Google Earth photos have repeatedly captured amazing things, from disappearing islands to secret Russian military bases. But the new discovery amazed even experienced researchers: in the photos of the Hagerman Reserve in Texas, it was possible to photograph a multicolored satellite, reminiscent of frames from a sci-fi movie.
UFO, ghost or satellite?
Reddit users noticed an unusual artifact in an image from November 29, 2024: a satellite that appeared four times in the frame, as if split into colored stripes. A discussion in the GoogleEarthFinds community reached a point where users began to suspect UFOs, but scientists offered a rational explanation.
The Pleiades-1b satellite takes red, blue, then green images – the satellite below it (tentatively Starlink 31147) has moved between the three images. I calculate the image was taken around 1719UTC on 2024 Nov 29. https://t.co/a9X2PHO4p7
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) April 12, 2025
According to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center, the phenomenon is related to imaging technology. The Pleiades-1B satellite, which takes photos of Earth for Google Earth, captures images in four spectra: red, blue, green and infrared. It takes each frame at the smallest possible interval and then combines them into natural colors. However, due to the object’s mad speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour, the satellite managed to displace during the capture of four frames. As a result, its prints in different spectra did not match, creating a color plume effect.
Artifact from SpaceX
Judging by the silhouette, it was probably one of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, which are mass-launched into low orbit to provide internet access. Such vehicles travel at an altitude of 550 kilometers, completing an orbit around the Earth in 90 minutes. Their speed is a necessary condition for keeping them in orbit, otherwise the planet’s gravity will “pull” them to the surface.
Images like this are a rare example of how technology is illuminating space processes. Satellites are usually impossible to see in photos because of their speed and size. But Pleiades-1B can distinguish between objects the size of a car, offering new possibilities for tracking space debris or coordinating thousands of satellites in orbit.
Earlier we reported on what you can see in Mariupol on Google Maps satellite images.
According to Gizmodo
