Strange lights in sky over Hay River, N.W.T., baffle onlooker
UFO investigator says image appears to have been altered, but photographer adamant it's not
Angela McKay said she was just pulling away from the Rowe Building parking lot in downtown Hay River, Northwest Territories, when a curious light over the community arena caught her attention.
"When I turned to look at it it looked like a window," she said.
"It had two black lines going through the middle. And then it had another line going across… and it was perfect square-like."
McKay, who lives in Fort Resolution, said she saw the light around 8:30 p.m., and managed to snap a couple of photos before it disappeared. She said it remained in the sky for less than a minute.
She wasn't alone in spotting the lights, as her travel companion also looked on in amazement.
McKay said the sky was cloudy that evening, and she isn't sure what caused the odd sight.
"It was bright, bright... It was like there was a light on on the other side [of the clouds]," she said.
Local RCMP say they didn't receive any reports of unusual lights in the sky that evening, and the Department of National Defence says there were no military activities or military aircraft in the area.
UFO investigator skeptical
The chief investigator for Mutual UFO Network of Canada, a non-profit, volunteer organization that studies UFO sightings, was skeptical of the photos.
Dave Palachik said the images are not originals.
"Analyzing the metadata shows these to be clips of a larger photo and Photoshopped," he said.
"The bright lights appear to have been either placed onto the picture where the skyline cuts are showing, and merged together."
Palachik said the bright light could also be a window reflection. In that case, the photograph must have been taken through a window, and the bright light is a reflection of a window with bright lights behind them.
Not Photoshopped, says photographer
McKay said she does not know how to use Photoshop, nor does she have a program that could alter the image.
She said the light could not be a reflection from a bright window.
"I just put my phone out the window... and snapped those pictures," she said.
"It was like [an] amazing sight. It was something that I've never seen before."