Debunked: UFO over Loch Ness [Reflection in Dual Pane Window]



A recent photo proports to show a UFO over Loch Ness in Scotland, however it's almost certainly just the reflection of a light inside the room, doubled up by dual pane window.

UPDATE July 10, 2015:

I contacted the owner of the cottage, who graciously agreed to take a few photos and a short video from the same location. These prove conclusively that the "UFO" is simply the reflection of a light in the window:

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You can see the reflection of the curtain in the window, just like with the "UFO" photo, which demonstrates that the UFO photo was taken indoors. The light reflections here are a little bigger, as the light was moved closer to the window, but they are the exact same shape, color, and doubling as in the UFO photo, which proves conclusively that the "UFO" is simply the reflection of a light in the room.

Many thanks to the owner of Bunloit Farmhouse for taking these photos and video!



The original analysis follows.



The story accompanying the photo described the photo as being taken "at a holiday cottage near Urquhart Castle". A brief examination of possible viewpoints in Google Earth let me to determine the viewpoint was near Bunloit.


Then a quick search for holiday cottages led me to Bunloit Farmhouse, the web page for which having a photo that matched the view:


The layout of the cottage indicates the photo was most likely taken from this window


(notice the wall curves in where the steps are, so they are at 45° to the house.

Which would put the camera in the sitting room, notice the reading lamp.


Also notice the blue and white striped curtains, which can be seen reflected in the "UFO" image on the right. The photographer claims the photo was taken from outside, but that is based on a recollection from a couple of days later, and the reflection of the curtain shows this to be impossible. No doubt they also took many photos outside, so the simplest explanation here is that they misremembered how this photo came to be taken.


This photo from a previous visitor to the cottage shows the same view (notice the stone retaining wall and steps are lined up the same).

The photographer would have been on the window seat, with the camera fairly close to the window, probably in the left window, and at about 45 degrees.

So, the angle indicates that particular lamp would not be in the reflection, but there's another on the other side of the room:

(Image from this video)

If we isolate one of the two reflections, it's a good match for the shape of the light opening in the reading lamp:


But why two images? That's just what dual pane (double glazed) windows do, especially at an angle. Using a flashlight, it's quite easy to get two images that are as well separated at these two.


You might think that the fact that the two "UFOs" are lines up horizontally matches the reading light by the door, as it's at about normal camera level, which makes the reflections line up horizontally. But actually the orientation can vary quite a bit across the window, as the two panes are rarely parallel or perfectly flat.

The best photo of the window looks like a dual pane (double glazed) window. Update: The owner of the cottage confirmed via email that the windows are double glazed.
 
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I've emailed the cottage owner, and asked her to confirm if the windows are double glazed. And (probably unlikely) to take a photo of the reflection of the lamp.
 
Update to the OP:

UPDATE July 10, 2015:
I contacted the owner of the cottage, who graciously agreed to take a few photos and a short video from the same location. These prove conclusively that the "UFO" is simply the reflection of a light in the window:






You can see the reflection of the curtain in the window, just like with the "UFO" photo, which demonstrates that the UFO photo was taken indoors. The light reflections here are a little bigger, as the light was moved closer to the window, but they are the exact same shape, color, and doubling as in the UFO photo, which proves conclusively that the "UFO" is simply the reflection of a light in the room.

Many thanks to the owner of Bunloit Farmhouse for taking these photos and video!
 
The initial work was brilliant. This update is absolutely AWESOME! Fine debunkery, sir. Just brilliant! Thanks for putting so much time into this. A great example for others to take inspiration from :)
 
Another update from HuffPo.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/loch-ness-ufo-images-lamp-reflection_55ad70cde4b065dfe89f2b92

Monstrous Controversy Rages Over Loch Ness UFO Photos
...

In the image below, at left is a close-up of the original photo taken by the Betts family. At right is one of the more recent pictures, which seems to show a reflected lamp.


So, who's right and who's wrong? The Betts say the picture was taken outdoors, and West claims the photos prove otherwise.

