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How can camera lenses make lights look saucer-shaped?
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unidentified flying object
Learn about an unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) sighting from this video (known as the Gimbal video) captured by fighter pilots associated with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. The video shows instrument detections of unknown aerial objects, which the pilots were unable to identify, off the East Coast of the United States, 2014–15.
Camera lenses can cause point sources of light to appear as saucer-shaped or distorted images due to various optical aberrations. These phenomena occur because lenses are imperfect image producers that fail to focus all light rays into a single, sharp point.1
- Spherical Aberration: When light rays pass through different zones of a spherical lens, they do not converge at the same focal point. Rays passing through the rim focus differently than those passing through the center, creating circular cross-sections of light that can appear as blurred, saucer-like discs when out of focus.21
- Astigmatism: This occurs when a lens fails to focus an off-axis point into a single point. Instead, the rays form two perpendicular lines. At positions between these two focal lines, the resulting image appears elliptical or distorted in shape.1
- Coma: While often associated with a comet-like tail, coma occurs when rays from an off-axis point are imaged by different zones of the lens, creating displaced, overlapping circular images that can result in a one-sided haze or distorted appearance.13
These effects are common in photography and can lead to misinterpretations of light sources in images.1