAQ - NASA Science...

4. Source: stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov
Title: STEREO Science Center
Link:https://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/artifacts/artifacts_reflections.shtml

5. Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: Science Sunglint Around Milos and Antimilos
Link:https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/sunglint-around-milos-and-antimilos-150321/

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NASA ScienceSunglint Around Milos and Antimilos - NASA ScienceSeptember 12, 2022...

Published: September 12, 2022

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NASA Space Place – NASA Science for KidsApril 13, 2026 — HOW DO TELESCOPES WORK? The Short Answer: Early telescopes focused light using...

Published: April 13, 2026

7. Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: how are webbs full color images made
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8. Source: science.nasa.gov
Link:https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/observatory/design/optics/

9. Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: the subtleties of sunglint 151456
Link:https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/the-subtleties-of-sunglint-151456/

10. Source: esrs.jsc.nasa.gov
Title: Sunglint Around Milosand Antimilos
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11. Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: crepuscular rays and light scattering 150090
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12. Source: visibleearth.nasa.gov
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14. Source: stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov
Link:https://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/artifacts/wheel/

15. Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: glare on the window
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16. Source: nasa.gov
Title: NAS A’s EPIC View Spots Flashes on Earth
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17. Source: nasa.gov
Title: Water Swirls, Gulf of St. Lawrence
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18. Source: planetarydata.jpl.nasa.gov
Title: MDIS CDR RDRSIS
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19. Source: stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov
Title: artifacts [cosmic rays]({{ ‘cosmic-rays/’ | relative_url }}). shtml
Link:https://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/artifacts/artifacts_cosmic_rays.shtml

20. Source: stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov
Link:https://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/artifacts/artifacts.shtml

21. Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: image compression
Link:https://science.nasa.gov/resource/image-compression/

22. Source: ntrs.nasa.gov
Link:https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19900000450

23. Source: ntrs.nasa.gov
Link:https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19760015840

24. Source: lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov
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25. Source: boingboing.net
Title: Boing Boing Interview with “UFO Hacker” Gary Mc Kinnon: why’d he do it?
Link:https://boingboing.net/2006/06/21/interview-with-ufo-h.html

Source snippet

Boing BoingInterview with "UFO Hacker" Gary McKinnon: why'd he do it? - Boing BoingJune 21, 2006...

Published: June 21, 2006

Additional References

26. Source: cybernews.com
Link:https://cybernews.com/news/nasa-gary-mckinnon-hacking-ufo/

Source snippet

“Non-terrestrial officers:” the UFO files McKinnon found, hacking NASA​ | CybernewsMarch 2, 2026 — “NON-TERRESTRIAL OFFICERS:” THE UFO FI...

Published: March 2, 2026

27. Source: youtube.com
Title: The Man Who Hacked the U.S. Government
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND0zQX1rGdg

Source snippet

How JPEG shrinks a photo by deleting detail you can't see (image compression)...

28. Source: theguardian.com
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2009/jan/31/technology-letters-blogs-full

29. Source: youtube.com
Title: How JPEG shrinks a photo by deleting detail you can’t see (image compression)
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRGrLmSxmOc

Source snippet

Image File Formats - JPEG, GIF, PNG...

30. Source: youtube.com
Title: Image File Formats
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww12lImOJ38

Source snippet

NASA filmed TWO OBJECTS following Artemis II (UNDERSTAND)...

31. Source: youtube.com
Title: Ancient Aliens: Hacking NASA Secrets (Season 12, Episode 9) | History
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20rWFDfh68Y

Source snippet

The Man Who Hacked the U.S. Government...

32. Source: techspot.com
Title: NAS A hacker won’t be extradited to U.S. due to Asperger’s | Tech Spot
Link:https://www.techspot.com/news/50512-nasa-hacker-wont-be-extradited-to-us-due-to-aspergers.html

33. Source: arxiv.org
Title: arXiv Toward Flare-Free Images: A Survey
Link:https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.14354

34. Source: cybernews.com
Title: The hacker who breached NASA to prove that UFOs exist | Cybernews
Link:https://cybernews.com/tech/hacker-who-breached-nasa-trying-prove-ufo-existence/

35. Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Title: File:Low Vision Enhancement System (95 431 7).jpeg
Link:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALow_Vision_Enhancement_System_%2895-431-7%29.jpeg