Black Triangle UFO caught on Google Earth *image*

So this place is about 15 minutes from where I live here in Goodyear Arizona... I'm an Environmental Scientist and most of my work is in remote areas of the desert. I have personally been to this sight people... If you get on the Maricopa County Assessors page, you can find it from the aerial photos and actually find the owner of the property. Not saying anything one way or the other... Just check it out at www.maricopa.gov...

Find the area and you are on your way to explaining something very easy here.

-NSE-

If you look at the ground you can see paths that lead around the "shape".

Go to this coordinate:
30°30'38.44"S 115°22'56.03"E

Doesn't that look like a huge flame? Similar to the ones at the corners of the triangle? My guess is that it is some sort of well flaring site.

Of all the supposed UFO's seen on Google Earth, this is the only one that caught my interest. This thread has a pretty good discussion, so let's keep it going! What can we say about this triangle thing at this point? Let's have a recap:

We know that a satellite photo taken of western Australia contains an interesting triangular shape. The coordinates for this shape are S 30° 30' 38.8" by E 115° 22' 56.2", and the photo is dated 2/8/2004, although which of the first two represents the month and the day could vary from one nation to another. One of the first things that came to my mind when I saw this was that this photo should be compared to any other aerial photos of the area. If the shape is not in both photos, then it is either something built recently, or something that has moved. If you go to this satellite image on Terraserver:

www.terraserver.com...

... you can see the image in question. However, if you zoom out a few times, the image will switch to a lower-resolution image that was taken on January 1st of 1999. This second image does not seem to contain the triangular shape. You can also check out this image I made for comparison:

img50.imageshack.us...

I'll see if I can post the image here:
img50.imageshack.us...]

Anyway, let's go over some of the explanations and evidence accumulated so far in this thread.

Argument: Alien or secret government craft -- Status: Possible
This is of course the reason for all the hype. This shape resembles many triangular UFO's that people claim to have seen. Whether or not you believe aliens could be visiting and observing Earth right now depends on whether or not you believe it is possible to develop technology that could sidestep or break the universal speed of light limitation described by relativity, as it is already commonly accepted among the scientific community that intelligent life has probably evolved across the Universe. If this shape were such a craft, it seems to be partially transparent. This also is well within the realm of possibility, as even our own modern technology has been moving toward the development of fiber-optic materials capable of passing light around an interior form, rendering it essentially invisible. This could also result in the absence of a noticeable shadow.

Argument: Emu Downs Wind Farm -- Status: Disproven / Unlikely
This could be a reasonable argument, as the lights in the shape could be the "fans" used in a wind farm, perhaps glaring in the sunlight and thus distorting their shape. However, EngTR has posted images acquired from software tied into the local power grid, clearly showing that this region is NOT connected by any above- or below-ground cables of any kind. The only alternative could be that it is part of a separate power grid for the same area, but this seems unlikely. This also disproves the "radio tower" and all other common electric device theories.

Argument: Abandoned airfield -- Status: Unlikely
Orion437's images of triangular airfields are intriguing, but do not particularly resemble this design. Additionally, a triangular airfield with no hangars seems completely impractical. Why would any plane land there?

Argument: Weird farmland / Controlled plant fire / Other obscure temporary land usage -- Status: Possible
It's hard to say what kind of ground activity could produce this shape, but this is an explanation that cannot be ruled out. However, evidence for or against this theory could be obtained if someone were to simply travel to the region and see what is or is not there. This theory is also supported by what could be trails leading to the corners of the shape, and the fact that at least one edge of the triangle is not perfectly straight.

[edit on 16-10-2008 by Magnus47]

Argument: False, edited imagery / Status: Unlikely
As someone with a lot of experience in Photoshop and digital imagery, I can attest that yes, fabricating something like this is possible. Granted, it would take a good deal of work to make it fit so well with the resolution and pixellation of the rest of the image, but it is possible. However: I find it hard to believe that Google would want to play a prank like this, considering how detrimental it would be to their image as a user-friendly company that's all about freedom of information. Additionally, as another poster said, the odds that someone found this thing among the vast expanse of the surface of the planet Earth is pretty small to begin with.

Anyway, that's all I have time to write at the moment. Am I forgetting anything?

reply to post by Magnus47

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Source

The images posted by EngTR show that the "lights" are not lights at all but concrete footings for the guy wires.

