GoogleEarth image: SLAM-ER caught in flight?

It’s surprising how many people will fail color separation tests of similar difficulty to spotting the wing and tail outlines against the cluttered background in the original pic.
Most people have not taken these tests and so they do not know of this very slight deficiency, so you will have a hard time convincing them that what they cannot see is actually there. Although not 100% applicable in this instance, this page shows what I mean: http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.html

I am well aware of color blindness. When you have a background in science, aviation, and electronics having color vision is very important. About 9% to 12% the male population has some degree of color blindness, females have a much lower likelihood of color blindness.

However I really don’t think it applies in this situation that much. For some reason the color seems to be washed out on Google. The Google image that I originally posted as a link to Google maps is virtually washed out of color, it is virtually black-and-white. However when you zoom out far enough it transitions to pretty realistic color.

I think most of it is a mind’s eye thing. People that are used to looking at aircraft and analyzing photographs are more likely to be able to distinguish it as an aircraft.

It also could have something to do with software, video card, monitor, video settings, ect…

So there are many reasons that people don’t see the same thing.

I don’t know if contrailjj altered his image, but I took the liberty of clipping it and inserting it into a montage to display how the same aircraft can look different under some circumstances. The rest of the photographs were all on the same computer, so there seems to be variation. The color quality seems to vary drastically on Google, I suspect it is because the photographs are taken at different times under different weather conditions with different cameras.

Anyway the Google images of the airplane in flight in question seems to have relatively the same when color and density as the background. The background is also is camouflage, so the vague outline of the wing and tail blend into the background. People that are used to looking at photographs and aircraft’s are going to have an easier time discerning the wings.

So I think it’s partly software, hardware, settings, eyesight and in the minds eye.

Can you tell me why some aircraft starboard navigation lights look blue and some look green?;)

Some conspiracy nuts were trying to tell me this was a missile. I didn’t believe their conspiracy theories. I though I saw the faint outline of wings and a tail, the shadow, and ghost image seemed to verify and the scale seemed to be of an airliner.

It’s surprising how many people will fail color separation tests of similar difficulty to spotting the wing and tail outlines against the cluttered background in the original pic.
Most people have not taken these tests and so they do not know of this very slight deficiency, so you will have a hard time convincing them that what they cannot see is actually there. Although not 100% applicable in this instance, this page shows what I mean: http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.html

Some conspiracy nuts were trying to tell me this was a missile. I didn’t believe their conspiracy theories. I though I saw the faint outline of wings and a tail, the shadow, and ghost image seemed to verify and the scale seemed to be of an airliner.

Some other people have helped debunk the conspiracy theories. One persons pointed out it seems to be the paint scheme of an America West Express CRJ-900. Another person pointed out the plane seems to be on a flight path between PHX-SLC that fly’s America West Express CJR-900s.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=33%C2%B026%E2%80%B203%E2%80%B3N,+112%C2%B000%E2%80%B242%E2%80%B3W&layer=&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&z=18&ll=33.438004,-111.996844&spn=0.00222,0.005375

MD-90 product I believe… note the twin contrails aft (and you can just make out the tailplane). SLAM-ER’s wing seems to be positioned a little further forward and with a little greater sweep.

JJ

Good eye and skepticism.

I think it is a myth or hoax that it is a missile.

The first thing that through me was the scale, it seems to be as wide as a mobile home. There is no cruise missile that scale in the US inventory that I know of. It would be odd for a US missile to have 2 contrails.

I think it might be a prank by whoever edited out secure objects in the map. Or perhaps there is a jet out there with dark wings. I am skeptical we are using cruise missiles that big.

I think someone edited out the wings on a airliner as a prank for fame or and to get a buzz going about goggle earth.

I am pretty sure the claims it is a cruise missile are false.

It could be an old airliner as a test bed for optical stealth, but I doubt it.

Agree with you there is some faint subtle artifacting that seems to indicate it has wings. Satellites see different wavelengths then humans, the wavelength seems to shift at gogglesatmap with zoom. How goggle interpolates and displays the wavelengths varies. It could be an IR image and maybe the wings don’t show because they are full of cooler fuel.

If you scroll north a little you will see a subtle shadow or ghost of the airplane, it seems to have full wings and tail like an airliner.

MD-90 product I believe… note the twin contrails aft (and you can just make out the tailplane). SLAM-ER’s wing seems to be positioned a little further forward and with a little greater sweep.

JJ