Has this UFO mystery been solved to everyone's satisfaction? To YOUR satisfaction?
Content from External Source
 
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"Seems like no government is able to keep any secret that involves more than a few people"

There are some awesome secrets, particularly involving certain areas of military technology, that are being kept pretty well under wraps. I have a couple of friends who are involved in government who have confirmed this to me, and on one occasion I was lucky enough to discuss "special forces" technology with a UK Navy bomb disposal diver, who assured me that some of the technology he has witnessed the special forces utilizing would absolutely blow your socks off. This included much better "invisibility" technology than we have been told is currently possible. I can certainly see why they would want to keep that out of the public eye. Political secrets coming out left right and centre is one thing. But military men in many cases have MUCH longer careers, and the controls in place to keep their secrets are much more stringent and well policed.
Yeah, but how many of them secrets do they fly over loch ness?
 
Yeah, but how many of them secrets do they fly over loch ness?

How would you know if you can't see them? If the UFO photo claimaint is to be believed, they never noticed the UFO's until they got home from the holiday and reviewed the photo's. (Bit like IR LED's) not visible to the human eye but camera's pick them up, apparently. o_O
 
If the UFO photo claimaint is to be believed, they never noticed the UFO's until they got home from the holiday and reviewed the photo's.

I think the brain eventually learns to filter out reflections as unimportant, otherwise we'd be constantly freaked out by strange lights in the sky. We can tell they are not there because they move when we move, so we subconsciously ignore them, hence we don't remember them.

I was just in Vegas at the TAM convention, and took this photo of some "UFOs" and strange beams of light over the Luxor:


In the photo the reflection is quite apparent, but all people saw were the storm clouds.

I noticed the "UFO" lights, and framed the photo to get them, but that's because I'd been thinking about such things a lot. I did not notice the "shaft of light" to the center left. My brain filtered it out, but the camera sees all.
 
Perceptual filters are a fascinating thing. I try not to think of them too much. They make my head hurt trying to understand.

Edit: why is it if I look at something with my head upside down or sideways I see it right side up? I can't even consciously revert the image. These things bother me.
 
I think another reason why people did not immediately recognize this as a reflection of some lights is that they are looking down to the lights, and you'd expect to be looking up. It's a combination of the high vantage point of the farmhouse over the loch, and the low position of the reading lights. Both are a bit unusual, hence the brain leaps more to interpreting it as something outside.
 
Yeah, but how many of them secrets do they fly over loch ness?

It seems so very stupid that if they have all this really groovy high tech why don't they use it? If it's so great and "invisible" what ever, use it and get rid of ISIS or whomever else you want to eliminate. Heck even those you don't want to eliminate? Certainly you could include self destruct technology to destroy any part of such systems that may be "captured". But, if it's so cool it should not be a problem to worry about it falling into the wrong hands? Possibly it is already in the wrong hands?

Isn't the master plan to eliminate any undesirables and then control the planet? Stop wasting time with the slow, ineffective and expensive chemical spray program and get down to the killing!
 
Edit: why is it if I look at something with my head upside down or sideways I see it right side up? I can't even consciously revert the image. These things bother me
because your eyes are only data collectors. it doesnt matter which direction your eyes are facing. The brain takes this data and processes it appropriately according to it's database. in other words, your eyes themselves dont actually "see" anything. The brain sees.

add: you basically have a little "level" in your head. so your brain knows how askew your head placement in space is at all times.

Sentry-Safety-Level-Keychain_20090739803.jpg
 
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because your eyes are only data collectors. it doesnt matter which direction your eyes are facing. The brain takes this data and processes it appropriately according to it's database. in other words, your eyes themselves dont actually "see" anything. The brain sees.

Which leads to some interesting illusions. The following image is the same upside down as right way up, but your brain flips bits of it.
 
How would you know if you can't see them? If the UFO photo claimaint is to be believed, they never noticed the UFO's until they got home from the holiday and reviewed the photo's.
That's a standard part of the way just about all ghost and UFO stories are reported. They always say that the photographer never noticed anything at the time and only noticed something strange when the photos were downloaded to their computer. It's become cliched at this point.
 
Here is a photo I took at an airport, looking through a large window...... showing reflections of ceiling lights that looks like a UFO invasion.20190221_063629[1].jpg
 
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