I don't think the lack of connections to the local power grid disproves it being an antenna. It could be battery/solar powered or perhaps be drawing power directly from the wind farm.

[edit on 16-10-2008 by Phage]

reply to post by Magnus47

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If you forgot anything I don't know what it may be, at least the most talked about possibilities are all there, good work!

Google Earth now shows the date of the photos, and for that area it says "Mar 8, 2004", and seeing from other areas (the place I live), TerraServer shows the dates as day/month/year, so that would mean 2 August 2004.

reply to post by Phage

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I thought it strange that the area has a wind farm because nothing can be seen on the photos (as we all know, a wind farm has huge wind-powered helices, and they are easily visible on satellite photos), so I went looking for more information, and this is what I have found.

There is really an wind farm, Emu Downs Wind Farm, but it exists since 2006, while the satellite photos are from 2004, that is why nothing like a wind farm is visible on that photo (as far as I have looked).

So, whatever that is, I don't think it's related to the wind farm.

reply to post by ArMaP

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The eyewitness account states it is an antenna nearby the wind farm (which was existent at the time of the site visit). The witness made the connection but since the timing is off I agree that there may be none. The report does say it is adjacent to the wind farm. This places it in the correct locale.

There are various reasons for an antenna "in the middle of nowhere" (repeaters, weather observations, etc.). And, as I said, this kind of installation does not need an external power source.

Meh... must be a slow news day to drag this one up...

But its a change from the GFL ships

But I still want to know about all the impact craters around the Triangle

reply to post by zorgon

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I believe the technical term is borehole. Drilled all over western Australia to provide water for livestock.

I know. But resist the comment. It's way too easy, even for you.

[edit on 16-10-2008 by Phage]

reply to post by Phage

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Well if you ask me, that just about closes the case on this one. An eyewitness report like that is just about the best evidence you can ask for in this situation. I was clearly too quick to dismiss the idea of some kind of antenna... perhaps it's not as unusual as I thought, to use a power source other than the "local grid" for a remote area like this.

Additionally I found one last bit of info: When zoomed in to .5 meters per pixel on that TerraServer image, the size of the shape is roughly 222 pixels wide. Basic multiplication therefore determines it to be a little over 100 meters wide along any given edge. Ironically this is exactly the estimate I was thinking of for what the size of a large antenna array, like this thing apparently is, might be.

Thanks for the info, Phage!

P.S. Can you please cite the website / source where you found out about that eyewitness?

[edit on 17-10-2008 by Magnus47]

[edit on 17-10-2008 by Magnus47]

reply to post by zorgon

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Thats not an impact crater!

THIS is an impact crater!


19°10'19.17"S 127°47'43.39"E

I would give you water holes... however I do not know many drilling techniques that make the ground crack ray pattern that is seen on these 'craters' In the bomb test area of Kirtland AFB there are hundreds of these... and those are KNOWN bomb craters... many of which now contain water for free range cattle.

There were even hundreds of rounds of live ammo still in the fields until a recent cleanup.

I appreciate that you love your sarcastic skepticism but in this case I do not think they are boreholes for water...

More of the ray craters in Australia near the Triangle











Here is an example from Kirtland AFB Bombing Range. Notice it too is now filled with water and cattle pens nearby



Here is a collection of craters in Kirtland AFB, just south of the base and about to be used for housing. Might be good to get rid of all the live ammo still in the ground

Craters in Old Test Site Area
Here is the info on the live ammo, a map of all the big bomb craters and a picture of the big nuke they dropped by accident that would have taken out Albuquerque had it gone off

Boys and their Toys

So perhaps someone a little less cynical, or in Australia, could check if this area was ever used for bombing practice








[edit on 17-10-2008 by zorgon]

You said it yourself, cattle. Those are not cracks, those are trails (called pads in Australia) created by and followed by cattle walking to and from the water. Here's a definite water trough, not a crater, showing the trails.

Here's what they look like at ground level.

Here is Landsat imagery with commentary.


Source

[edit on 17-10-2008 by Phage]

The only concerning evidence I observed is the fact that the trails seem to pivot around the shape indicating it's a blocked off area. (but you can't be sure).

Also, there is no one around for miles so fire is ruled out for the illumination.

[edit on 21-6-2009 by fxmodels]

[edit on 21-6-2009 by fxmodels]