A change in the refractive index of space near a UFO

A change in the refractive index of space near a UFO

William C. Treurniet, July, 2010

Summary. Analysis of a photo of a UFO shows that it, like many others, is accompanied by a toroidal optical effect. In this case, the unknown object and torus were fortuitously positioned over a rainbow. Spatial shifts in bands of color under the torus suggest that it refracted the light from the rainbow. This observation indicates that the space occupied by the torus has an index of refraction that is different from the surrounding space.
An earlier article described a toroidal optical effect often seen near UFOs in photographs taken over the last 50 years or so. The UFO is typically adjacent to the ring and is almost never seen in the center of the ring. Also, there is evidence that the UFO is not always visible, and the ring alone has been spotted near high technology objects such as the Hubble telescope. These clues suggest that the torus might possibly be a side-effect of a novel energy source that powers flying craft and other devices.
The article also speculated on the the physical properties of the phenomenon. For example, the edges of the torus might become more visible if its boundary or shell has the property of absorbing light. Since light passing through the torus toward the camera would have a longer path through the shell at an edge, it would be attenuated more and the edge would appear darker. Alternatively, the torus might have the ability to organize particles in the atmosphere. That is, particles may concentrate inside it, and the ring might become darker or lighter depending on the optical properties of the material and the prevailing lighting conditions.
The photo in Figure 1 gives additional insight into the physical properties of the torus near a UFO. This photo was recently published on the Coasttocoast web site photo gallery, and was attributed to Chris Malcheski. His comments are included there with the photo.

Figure 1. Photo by Chris Malcheski; courtesy of Coasttocoast photo gallery (www.coasttocoastam.com).

The photo was taken in order to capture the double rainbow, and the unknown object was not seen until later. The author considered the possibility that it was a bird, but suggested this is unlikely given (1) the windy conditions and (2) that one end of the object appears to be covered by the distant rainbow.
The image was enhanced using an image equalization tool available from Mehdi. The tool also offers additional non-linear control to compensate for large differences in brightness over the image. The Medhi documentation says that the option employed here equalizes the three color channels independently, with a resulting dramatic improvement in contrast. It also warns that important distortions of tints can be introduced. However, such distortion apparently works to our advantage by enhancing the colors to reveal additional details.
The left panel of Figure 2 shows the object of interest cropped from the original image. The middle panel shows the equalized image, and the right panel has an overlaid graphic to direct attention to the location of the torus.

Figure 2. Cropped image, enhanced cropped image, and overlaid graphic.

The presence of the torus, in the expected location relative to the object, suggests that the object is an intelligently operated craft such as those seen in many other photos.
The colors in the image generated by the equalization algorithm appear to correspond to the more muted colors in the original image. That is, the red color of the rainbow in the original image appears in the same places as the red color in the equalized image, and the same can be said for the yellow and green colors.
Malcheski noted that the end of the object appears to be obscured by the rainbow, meaning that the object must have been at least as far away as the rainbow. But there may be another explanation consistent with the object being nearer. The equalized image shows that the part of the rainbow thought to be in front of the object is red. It should have been yellow if it were continuous with the rainbow just above and below it. Perhaps this red segment is a piece of the rainbow shifted to the left. Note that the torus is nearby, and it might have behaved like a prism to deflect the light from the rainbow.
Something similar seems to have happened at the top of the torus. There we can see that a strip of violet overlays the red at exactly the location of the torus. Here, also, the violet part of the spectrum may have been refracted by the torus so that the violet appeared where the red should be.
The displaced rainbow colors in this photograph suggest that the torus defines a region of space with a refractive index different from the space around it. The refractive index of a medium is a function of its permittivity and permeability, so the observed effect may be an important clue for understanding this novel technology.