The Lightbox
The photographs the world keeps arguing over — the genuinely unexplained, the hotly disputed, and the confessed fakes, side by side. Each plate is graded for where it stands and linked to where the original is held. We index the images; we don't own them.
The Nimitz 'Tic Tac' (FLIR1)
Forward-looking infrared of the object USS Nimitz pilots pursued in 2004. Officially released by the Pentagon in 2020 — the modern benchmark for provenance.
The 'Gimbal' Footage
A rotating object tracked by USS Theodore Roosevelt aircrews. The first UAP video the US government cleared for public release.
The 'GoFast' Footage
An object skimming low over the ocean, tracked by targeting sensors. The apparent speed is disputed — parallax may exaggerate it — but the footage is authenticated.
The Calvine Photograph
A diamond-shaped craft beside a military jet, handed to the MoD and suppressed for 32 years before resurfacing in 2022. Photographic analysis found no sign of manipulation.
The Lake Cote Photograph
Captured automatically by a government mapping camera at altitude — no witnesses, no obvious hoax. One of the most credible photographic cases on record.
The McMinnville (Trent) Photos
Among the most analysed UFO images ever taken. Skeptics favour a small model or a mirror hung from the wires; defenders argue the photos hold up.
The Trindade Island Photos
A Saturn-shaped object shot from a Brazilian Navy vessel. Baraúna was a skilled trick photographer, which is the crux of the enduring hoax argument.
The Mariana Film
One of the first UFO motion films. The Air Force suggested reflections from two jets known to be nearby, which the footage's defenders reject.
The Lubbock Lights
V-formations of lights photographed by a student and witnessed by university faculty. The Air Force's bird-reflection theory never fully settled it.
The Rex Heflin Photos
A highway inspector's Polaroids of a disc and a lingering smoke ring. Never definitively debunked, and defended by later technical re-analysis.
The Rhodes Photographs
Taken weeks after the Arnold sighting that began the modern era; studied by Air Force intelligence. Its authenticity has never been resolved.
The Ilkley Moor Figure
A former police officer's photo of a small humanoid figure on the moor, taken during a reported missing-time episode. Much argued, never resolved.
The STS-48 Footage
Shuttle video of specks that sharply change direction. NASA attributes them to ice particles reacting to a thruster firing, though it is still widely circulated.
The Passaic Photos
Crisp daylight photos of a domed disc, widely regarded as a hoax made with a small model — a textbook example of the era's fakes.
The Petit-Rechain Triangle
The iconic photo of the Belgian triangle wave. The photographer confessed in 2011 that it was painted styrofoam — even though the wider wave had radar and pilot witnesses.
The CARET / 'Drone' Photos
Elaborate images of an ornate 'alien drone', tied to a fabricated leaked-document backstory. Regarded as a sophisticated, deliberate hoax.
We do not own the copyrighted photographs shown here. Each remains the property of its photographer or rights holder and is reproduced in good faith for reference, commentary and documentation, with attribution to its source. If you own an image and want it taken down, email micstu.dev@pm.me and we will remove it promptly, no questions asked. Items marked public domain (the US-government UAP footage) are free to use. Status labels are the current best assessment, not a verdict.