Lens Flares and Saturated CCDs

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Friday, Sep 7 2012 by

In the early days of VGT (anyone still remember GGT?) when all we had was Google Maps with fairly low grade satellite imagery instead of the highr quality aerial imagery available today, there were many instances of lense flare and saturated CCDs. These are artifacts of reflected light interacting with the delicate imagery instruments on the satellites. Many people mistook them for fire, UFOs, and other unexplained phenomena. Here are a few examples from “back in the day.”

Lens flare off an airplane in flight (Google Maps)
Lens flare off an airplane in flight

Lens Flare (Google Maps)
Lens Flare
Double flare with number (Google Maps)
Double flare with number

Lens Flare (Google Maps)
Lens Flare

Boeing F-15 Eagle on static display (Birds Eye)
Boeing F-15 Eagle on static display

Lens flare (Birds Eye)
Lens flare
Lens Flare (Birds Eye)
Lens Flare

Lens flare (Bing Maps)
Lens flare
Lens Flare (Google Maps)
Lens Flare

Lens flare (Birds Eye)
Lens flare

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