By Tim Binnall
A puzzling picture from Google Maps seemingly shows a UFO hovering over a Florida swamp, but closer inspection of the image suggests that the anomaly has a far more down to Earth explanation. The weird image was reportedly spotted by someone who was using the service to look at photos taken at the state's Big Cypress National Preserve when they noticed a dark, saucer-shaped object in the sky that looked like it was sporting some lights around its edges.
As one can imagine, the discovery quickly wound up online where it was heralded by a number of observers as a fantastic image of a UFO in broad daylight. The close proximity of the nature preserve to the boundaries of the infamous Bermuda Triangle fueled further speculation that this was some kind of alien craft connected to the notorious location where so many ships and planes have gone missing.
However, skeptics have put forward a fairly compelling argument that the ET hypothesis, in this case, does not hold water. They point to what appears to be a fairly distinct line in the image which cuts the 'UFO' in half and argue that the 'lights' on the purported craft are simply spots on the wings of a butterfly which was only partially photographed by the Google Maps camera and, as such, made to resemble a flying saucer.
While this conclusion will no doubt disappoint UFO enthusiasts, the case is a good example of the way in which photo processing by services like Google Maps can sometimes create something amazing out of thin air and, as such, one might want to take a closer look at such images lest they be tricked by a bug that is both literal and figurative.