Is it really out of this world?
A new photo claiming to be a 1,000-foot-wide UFO near the Four Corners is sending the internet into a frenzy over whether it’s the real deal — or just an optical illusion.
Internet sleuths claim the photo posted by controversial former Department of Defense employee Luis “Lue” Elizondo — claiming to show a “1,000-foot”-wide silver, disc-shaped flying saucer — is really just two crop circles common in desert climates.
A comparison with Google Maps in the same region shows two irrigation circles, with one darker than the other to make it appear as its shadow, posts showed.
“This is clearly a crop circle, not a UAP [unidentified flying object],” wrote user Dr. Diclosure.
“Mislabeling known terrestrial phenomena erodes public trust and undermines legitimate disclosure efforts. Please correct this mistake — your reputation is on the line,” they said.
In several replies, the elusive picture was compared side-by-side to images of crop circles, which appeared nearly identical to the reported UFO.
“Are you guys serious? Have you never flown in a plane before? These agricultural circles are extremely common,” said user Jeff Knox.
“The second one just looks like they did a recent field burn of it. JFC, this is embarrassing, and why there is stigma in this topic,” Knox said.
The photo went viral after Elizondo presented it at a UAP Disclosure Fund-organized panel.
“Captured near Four Corners at FL20 — estimated 600 – 1,000 ft in diameter, silver-hued, disc-shaped,” the UAP Disclosure Fund posted on X.
The grainy photo was allegedly snapped by a commercial airline pilot in 2021 flying at 21,000 feet near the Four Corners landmark joining parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, Elizondo claimed.
Elizonda had pointed to the apparent shadow cast by the large “lenticular” object as part of the evidence for the existence of a physical craft in the photo.
But noted UAP debunker Mick West pointed out that shadow patterns in the hills are counterfactual to the claim that the object is creating its own shadow, according to a blog post.
Elizondo has previously come under fire for presenting evidence of UAPs or UFOs that were later debunked — with the Pentagon pushing back against claims that alien life is present on Earth.
The UAP Disclosure Fund panel included US Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), and Harvard astrophysicist Professor Avi Loeb for a discussion Thursday in Washington, DC.
Astrophysicist and nuclear engineer Eric Davis, another member of the panel, claimed during the event that there are four types of alien species that have visited planet Earth, namely “grays,” “Nordics,” “reptilian” and “insectoid.”
