Can anyone explain this?

[Bob Martin]

I've been looking at this for ages and can't work out what it is.

inflatable? Can't believe it's plane.

[Broadback]

Look like the photo has caught a plane banking, the confusion is possibly because it is impossible to tell how far it is above ground.

[dennis]

Since its visible when you zoom out, I would imagine it to be a UFO or a data glitch.

[Vortex2]

I think it's a CCD phenomenon known as "blooming"

Basically excessive light overloads a pixel or group of pixels on the sensor and the resultant charge spills into adjacent pixels.

You can see from the shadows the sun is relatively low, and I reckon a direct reflection of a vehicle screen or mirror has caused it.

More info here:

for those of an anorakky disposition.

[John]

Sometimes seen on Google Earth - usually a reflection.

[chrisj.doran]

There is _something_ coming out of the roof, but not so prominent, on other aerial views:

Multimap don't have their "fly around" bird's eye view for this area.

My guess would be a flagstaff from a funny angle. Notice the elongated lamppost to its left. The flag looks as if it's at half mast.

Chris

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Whatever it is doesn't show on my RISC OS browser so is perhaps in a layer it can't 'resolve'?

[Andy Dee]

Definitely not something on the ground as it has no shadow. It's a light aircraft at about 1500 feet.

Andy.

[Stephen Howard]

It's Kenny Everett in a glider.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I think so: it casts no shadow anywhere I could find, which suggests its pretty high up.

I think its not banking so much as looping..it looks like its a sailplane in a near vertical dive.

[Old Git]

If you use Google Earth, mine is version 4.3.7284.3916 (beta), where you can juggle around with the angle of view etc, it becomes more obvious that it's an aircraft banking.

[Lino expert]

That's not a guess...just had a helluva day.

[John]

But the raw data you are seeing is the same. You are not really getting a different view.

[Andy Champ]

*One* other aerial view. The cars are all in the same places on those shots, even the ones driving.

I thought I'd try Microsoft's Virtual Earth, but that's the same shot too...

I'd go for the CCD bloom theory.

Andy

[Dave Liquorice]

That I agree with.

This I don't if it was a genuine object why is there a band of pixels along the top left edge so different? They should just blend from the background to the forground.

I go for CCD overload and lens flare. If you look at the cars in the same row and to the left of the center of the "mystery object" you'll see smaller sun glints.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Bob Martin saying something like:

It's a glider in a loop or dive and it's caught the sun just at the right angle to white itself out by reflection. Stupid place to be doing stunts, you would think, but I'd bet at the altitude the glider is at and the angle of the pic it only makes it appear to be above the buildings, when in reality it's much further to the south, and probably above open fields.

[The Medway Handyman]

Alien UFO on its way to abduct an inhabitant of Sheerness. That would explain a lot.

[Bob Martin]

That would make sense if the pics were taken from a great height

- ie from satellite - but I thought they were taken from a plane, despite Googles labels.

[John]

They are from satellite above a certain height - then from and aircraft - soon to be joined by street level ones taken by car (already in the USA)

[Stuart Barrie]

The Google car was driving about Glasgow the other day with a tripod and camera on its roof.